User blog comment:JQuake101/Why Felicity Smoak is a misogynist character/@comment-26412696-20170214073012

I don't like to get political here on the wiki, as it's a headache and a half to deal with as an admin, but I'm very openly and passionately feminist and I feel comfortable enough in that position to respond to this post. First and foremost, you're right: Felicity is a terrible person. She treated Oliver horribly after finding out about William, she's definitely looked down upon her own mother for her supposed lack of intelligence, and her 'alpha competition' with Sara (as you put it) fits into an archaic television trope that society should have moved beyond long ago. Hell, her dark turn in "Bratva" is an indication that she might still do worse things yet.

This being said, however, there are aspects of your argument that I take issue with -- not only because some of your claims aren't factual, but also because aspects of what you've labeled inherent misogyny can also be chalked up as Felicity just being a dick.

Let's start with the confrontation with Sara. Again, as I've said, you're right in that her actions can be interpreted as the tv trope of the alpha female, having to prove her superiority. I'd like to add, too, that I really liked your idea about incorporating Roy into those scenes instead (although Nobody700 is right in that Felicity was jealous of Sara being able to 'do it all' and that she felt replaceable). However, what I'd like to point out is that the episode in question was written by two women; to say that the scene where Felicity talks about being Oliver's girl was crafted entirely by men simply isn't true. Arguments can be made for internalized misogyny on the part of the writers, I'm sure, and some blame always falls to the showrunners, but it's a fact that women have been heavily involved in writing Arrow since the show's inception -- with Wendy Mericle in particular. I'm not so much as defending Felicity's character here as saying that it's important to have all the facts first before grabbing pitchforks.

Furthermore, I have to question the idea of Felicity as the 'alpha' in seasons three and four after Thea and Laurel become permanent fixtures on Team Arrow. The situation with Sara didn't repeat itself with either of them, or with Evelyn in season five, which if anything seems to show growth of character on Felicity's part. But I digress.

Moving on, Felicity told Oliver Moira's secret regarding Thea because she was closer to Oliver than she was to the Queen women. It had less to do with screwing over other women and more to do with the fact that the only member of the family she was friends with was Oliver, and she assumed that his mother would never tell him the truth anyway. It's a very different scenario than the one with Sara, and it isn't fair to approach it the same way at all.

Felicity's relationship with Oliver, meanwhile, was rocky from the beginning; it became a huge plot thread throughout seasons three and four that Felicity was having trouble trusting Oliver because he continually lied to her about everything, and always kept secrets. Is she a hypocrite? Yeah. Was it right for her to break up with Oliver when he'd kept a secret for a valid moral reason regarding William? No, it wasn't. But again we're looking at a situation that is a lot more complicated than you're making it out to be. The bottom line is that while her actions and behavior aren't excusable, they can be attribute both to horrible writing and the fact that Felicity is not a great human being. I'm sorry, but I'm tempted to label it a stretch that this somehow translates to misogyny, though I understand where you're coming from.

I could go on (I feel like I missed a few things, but it's almost 3AM right now and I'm tired), but hopefully my thoughts on the matter seem reasonable rather than any sort of personal attack. Again, while I agree to an extent with some of what you're saying, I also just think that your argument is both stretched a bit thin and that you haven't properly accounted for what's actually going on behind the scenes.