10 most feminist moments in Mad Men’s 1960s sea of misogyny

Mad Men still, image via AMC

Rachel Menken asserts herself as a shrewd businesswoman

Rachel Menken kind of gets a bad rep I think. Like many of the women on this show, it could be argued that she is just another of Don Draper’s love interests, but she has a strong introduction to the series that shows that women don’t have to be secretaries in this world.

Rachel comes to Sterling Cooper as the head of Menken department stores. It is a family business, but one that has been largely run by men. In spite of appearing weak-kneed at the first sight of Don, she still holds her own in their business meetings. Above all else, Rachel is a businesswoman and she won’t let her males peers forget it. Even though she inherited this position, she embraces it as her own. And even though she carries on an illicit romance with Don for quite some time, she won’t let him or any other man push her around in creative meetings.

As anyone could see up to this point, most of these moments of female strength are book-ended by their reliance on the men around them, romantically or otherwise. Unfortunately, this is probably pretty true to the 1950s. Women were defined by the men around them—if Rachel had a brother, he’d probably be the head of Menken department stores, not her. But even though Rachel is a strong independent woman by default, she is nevertheless strong and independent.