(13) Dollhouse 7

Two scenes in this episode support the argument about anti-feminism and how it is showcased in this series. One would be the sort of flashback about Sierra and her handler, Hearne, wherein Hearne rapes Sierra while she is in her doll state, therefore taking advantage of the doll-handler relationship and the fact that in this state they are generally helpless and defenseless because they are supposed to have child-like capacities. The other scene would be during the first part of the episode where Echo is once again hired by some guy to be his fantasy lady, much like the engagements in other episodes. I believe there is a fine line (if any, really) between this type of transaction and prostitution. Many may argue that this is just a very high-class form of prostitution, because any guy with enough cash can “program” an active to be his dream girl in every possible way. Since Dollhouse focuses mainly on Echo, with Sierra playing a big role as well, it is hard to see any comparison to the male actives in the dollhouse. So far there hasn’t been an engagement wherein Victor or any other male active has been hired for a fantasy date, and this could be due to a number of reasons. Is it because there aren’t that many filthy rich women who can afford to hire a dream boy? Or because it just isn’t very common for men to be “made-to-hire”? Either way, it can be argued that the women in the series are often objectified, or portrayed as weak, or whatnot.