With female writers and directors involved, Crazy Ex Girlfriend has become an absolute masterpiece for portraying women's issues and points of view more than almost any other show out there. Rachel Bloom and the cast also add a lovely element of comedy that makes talking about things such as yeast infections fun instead of stressful.
The show also makes sure to slyly educate people through quick back-and-forths between male and female characters, the portrayal of women's health and sex, and of course - its many, many, many songs about the experience of living in the world as a woman.
The Sexy Getting Ready Song
By far one of the catchiest tunes in the whole show focuses on just how much it takes to be up to the beauty standards society has set for women. All the shaving, the waxing, the scrubbing... There is a reason this song is in the very first episode before Rebecca (and other female characters too) starts to break away from these rigid expectations and become more herself.
Beauty expectations harm all genders, not only women. However, it is true that often women tend to deal with the worst kinds of body shaming and beauty expectations. The way this song makes fun of the extremes that could be seen as 'normal' makes it easier for the viewer to perhaps also take their own looks less seriously.
Feeling Kinda Naughty
There is a sort of beautiful irony in the fact that this song is a direct parody of Katy Perry's "I Kissed A Girl", especially since at the end of the music video, Rebecca ionately kisses Valencia. The societal guidebook on female friendships is often riddled with jealousy, competition, and hate, and this song plays with how that might develop.
"Feeling Kinda Naughty" is a satirical song that takes competition and 'cattiness' to the extreme, with Rebecca claiming to want to imprison Valencia and torture her, but also become like her and get Valencia's approval at the same time. The complicated relationship between the two women thankfully grows and flourishes in the later seasons, but it is clear at this point that both of them have very complicated thoughts about each other. As Paula so eloquently puts it: "Women of equal sexual viability hate each other".
Sex With A Stranger
This song puts a comical spin on a very dark subject. Here, Rebecca is about to hook up with a guy from Tinder, but due to the fast nature of their encounter, she's not sure she can trust him. As she puts it: "I hope you're not a murderer. Please don't be a murderer."
While this song might seem hyperbolic to a lot of people, it is the kind of thought women often have to deal with. Women are taught from a young age to fear the possibility of being attacked or killed, especially when meeting men for a first date. So to some, this song is the perfect macabre metaphor about meeting men online.
Put Yourself First
The song "Put Yourself First" is an absolutely hilarious song about some of the major failures of the women's empowerment movement - how it often repackages the same patriarchal ideas, just in a different outfit. As the fantastic Audre Lorde said, "For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house".
This song uses satire to demonstrate this exact feeling. During it, Rebecca consistently asks about the inconsistencies in it. The girls tell her to wear heels "just for yourself", and Rebecca asks whether she shouldn't just be comfortable, since it's "just for herself". The girls give her a firm 'no' and keep on singing.
I Gave You A UTI
UTIs are incredibly common and experienced by Crazy Ex Girlfriend addresses women's sexual health, because if there is something this show enjoys, is hammering home the point whether through song or repetition.
The fact that this song is sung by Greg is also important in its own right - while a UTI is not an STI, it can still almost carry the same stigma, which often makes telling partners an awkward experience. The fact that Greg sings this song adds to its lightheartedness, and includes not just Rebecca's feelings, but Greg's reactions.
The Buzzing From The Bathroom
Earlier in the same episode, there is a very interesting conversation that goes on in the office about a topic most women know about, but a lot of men do not - the orgasm gap. Maya brings up while reading a magazine that a low percentage of women orgasm during sex with men, prompting Tim to claim his wife orgasms with him every single time.
This prompts Paula to snarkily tell him he has not once made his wife have an orgasm. This song is the climax (no pun intended) to his realization, which prompts him to communicate better with his wife and have a better sex life.
First Penis I Saw
This ABBA-inspired song about Paula's first love and sexual partner is a candid and fantastic piece on women's sexuality and the ups and downs of it all. Women are often expected to feel ashamed to talk about their past sexual partners and experiences, but this song throws all that out the window.
"First Penis I Saw" is a hilarious celebration of sexuality. It feels like such a provocative title because of the underlying cultural ideas that sexuality should not be enjoyed or spoken of out loud, and it does a great job of challenging those ideas.
The Miracle Of Birth
The beautiful style of this song belies the extremely graphic nature of the lyrics about childbirth. The song beautifully challenges the idea that childbirth is the slightly-sweaty-but-otherwise-lovely experience often portrayed on TV. And impressively, for a song this short, it contains a surprising amount of medically accurate information about birth.
During the actual birth scenes, Daryl is seen telling the doctor that Heather would not like to take any of the painkillers - to which Heather yells at the doctor to go get her some. As a final dig on how birth is often portrayed on TV, Daryl enters Heather's room later wondering why she is not sweaty and in pain, to which she responds that all those shows were written by men, and she cannot feel a thing due to the epidural.
Cats
The writers of Crazy Ex Girlfriend definitely do not shy away from taboo topics. Through their "Cats" metaphors in the fourth season, they cover topics such as arousal, vaginal smell, and a yeast infection.
Rebecca's yeast infection is a major plot point of an entire episode, with the character even mishandling it and having to deal with the consequences of it. In the end, she tells her potential date, something she is clearly embarrassed and scared to do. Thankfully, the situation is resolved positively and shows women everywhere what they should expect when dealing with the same.