Wondering what to watch on Netflix? We’ve compiled a list of some of the best feminist movies on Netflix.
Feminist movies on Netflix could be a great way to spend your time, even if you think you may not particularly be a fan.
So out of all the movies I’ve seen, I have put together a list of these 10 that I believe are pretty Fantastic. It will help in narrowing your search.
1. Period. End of Sentence (2018)
- Cast: Arunachalam Muruganantham, Shabana Khan, Gouri Choudari, Ajeya, Anita.
- IMDb: 7.4/10
Period. End of Sentence is first on our list of the best feminist movies on Netflix. It is a 2018 documentary film that tells the story of a group of women in a rural village in India who come together and begin a sexual revolution.
At the time e women were going through a lot because of their community’s views on matters relating to women’s menstrual cycles.
Women had to pause normal activities like schooling and developed health issues because of mismanagement, so they rose to start some change.
They learn how to musea machine that produces pads, which not only improves feminine hygiene but also empowers the women in their community to shed the taboos about menstruation in India as well as develops the economy of their village.
2. She’s Gotta Have It (1986)
- Cast: Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, Spike Lee, Raye Dowell, Joie Lee, Dennis Karika, S. Epatha Merkeson, Bill Lee.
- IMDb: 6.7/10
She’s Gotta Have It is next on our list of the best feminist movies on Netflix. It is a 1986 American black and white comedy-drama that centers around the beautiful Nora Darling, who can’t seem to decide on what kind of man to date.
Subsequently, she chooses to date three men simultaneously: narcissistic model Greer Childs, the stable and polite Jamie Overstreet, and immature geek Mars Blackman.
However, despite each suitor having virtues, Nora seems unable to make up her mind. At some point, the men in her life discover their situations, and she is left with the choice of picking one. Can she stick to one partner? Or is totally against the idea of monogamy?.
3. Moxie (2021)
- Cast: Hadley Robinson, Alycia Pascual-Péna, Lauren Tsai, Nico Hiraga, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Amy Poehler, Sydney Park, Anjelika Washington, Sabrina Haskett, Josie Totah, Emily Hooper, Marcia Gay Harden.
- IMDb: 6.7/10
Moxie is a 2021 American comedy-drama film that focuses on a shy 16-year-old girl named Vivian, a young teen in high school with a quiet and social life at school.
A new girl resumes at her school and gets picked on by the school Jock for no discernible reason, as always. Shortly after this happens, another incident puts some ladies in the bad spotlight.
Vivian, inspired by these activities, her mother’s past actions, and a bold new friend, gets a push to start an anonymous feminine mini-magazine that brings awareness to the unfair treatment the females face in high school.
She also uses the platform to encourage other young girls at her school to speak up. It is an excellent addition to our list of the best feminist movies on Netflix.
4. Battle of the Sexes (2017)
- Cast: Emma Stone, Steve Carell, Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Eric Christian Olsen, Elisabeth Sue.
- IMDb: 6.7/10
Next on our list of the best feminist movies on Netflix is Battle of the Sexes. It is a 2017 biographical sports film whose plot is loosely based on the 1973 tennis match between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King.
It became the most-watched televised sport of all time. Riggs, in an attempt to relive his glory days, boasts he can best any woman in a lawn tennis match, and King eventually takes him up on his challenge.
Both of them are also struggling with personal issues. King’s husband is putting pressure on her to fight for better pay, and she’s simultaneously working to come to terms with her sexuality, while Riggs is fighting gambling addiction and marital crisis.
5. Enola Holmes (2020)
- Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Sam Claflin, Henry Cavill, Helena Bonham Carter, Louis Partridge, Burn Gorman, Adeel Ahktar, Susie Wokoma, David Bamber, Hattie Morahan, Frances de la Tour, Claire Rushbrook, Fiona Shaw, Ellie Haddington.
- IMDb: 6.6/10
Enola Holmes tells the story of the youngest sister of the famous Sherlock Holmes. Enola’s mother, Eudoria, notices that her daughter is intelligent and observant, so she teaches her how to play chess, fight and look after herself.
These things were not the norm for ladies in that era, making it a great film to add to our list of the best feminist movies on Netflix.
By her 16th birthday, her mother leaves home, and Enola finds clues and decides to go in search of her. She encounters a runaway Lord as she leaves home to London, and their parts intertwine along the way.
They end up pairing up to fight the oppositions they run into, and they’re able to solve a vast mystery that threatens lives, outsmarting her big brother Sherlock in the process.
6. Seeing Allred (2018)
- Cast: Gloria Allred, Lisa Bloom, Bill Cosby, Roy Moore, Gloria Steinem.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
Seeing Allred is a documentary film that follows women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred. She’s one of the top lawyers leading the legal battles for women’s rights and other civil human rights in the United States.
She has been on this cause for years, and some of the things that cases she’s handled include instances of sexual harassment, issues women experience at the workplace, and sexual assault.
The documentary features news footage and testimonies from some of her clients concerning various cases involving the alleged victims of Donald Trump and Bill Cosby.
It also features discussions on numerous topics, including abortions and rape. It’s a great addition to the list of the best feminist movies on Netflix.
7. Audrie & Daisy (2016)
- Cast: Audrie Pott, Daisy Coleman, Paige Parkhurst, Melinda Coleman.
- IMDb: 7.2/10
Audrie & Daisy is an American 2016 documentary film about two different cases of rape of teenage American girls in 2011 and 2012.
It’s one of the best feminist movies on Netflix, and it shows two girls (the titular characters) pass out after drinking at their high school parties, and while unconscious, they’re assaulted by boys known to them.
The film follows the backlash the girls and their families experienced in the aftermath of the event, as well as recounts the various scenarios of online harassment and abuse they passed through.
It also highlights the shame victims of sexual abuse usually feel and the trauma they often experience.
8. Feminists: What Were They Thinking? (2018)
- Cast: Laurie Anderson, Phyllis Chesler, Judy Chicago, Jane Fonda, Sally Kirkland, Meredith Monk, Wendy J.N. Lee, Margaret Prescod, Michelle Philips, Cheryl Seannack, Lily Tomlin.
- IMDb: 6.9/10
It is a 2018 documentary film that shows filmmaker Johanna Demetrakas, along with a team of assistants, interviewing women of different cultural backgrounds and ages on their views of feminism.
It’s one of the best feminist movies on Netflix. This film goes back to the 1977 book of photographs that featured some young women dedicated to fighting the cause for women to have equal rights.
The movie shows how women could empower themselves beyond their perceived roles at the time, going beyond being mum, wives, and maintaining the home. It also shows how women still experience some of these things they battled years ago.
9. Unbelievable (2019)
- Cast: Toni Collette, Merritt Weber, Kaitlyn Dever, Eric Lange, Bill Fagerbakke, Elizabeth Marvel, Bridget Everett, Danielle McDonald, Dale Dickey, Liza Lapira, Omar Maskati.
- IMDb: 8.4/10
Unbelievable is a true-crime television miniseries that tells the story of Washington State and Colorado. It starts with a teenager Marie Adler reporting to the authorities that she had been brutally raped.
Soon after she gives her report, she’s approached by two detectives who insist that she provides a full narration of the events that occurred.
After people start saying they think her story is false, she gets hounded more by the police asking her to repeat her story repeatedly without any concern about the effects it may have on her.
She loses friends and loved ones because the authorities say she lied about the incident until some detectives noticed a similar pattern in the rape cases and began an investigation.
10. Grace and Frankie (2015)
- Cast: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston, Martin Sheen, Brooklyn Decker, Ethan Embry, June Diane Raphael, Baron Vaughn.
- IMDb: 8.2/10
An unlikely friendship forms between the women, Grace Hanson and Frankie Bergstein, two aging women whose husbands come out as gay and announce they’re moving in together and planning to get married.
It’s one of the best feminist movies on Netflix, following the characters as the lives they’ve lived and grown comfortable with come crashing down on them. Grace and Frankie realize that the only people they can rely on are each other.
Our favorite feminist movies are the ones that make you think and stir your emotions effectively. That’s why we’ve added some movies that show women fighting patriarchy in their way.
You’ll also find some that feature strong female leads and inspiring stories of overcoming adversity. Feel free to check any of them out for movie night.