 Other critics labeled Juno as feminist because of its portrayal of Juno as a confident and intelligent teenage girl. Antifeminist Phyllis Schlafly wrote that Juno's theme "isn't love, romance, or respect for life, but the triumph of feminist ideology, i.e., the irrelevancy of men, especially fathers". Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe concluded "Juno serves cool, intelligent girls something they rarely see in a movie: themselves". Cody said about writing the film, "Women are clever, women are funny, women are sharp, and I wanted to show that these girls were human and not the stereotypical teenage girls that we often see in the media" and "There was a lack of authentic teen girl characters ... I saw writing this screenplay as an opportunity to create an iconic female." Page praised the film for its positive depiction of teenage girls, describing Juno's character as "really refreshing and allow [ing] for new possibilities in what young women can be" and "honest but original, completely devoid of stereotype", while also highlighting that "Girls haven't had that sort of character before. We don 't have our Catcher in the Rye". She criticized the media perception of her character as a "strong woman", arguing that if Juno were a male character, the "strength" of the character would not be considered remarkable. Reitman was interested in the personal / political conflict for Vanessa's character: "Feminism has paved the way for Vanessa ’ s career, but ultimately Vanessa wants to be a full time mother."
