Lady Hater: Laughing with the Ladies

Written and directed by Alexandra Barreto (The Fosters),Lady Hateris a hilarious look at the current conversation surrounding femininity and gender. While running late for what she thinks is a yoga class, a self-proclaimed ‘guy’s girl’ (Allyn Rachel) becomes stuck in an all-female ‘goddess’ seminar. As she attempts to leave, she is drawn into a conversation that gradually unravels many of the expectations and labels of femininity that are being taught by the instructor.

Written and directed by Alexandra Barreto (The Fosters), Lady Hateris a hilarious look at the current conversation surrounding femininity and gender. While running late for what she thinks is a yoga class, a self-proclaimed ‘guy’s girl’ (Allyn Rachel) becomes stuck in an all-female ‘goddess’ seminar. As she attempts to leave, she is drawn into a conversation that gradually unravels many of the expectations and labels of femininity that are being taught by the instructor.

While clearly satirical, Lady Hateris never truly savage in its comedy. There’s a levity to the story that emboldens its dialogue, rather than detracting from it. Lead Allyn Rachel brings a suitable honesty and awkwardness to the role as a woman who simply wants to be herself that allows her to expose the frailty of sexual labels and stereotypes. Simply wanting to escape the room, she has no intention of attacking or engaging the issues surrounding the goddess seminar yet inadvertently sparks a conversation that reveals the pressures that can be put on women to act a certain way. 

Here, writer/director Barreto has written a tightly energetic script that clearly expresses a desire for women to allow themselves the freedom to simply bethemselves, rather than base themselves upon the expectations of others. In a very short scene (the film is only 7 minutes), Lady Haterreveals how and why so many of these demands are placed on women internally. While rooted in the absolute truth that women have been oppressed and forced into gender roles over the centuries, Lady Hatershows what can happen when the labels we form to break free from stereotypes simply create new ones. In a world that is constantly seeking to tell women who they are, Lady Haterinvites them to recognize the value of who they are. Though in a seminar to discover their ‘inner goddess’, the film does an excellent job of showing that the perfections that that cultural ideal teach are, in fact, less empowering than allowing one’s self to be themselves.

Lady Hateris currently laughing its way through the Tribeca Film Festival.

For full audio of our conversation with director Alexandra Barreto, click here.