• SUBMISSIONS

    Want to write an essay for the Girls on Tops editorial platform? Here’s what you need to know.

    Find Out More 
  • THE ARCHIVE

    Looking for a t-shirt? An essay? Browse the archive, where you’ll find a handy alphabetised guide to every woman in film we’ve championed (so far!)

    Find Out More 
  • OUR PROJECTS

    To pay-forward the support we’ve received, we offer a portion of profits towards funding female-led film projects.

    Find Out More 
Through Her Eyes: The Feminine Power Of ‘80s Pop in Knives and Skin

Through Her Eyes: The Feminine Power Of ‘80s Po...

Katherine McLauglin explores how ‘80s music elevates the female experience in Knives and Skin.

Through Her Eyes: The Feminine Power Of ‘80s Po...

Katherine McLauglin explores how ‘80s music elevates the female experience in Knives and Skin.

California Dreaming: A Tribute to Chungking Express

California Dreaming: A Tribute to Chungking Exp...

Keli Williams writes through her hazy, youthful experience of falling in love with Chungking Express

California Dreaming: A Tribute to Chungking Exp...

Keli Williams writes through her hazy, youthful experience of falling in love with Chungking Express

No More Frocks: Emma Thompson and Reclaiming Space for Stifled Women

No More Frocks: Emma Thompson and Reclaiming Sp...

Anna Galbraith celebrates three decades of Emma Thompson’s trailblazing acting and writing.

No More Frocks: Emma Thompson and Reclaiming Sp...

Anna Galbraith celebrates three decades of Emma Thompson’s trailblazing acting and writing.

“It isn’t a dream?”: Recovering Lesbian History in Elisa y Marcela

“It isn’t a dream?”: Recovering Lesbian History...

Sharmane Tan resets a hidden history of lesbian identity with a look at Isabel Coixet’s Elisa y Marcela.

“It isn’t a dream?”: Recovering Lesbian History...

Sharmane Tan resets a hidden history of lesbian identity with a look at Isabel Coixet’s Elisa y Marcela.

House Rules: The Domestic Realms of Persona and Hereditary

House Rules: The Domestic Realms of Persona and...

Madeline Seidel explores the resurgent meaning of the haunted house, and its gendered fear. 

House Rules: The Domestic Realms of Persona and...

Madeline Seidel explores the resurgent meaning of the haunted house, and its gendered fear. 

When The Party's Over: How Women Reclaim The Rape-Revenge Story

When The Party's Over: How Women Reclaim The Ra...

Mary Beth McAndrews delves into the nuances of three rape-revenge films directed by women. 

When The Party's Over: How Women Reclaim The Ra...

Mary Beth McAndrews delves into the nuances of three rape-revenge films directed by women. 

Who’s Laughing Now? On Mental Illness in Todd Phillips’ Joker

Who’s Laughing Now? On Mental Illness in Todd P...

Hannah Strong unpeels the myopic layers of Todd Phillips’ serious misfire Joker.

Who’s Laughing Now? On Mental Illness in Todd P...

Hannah Strong unpeels the myopic layers of Todd Phillips’ serious misfire Joker.

Where's Olive? Losers and Heroes in Little Miss Sunshine

Where's Olive? Losers and Heroes in Little Miss...

Laura Gabrielle revisits Little Miss Sunshine to uncover how dreams of pageants reveal truths on losing. 

Where's Olive? Losers and Heroes in Little Miss...

Laura Gabrielle revisits Little Miss Sunshine to uncover how dreams of pageants reveal truths on losing. 

The Enduring Appeal of Sally Bowles: From Liza Minnelli to Schitt’s Creek

The Enduring Appeal of Sally Bowles: From Liza ...

Emma Fraser traces the onscreen journey of Sally Bowles, leading to a pivotal personal decision.

The Enduring Appeal of Sally Bowles: From Liza ...

Emma Fraser traces the onscreen journey of Sally Bowles, leading to a pivotal personal decision.

"More of Your Time": Friendship and Loss in Claudia Weill's Girlfriends

"More of Your Time": Friendship and Loss in Cla...

Katie Da Cunha Lewin looks back on Claudia Weill’s pivotal portrait of female friendship.

"More of Your Time": Friendship and Loss in Cla...

Katie Da Cunha Lewin looks back on Claudia Weill’s pivotal portrait of female friendship.

Performing Joy and Swallowing Pain: An Interview with Lulu Wang

Performing Joy and Swallowing Pain: An Intervie...

Ava Wong Davies speaks to Lulu Wang about The Farewell.

Performing Joy and Swallowing Pain: An Intervie...

Ava Wong Davies speaks to Lulu Wang about The Farewell.

How To Be Both: Lulu Wang's The Farewell

How To Be Both: Lulu Wang's The Farewell

Ava Wong Davies reflects on the identity lived between two cultures in relation to Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. 

How To Be Both: Lulu Wang's The Farewell

Ava Wong Davies reflects on the identity lived between two cultures in relation to Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. 

Make Me Look Good: Performing Love and Trauma in Honey Boy

Make Me Look Good: Performing Love and Trauma i...

Ella Kemp returns to TIFF on READ ME’s first birthday and finds in Honey Boy one of the most moving new movies to look forward to.

Make Me Look Good: Performing Love and Trauma i...

Ella Kemp returns to TIFF on READ ME’s first birthday and finds in Honey Boy one of the most moving...

A Frame Around a Memory: The Looking-Glass Effect of Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir

A Frame Around a Memory: The Looking-Glass Effe...

Mary Bolton dives into the refracted elegance of Joanna Hogg’s latest film. 

A Frame Around a Memory: The Looking-Glass Effe...

Mary Bolton dives into the refracted elegance of Joanna Hogg’s latest film. 

Katherine and Me: How Late Night Lifts the Weight From Clinical Depression

Katherine and Me: How Late Night Lifts the Weig...

Beandrea July uncovers how the slicing comedy Late Night also gives airtime to the truthful – and here generous – experience of clinical depression in the workplace. 

Katherine and Me: How Late Night Lifts the Weig...

Beandrea July uncovers how the slicing comedy Late Night also gives airtime to the truthful – and here generous –...

Navigating Male Fantasy in Charlie Says and Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

Navigating Male Fantasy in Charlie Says and Onc...

Mary Beth McAndrews dissects two 2019 releases presenting the women of the Manson Family in jarringly different ways. 

Navigating Male Fantasy in Charlie Says and Onc...

Mary Beth McAndrews dissects two 2019 releases presenting the women of the Manson Family in jarringly different ways. 

Oceans Away: A Feminist Awakening With The Piano

Oceans Away: A Feminist Awakening With The Piano

Laura Venning reflects on her formative relationship with Jane Campion’s The Piano, a stormy gateway into crucial feminist cinema.

Oceans Away: A Feminist Awakening With The Piano

Laura Venning reflects on her formative relationship with Jane Campion’s The Piano, a stormy gateway into crucial feminist cinema.

Midsommar, Orgasm, and the Terrifying Feminine

Midsommar, Orgasm, and the Terrifying Feminine

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Savina Petkova dissects Ari Aster’s breakup movie to find how it reclaims the female orgasm.&nbsp;</p><p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><br></p>

Midsommar, Orgasm, and the Terrifying Feminine

<p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;">Savina Petkova dissects Ari Aster’s breakup movie to find how it reclaims the female orgasm.&nbsp;</p><p class="" style="white-space:pre-wrap;"><br></p>

So Happy Together: Love and Desire in Professor Marston and The Wonder Women

So Happy Together: Love and Desire in Professor...

Sabina Stent explores the love between the three brilliant open minds that led to the creation of Wonder Woman.

So Happy Together: Love and Desire in Professor...

Sabina Stent explores the love between the three brilliant open minds that led to the creation of Wonder Woman.

Dream the Dream: The Intersectional Feminism of Bend It Like Beckham

Dream the Dream: The Intersectional Feminism of...

Roxana Hadadi looks forward to Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light by looking back at the filmmaker’s seminal triumph on Bend It Like Beckham.

Dream the Dream: The Intersectional Feminism of...

Roxana Hadadi looks forward to Gurinder Chadha’s Blinded by the Light by looking back at the filmmaker’s seminal triumph on...

Withnail with Girls: Female Hedonism in Animals

Withnail with Girls: Female Hedonism in Animals

Jenny Novitzky celebrates the uninhibited spirit of Animals by reckoning with a sparse cinematic history of female hedonists.

Withnail with Girls: Female Hedonism in Animals

Jenny Novitzky celebrates the uninhibited spirit of Animals by reckoning with a sparse cinematic history of female hedonists.

Lust for Life: Finding Intimacy in Raw's Bloody and Hungry Female Bodies

Lust for Life: Finding Intimacy in Raw's Bloody...

Hannah Holway explores how Raw gives the onscreen female body both intimacy and triviality.

Lust for Life: Finding Intimacy in Raw's Bloody...

Hannah Holway explores how Raw gives the onscreen female body both intimacy and triviality.

Take Me Away: Jamie Lee Curtis' Spot-On Teenage Talent in Freaky Friday

Take Me Away: Jamie Lee Curtis' Spot-On Teenage...

Joey Keogh celebrates the talent of Jamie Lee Curtis with a look back at the actress’s brilliant physicality in Freaky Friday.

Take Me Away: Jamie Lee Curtis' Spot-On Teenage...

Joey Keogh celebrates the talent of Jamie Lee Curtis with a look back at the actress’s brilliant physicality in Freaky...

“It’s a Long Path to Righteousness”: 20 Years of But I’m a Cheerleader

“It’s a Long Path to Righteousness”: 20 Years o...

Megan Wilson crystallises why Jamie Babbit’s kitsch and cuttingly satirical But I’m A Cheerleader remains a touchstone in queer cinema.

“It’s a Long Path to Righteousness”: 20 Years o...

Megan Wilson crystallises why Jamie Babbit’s kitsch and cuttingly satirical But I’m A Cheerleader remains a touchstone in queer cinema....

Furiosa and the Five Wives: The female body as battleground in Mad Max Fury Road

Furiosa and the Five Wives: The female body as ...

Rheanna-Marie Hall looks back on the strength of the female body to take down the male gaze imprisoning it in Mad Max: Fury Road.

Furiosa and the Five Wives: The female body as ...

Rheanna-Marie Hall looks back on the strength of the female body to take down the male gaze imprisoning it in...

Teenage Girlhood and the Catalyst Moment of The Virgin Suicides

Teenage Girlhood and the Catalyst Moment of The...

Lauren Pinnington looks back on the insidious chain reaction that led the Lisbon sisters astray in Sofia Coppola’s crucial first film.

Teenage Girlhood and the Catalyst Moment of The...

Lauren Pinnington looks back on the insidious chain reaction that led the Lisbon sisters astray in Sofia Coppola’s crucial first...

The Evil Within: Artistic Fever in The Wild Boys and Lord of the Flies

The Evil Within: Artistic Fever in The Wild Boy...

Fiona Underhill explores the heady parallels between Bertrand Mandico’s experimental debut and Peter Brook’s 1963 adaptation of Lord of the Flies.

The Evil Within: Artistic Fever in The Wild Boy...

Fiona Underhill explores the heady parallels between Bertrand Mandico’s experimental debut and Peter Brook’s 1963 adaptation of Lord of the...

Lost Objects: Barbara Loden's Wanda

Lost Objects: Barbara Loden's Wanda

Katie Da Cunha Lewin looks back on the legacy of a fascinating talent whose trajectory was cut short, via the history of Barbara Loden and her only film Wanda.

Lost Objects: Barbara Loden's Wanda

Katie Da Cunha Lewin looks back on the legacy of a fascinating talent whose trajectory was cut short, via the...

Of Moss and Brush: Debra Granik's Natural Lives

Of Moss and Brush: Debra Granik's Natural Lives

Julia Teti explores how director Debra Granik connects with nature in Winter’s Bone and Leave No Trace.

Of Moss and Brush: Debra Granik's Natural Lives

Julia Teti explores how director Debra Granik connects with nature in Winter’s Bone and Leave No Trace.

My Bedroom, My Choice: The Private Worlds of Teenage Girls in Booksmart

My Bedroom, My Choice: The Private Worlds of Te...

Marina Vuotto takes a trip to the teenage bedrooms of heroines Molly and Amy in Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart. 

My Bedroom, My Choice: The Private Worlds of Te...

Marina Vuotto takes a trip to the teenage bedrooms of heroines Molly and Amy in Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart. 

At the Root of It : Marla Singer and the Preservation of Humanity

At the Root of It : Marla Singer and the Preser...

Beth Piket spotlights Helena Bonham-Carter’s most humane role as Marla Singer in Fight Club.

At the Root of It : Marla Singer and the Preser...

Beth Piket spotlights Helena Bonham-Carter’s most humane role as Marla Singer in Fight Club.

Made in Montana: Wildlife and the Beautiful Frustration of Great Falls

Made in Montana: Wildlife and the Beautiful Fru...

Jennifer Verzuh reflects on Paul Dano’s Wildlife and her parallel memories of growing up from Great Falls, Montana.

Made in Montana: Wildlife and the Beautiful Fru...

Jennifer Verzuh reflects on Paul Dano’s Wildlife and her parallel memories of growing up from Great Falls, Montana.

"There's A Part of Us That's Animal": Meeting Josephine Decker and Helena Howard

"There's A Part of Us That's Animal": Meeting J...

Ella Kemp talks to Josephine Decker and Helena Howard about Madeline’s Madeline, living in New York and the things they wish they had told their mothers.

"There's A Part of Us That's Animal": Meeting J...

Ella Kemp talks to Josephine Decker and Helena Howard about Madeline’s Madeline, living in New York and the things they...

"You're My Fantasy": Postcards from the Edge and the Subversion of the Male Gaze

"You're My Fantasy": Postcards from the Edge an...

Laura Venning remembers Carrie Fisher’s irrepressible legacy via the semi-autobiographical Postcards From the Edge.

"You're My Fantasy": Postcards from the Edge an...

Laura Venning remembers Carrie Fisher’s irrepressible legacy via the semi-autobiographical Postcards From the Edge.

The Labour of Love: Made in Dagenham, Silvia Federici, and the on-screen Working Woman

The Labour of Love: Made in Dagenham, Silvia Fe...

Liz Hew celebrates Sally Hawkins’ birthday with a thorough understanding of the conditions of the militant working woman in Made in Dagenham.

The Labour of Love: Made in Dagenham, Silvia Fe...

Liz Hew celebrates Sally Hawkins’ birthday with a thorough understanding of the conditions of the militant working woman in Made...

The Quiet Girl is Finally Talking: The Voices of Eighth Grade and The Edge of Seventeen

The Quiet Girl is Finally Talking: The Voices o...

Emily Maskell looks back on the brilliance of The Edge of Seventeen and Eighth Grade, celebrating the underseen strength of these new teenage girls.

The Quiet Girl is Finally Talking: The Voices o...

Emily Maskell looks back on the brilliance of The Edge of Seventeen and Eighth Grade, celebrating the underseen strength of...

Fleabag, Untethered Intimacy and Breaking the Fourth Wall

Fleabag, Untethered Intimacy and Breaking the F...

Emma Fraser looks back on the history of breaking the fourth wall to pinpoint how Phoebe Waller-Bridge got it so right with Fleabag.

Fleabag, Untethered Intimacy and Breaking the F...

Emma Fraser looks back on the history of breaking the fourth wall to pinpoint how Phoebe Waller-Bridge got it so...

Auntie Xhano: Chronicles of Intimacy in Albanian Cinema

Auntie Xhano: Chronicles of Intimacy in Albania...

Jona Xhepa spotlights the singular legacy of Xhanfize Keko, Albania’s sole female filmmaker.

Auntie Xhano: Chronicles of Intimacy in Albania...

Jona Xhepa spotlights the singular legacy of Xhanfize Keko, Albania’s sole female filmmaker.

Female Beasts: Animalistic Sexuality in Fish Tank and American Honey

Female Beasts: Animalistic Sexuality in Fish Ta...

Savina Petkova dissects the power of human desire through the bodies that experience it, in Andrea Arnold’s last two films.

Female Beasts: Animalistic Sexuality in Fish Ta...

Savina Petkova dissects the power of human desire through the bodies that experience it, in Andrea Arnold’s last two films....

Alice's Wonderland: Neorealist Magic in the Films of Alice Rohrwacher

Alice's Wonderland: Neorealist Magic in the Fil...

Caitlin Quinlan dives into the magic of Italian fantasy-maker Alice Rohrwacher’s filmography.

Alice's Wonderland: Neorealist Magic in the Fil...

Caitlin Quinlan dives into the magic of Italian fantasy-maker Alice Rohrwacher’s filmography.

Hideous Kinky and Learning to Better Love My Mum

Hideous Kinky and Learning to Better Love My Mum

Annie Lord comes to terms with her overprotected teenage years through the anarchic upbringing of two young girls in Hideous Kinky.

Hideous Kinky and Learning to Better Love My Mum

Annie Lord comes to terms with her overprotected teenage years through the anarchic upbringing of two young girls in Hideous...

Meditation Park, a Love Letter to the Second “Coming of Age” for Immigrant Mothers

Meditation Park, a Love Letter to the Second “C...

Priya Minhas reflects on reciprocal healing and immigrant mothers, her own and those on our screens, via Meditation Park.

Meditation Park, a Love Letter to the Second “C...

Priya Minhas reflects on reciprocal healing and immigrant mothers, her own and those on our screens, via Meditation Park.