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of the fairly recent problem that nobody knows what "the rules" are, and nobody can agree on what "the rules" are, and so one deals with a mishmash of behavior codes that doesn't seem to please anyone. While it's true that I don't plan to watch any of the shows listed, and doubt I'd like them, there is something about the litany of complaints that makes me want to say "OK, so bashing men is bad, and powerful women making money is bad, and schlubby cave men are bad, and powerless men are bad, but powerful men are also bad, and the old way was bad--Jesus, will ANYTHING make you happy?"
So I'll state the distasteful (to some) obvious. Most women are some degree of uncomfortable about being with a man who is "weaker" than she, whether he be physically weaker or smaller, or makes less money. There are exceptions, and of course a lot of people manage to get past their discomfort, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist, and we'd be unable to get at what bothers us if we pretended otherwise. The most comfortable place for many women--even those who consider themselves "feminists"-- would be within a half step or quarter step of their "man". Not two steps, not even one step behind, but not two steps ahead either. People can moan about how this is wrong, but it's as close to a "universal truth" for our times as any... Turning that system on its head one way or another causes conflict--and TV shows. If there's something mysoginistic about those shows, it's the spite--as if to say "you women wanted to be more powerful than men--now that you are, you see what you've made them into? You've made them into men you wouldn't want, and then you whine that there are no good men." It sounds ridiculous, but I would be surprised if there were NO analogs to that situation in real life.
Perfect equality isn't possible or even necessarily desirable, but I like the idea of dividing up responsibilities fairly evenly by ability AND mixing "traditional" and "non-traditional" gender roles. Works in our house, anyway...
