The director of “Ghostbusters” wants to get rid of the term “chick flick”

The new Ghostbusters movie featuring Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon hasn’t even hit theaters yet and it’s already been confronted by a tsunami of backlash. In response, director Paul Feig stood up for his cast, ghostbuster Bill Murray has fully supported the four women, and Melissa McCarthy came back with this hilarious retort when asked about all the rude things people write online:

“What they don’t say when they’re typing is that one minute after they type that their mom’s like, ‘Get upstairs and take out the garbage!‘” Melissa told Jimmy Kimmel. “‘You’re 45 years old!’”

Clearly, the Ghostbusters team isn’t messing around when it comes to ghosts OR trolls. That would explain why Paul Feig isn’t hesitant to speak his mind when he feels he’s facing misogyny – especially in the film industry industry.

“The whole ‘chick-flick’ idea is an excuse for guys not to have to see something,” Feig told The New York Times. “It’s what I consider to be a derogatory title. I try with my movies to go: Look how funny these people are. Guys were taken to see Bridesmaids, which looked like the ultimate chick flick to them, and they all came out like, ‘Oh my God, that’s so funny.’”

The director makes a great point. No matter what the context, it’s isolating to label anything with a gender-based term. Since gender isn’t black-and-white, we shouldn’t expect films (or anything else, for that matter) to be either. With that being said, though a certain movie may be dubbed a “chick flick,” that doesn’t mean it’s only for women. Some may enjoy it and some may not – but that has nothing to do with their gender identity.

Actress Leslie Jones also made a great point during The New York Times interview, stating, “I’m surprised, because women have been killing it for years. It’s the same thing, when you go to a comedy club. [announcer’s voice] ‘Are you guys ready for a woman?’ Are you ready for a unicorn? Why is being a woman so surprising? There are two sexes. A man and a woman. So, if it’s not a man in a movie, what else was it going to be?”

As we continue to realize that men and women are equals – in the film industry and everywhere else – maybe we could do without phrases like “chick flick?”