Three Women gives a provocative look at sex and the patriarchy

In a late episode of Starz' Three womenone of the title characters explains to reporter Gia (Shailene Woodley) how she would like her story to be presented and asks: “Would you write that it ends well? That I get everything I want? I'm sick of stories where women don't win.” This seems a bit like a rebuke, because this ten-part series mainly shows women who lose.

Based on the No. 1 New York Times Bestseller with the same name, Three women follows Gia as she sets out to write said tome. She's a stand-in for real-life author Lisa Taddeo, who executive produces the series and is credited as a writer on half of the episodes. In the series, Gia sold a book about “sex in America,” a term she and her agent (a wonderfully slick Fred Savage) use fairly regularly. What is revealed instead is a look at how women, illustrated through three concrete examples, strive for personal fulfillment in the face of America's often violent patriarchal society.

What does it actually mean to win for women? With countless studies on the wage gap And Pipeline problems, It is clear what women need to “win” economically. There are also groups that Who does the housework And Raising children And she's trying to make the gender divide more equitable, focusing on the idea that more free time for women means more fulfillment. And maybe it will. But life isn't all about work (or the lack thereof). What about joy? Connection? Desire? Three women brings these aspects to the forefront, creating a novel and somewhat disorienting experience that challenges the viewer's assumptions about sexual violence, female desires, and the meaning of relationships.

But first let’s talk about sex. There is plenty of it in Three womenboth sexy sex and the more embarrassing variety involving male and female body parts, pubic hair, blood – the whole gamut. Much of this comes through in the story of Lina (a charming Betty Gilpin), a mother of two from a conservative community in Indiana. Her husband refuses to kiss her and hasn't touched her in months, so she's starved for affection when she decides to turn to her old high school flame. (In case you were wondering, that's what Facebook is for.)

Gia also has explicit sex scenes with her persistent but hapless lover Jack (John Patrick Amedori), whom she keeps pushing away, not because she doesn't love him, but because she's sure that any personal connection would only mean more pain. (Having lost both her parents, she has reason to believe this.) Meanwhile, Sloane (a beguiling DeWanda Wise) is our local swinger, starring in a series of multi-partner sex scenes, while twenty-something Gabby (Gabrielle Creevy, likable and strong) hasn't yet figured out how to have good sex, hampered by her affair with one of her high school teachers.

With these diverse, but mostly heterosexual experiences, Three women argues that carnal pleasure is a pursuit in its own right and something that women should pursue. But of course, good sex is only one part of a fulfilling private life, and despite the focus on it, Three women does not suggest otherwise. Justice is obviously important, even if it is unattainable. The opening credits of the show say: Three women makes it clear that its protagonists are trapped in an unjust society.



Maggie's relationship with her teacher has thrown her life off track: she didn't go to college; she isn't looking for a better romantic relationship. But she has realized that what happened to her was wrong. Now she wants to be a social worker and realizes that she can't tell her future clients to fight for themselves if she hasn't done that too. So Maggie stops keeping her teacher's secret. She tells her parents, who are devastated when they realize that their problems prevented them from protecting their daughter when she needed it. She tells the police, and they decide to take the matter to court. Of the five charges against Mr. Knodel (Jason Ralph, perfectly cast), he is acquitted on three counts, and the other two are dismissed by a jury that cannot agree. All of this, it should be remembered, is explained in the show's opening sequence.

Knodel is exonerated and not only found not guilty, but allowed to return to the classroom and paid for the time he lost in the trial. On the other hand, Maggie pays a terrible price as the stress of the case and the revelations surrounding it leak out. She experiences so much injustice and she is not alone. There is a lot more sexual violence in this series, but no one is defined by the trauma they experience. Three women Instead, the focus is on how these women respond, how resilient they are, and the work they do to improve their lives (and maybe – just maybe – those of the people around them).

Because what they're really fighting for isn't to be free of trauma, but rather for the right to be flawed and still be loved. Women are under so much pressure to be perfect – the perfect victim, the perfect mother, the perfect partner – and none of these women are any of those things, just like no real woman is. They're messy, as Sloan herself explains at one point. But they're also worthy of love and happiness. That's what the search for personal fulfillment is really about. And that's exactly how these women triumph in the end – not through the external validation of a guilty verdict or a new partner (or another orgasm), but through their newfound and suddenly unwavering commitment to themselves. They decide to seek and pursue their own happiness. This is a radical decision for a woman, and Three women celebrates it and explores the consequences (and shows a lot of breasts in the process).

Three women Premieres September 13 on Starz