Jessica Day is the off-beat, Portland-born New Girl protagonist that fans love to both adore and laugh at. She had us from the moment we met her, as, instead of responding to a completely different question, she sat crying about her ex on her first meeting with what would soon become her future roommates.
Jess is sympathetic and often hilarious. She also breaks through many boundaries, using her exploits to explore the versatility of a modern woman; but for someone who sets the bar high, she often doesn't meet it.
Female Icon: She's Goofy
Too many women on screen and in various kinds of media are constantly put together. If they are quirky or unattractive, it's portrayed in a way that frames the woman as constantly striving to be adorable. Jess is not like this. She is charming and attractive in many ways, but she is also annoying and strange in ways that are often agitating--as any human is.
Disappointing: Defers To The Guys
As independent as she considers herself to be, Jess puts a lot of stock in the opinions of the guys she lives with. She wants them to think she's cool, and she constantly strives to morph herself to their preferences. She often humorously fails, providing for some entertaining comedy, but also portraying someone desperate to fit into the point where such emotional investment in the approval of men is unhealthy.
Female Icon: Wears The Pants, And The Dresses
Jess loves dresses and all things frilly and sparkly. She is openly, proudly feminine, yet at the same time she moves beyond her embrace of femininity and frequently, unabashedly inhabits masculine roles--quite literally, at times, such as when she dresses up as Elvis and sings for a funeral in an effort to save the day.
Disappointing: Judges Schmidt And Cece
The show is pretty progressive, but its consideration of Cece and Schmidt's relationship is confusing in how regressive it often comes across as. Everyone, including Schmidt himself, regularly comments on how crazy it is that Cece would ever consider Schmidt as a partner because Cece is treated as if being a model makes her a god. One would think that Jess might be the exception to this, but she also contributes.
Female Icon: Doesn't Settle
When Jess is dating an older rich man who loves her and treats her well, she breaks up with him. This seems crazy at first. Why would you leave someone who you like and find attractive, and who feels the same? Her choice seems almost too greedy.
Jess leaves him because she doesn't feel crazily passionate about him, and she wants to hold out for that possibility. Her insistence to focus on her own preference is empowering in a world that often pressures women to find a partner as soon as possible.
Disappointing: She's A Victim
There are many times in the show where Jess is the sorry, sad victim of getting her feelings hurt or being put in a tight spot, and in swoop the guys to save her once again. Granted, anyone gets their feelings hurt or put in situations where they could use a friend to help them out, and women are no exception. But Jess is frequently framed as a cutesy, helpless girl who needs her male protectors.
Female Icon: Passionate
Jess loves to lose herself in passion projects. She doesn't hold back when she feels excited about something, and she rarely lets anything get in her way. She sets a good example as a person who relies on herself to get things done and create her own future, never waiting for somebody else to do it for her. She thinks it's cool to be passionate about a cause and isn't embarrassed to speak out for what she believes in.
Disappointing: She Mothers The Guys
The guys often treat Jess as though she is the beacon of all things pertaining to women, turning her into a symbol of femininity and 'girliness'. Jess rarely fights this. Instead, the show encourages the differences between Jess and the guys, highlighting Jess's cuteness and emotionality in comparison to theirs.
Female Icon: She Defends Herself
Early in the show, the guys try to muffle Jess's personality. They aren't comfortable with how loud and silly and unconventional Jess is, and they act as if this is something she is responsible for remedying.
Jess initially goes along with this, but quickly recognizes that the problem isn't with her, but with them. She confronts the guys and makes it clear that they are the ones who will have to change, and that she won't be stifled for their comfort.
Disappointing: She Expects Nick To Propose
Jess chooses the most misogynist of her roommates as her love choice. Nick has quirks of his own, but he remains the leading perpetrator of gender stereotypes in the show. Even if he doesn't truly encompass who he imagines himself to be, Nick considers a "real man" to be someone who is rugged and strong and all the rest of your typical stereotypes. He also assumes that a man needs the permission of a woman's father before proposing to her--something Jess goes along with.