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Sunday, Nov 8, 2009
All these so-called "empowering" women characters on TV exist for one reason: to serve as a warning to those of us with any ambition that if we succeed we'll end up with an empty materialistic shell of a life or a man who despises us because he feels emasculated by doing housework or making less money than we do.
Now thank God I've met a few real men in my time because I know this does not IMHO reflect reality. This is a sort of Hollywood propaganda/cautionary tale/nah-nah-ni-pooh-pooh fit at professional women.
But I think it does impact women and our perception of reality and our sense of self. This is not designed to shape mens opinions ... because men are not the enforcers of patriarchal attitudes. No, this is to get women to doubt themselves and snipe at one another.
So all you men out there who think your wives and girlfriends are getting perfectionistic and defensive, get them to turn off the TV and turn on some music and play Scrabble rent stuff like Secrets of the Dead on PBS! (Like CSI for The History Channel ... always a good time!)
LeCastor! nice to see your name! but as usual, i disagree with you (back to former persona). you say, "France has a women's labor participation rate of nearly 80%, while the US cannot break 60%? How about our college degree attainment rate of only about 23%?" what's so great about WORKING?
There is an inherent value in working: you spend time with other adults, if your work is challenging, you are exercising your brain, you are dealing with new situations, you are at the pinnacle of Maslow's self-actualization: problem-solving.
i thought the french were more civilized. they mandate two people working, but they each only work 35 hours? no wonder they have to pay people to have children!
I'm not sure how those things connect, but in fact France has one of the highest birth rates in Europe, as of late. Or would you attribute that to the Muslims? The French love to blame everything on them.
there are 3 women for each 2 men in college. School is for Girls! everyone knows that. didn't used to be, but now it is.
I'm not sure what your point is with this either.
and on top of that, how many people *ought* to go to college? One manager per worker? (with undocumenteds doing all the scut work)
That's a good point, but I don't think going up to 30% or even 35% would hurt society, do you? After all, you could make the same argument about high school education -- there are many jobs that don't even require a high school education, yet we aspire to have universal high school graduation. Why is that?
and are all young and look like models (with the obligatory stubble). in actuality men LOVE their children! and looks? who sees them! later, when the kids are 5 or so, they look up to their fathers like they were Superman. that fades, but they *still* really like the old man. (except in memoirs and TV - it's "all happy families are alike", a boring story)
I'm somewhat appalled that as part of the new "men are the new women" television season, the shows focus on all the stereotypical negatives of our gender (i.e., women's, for those of you who were home-schooled and don't catch on as quickly).
In these shows the men-who-are-now-women are are jealous of others' success, not good at backing down when confronted, and manipulative sexually and in the workplace. This makes them women?
I have always liked men, but with the exception of a small lapse in my twenties, never wanted to live with one. And after hearing about these new shows that supposedly mirror the new heterosexual reality, thank God I discovered at age 25 that I am a lesbian....! And once-cute Billy Baldwin doing a tranvestite? That's just damn SCARY.
"Besides, at what I'm earning, there are only a small class of the i-banker-lawyer-etc. stratum of society that earns more than me." but lying about salary has always been, heretofore, a male prerogative, hasn't it?
The first thing I learned about being a man is not to whine. Some people are smarter, some are better looking, faster, stronger, better singers, whatever. Masculinity is about competing and accepting the outcome.
Petulance isn't sexy. Neither is incompetence, Judd Apatow notwithstanding.
It should actually be: Whatever happened to TV. Period. If violence is not in a show it will not be succesful. Thanks for the Britcoms, on can at least have a smile and/or a laugh and enjoy them. Whatever happened to the production departments of the networks. Thank you to PBS for the am shows and their other sensible programming.
A first-year attorney in NYC in BigLaw earns more than Gen. Petraeus and only a couple of thousand dollars less than a Senator. Look it up. A true fact.
But anyway, that's not the point.
you were snooty *before* you got a job, LeCastor, now you are light years beyond. or did they offer you a partnership right upon graduation? cut the crap, LeC, it's an easier life.
what, are you having your period today or something? calm down.
I said working has inherent value. Yes, it is satisfying. I don't know what you do for work, but I rather enjoy problem-solving and using my head to work on complicated, interesting "puzzles."
Some jobs are obviously more satisfactory for some people than others, but not all work is necessarily being a "drone," agreed?
My guess is that mainstream sitcomes and especially dramas are watched by more women than men and that's why they are being developed the way they are.
I'm a male and these are some of the shows/channels I (unashamedely :) watch:
- Comedy Central
- Daily Show
- Colbert Report
- Fox
- Family Guy
- PBS
- Nature
- Blue Planet
- Discovery Channel
- Mythbusters
- Animal Planet
- Animal Cops
- HBO
- Flight of the Conchords
- Entourage
- Movies
- Bravo
- Top Chef
- Project Runway
- NBC
- The Office
- A&E
- Intervention
Do you notice something? No primetime sitcoms or dramas with ONE exception. The Office.
I simply don't care about primetime dramas or sitcoms. And I get most of my news from the internet.
Most men I know have similar tastes in terms of channels and shows. I know very few men who watch primetime sitcoms or dramas.
Maybe this is simply marketing?
Much of the initial coverage about Fort Hood turned out to be wrong. Is there anything wrong with that?
The accountability imposed by another country for the CIA's kidnapping and torture reveals much about our own.
Fox News' morning show plays to type, talking about whether Muslims in the Army should face "special debriefings"
The survivor and author is upset about comparisons some on the right are making to genocide
219 Democrats and one Republican join in favor of the legislation, which passed by a narrow margin
Salon headlines in your mailbox
