There's a commercial on TV put out by Pizza Hut. The whole idea is that it's Dad's night to make dinner, and the kids and mom are all dreading it. Only, in the end, they're suprised and pleased to find that Dad didn't actually cook anything - he just ordered pizza. You see, he's too incompetent to cook anything - that's women's work.
What is it with men being portrayed as idiots on television these days? Or has it always been that way and for some reason, I'm just more attuned to it right now? But, let's see...there's the classic fat slobby guy with beautiful wife (According to Jim, King of Queens), the dumb father (Everybody loves Raymond), and the Neanderthal-esque grunting man who desperately needs woman for any rational thought (okay, I'm sure this one's still on TV, but I don't watch enough sitcoms to know their premise...but Home Improvement was a classic example). And...dare I say...The Simpsons. But, okay, Homer is animated and not really believable as a man. All of The Simpsons is exaggerated to make a point, so that one doesn't count.
Why is this okay, and where did this idea come from? Catherine and I were talking about this recently, and she's the one who actually pointed it out to me because she was so offended. Why wasn't I offended first?
It seems, though, that maybe this trend is passing. And maybe it's because of the writer's strike or the fact that there's really no good sitcoms on anymore (save NBC Thursday nights), but hopefully this ends soon. Men should be offended by this, don't you think?
Or do you think that maybe that's just what comedy is about? Something that every man can recognize in himself (certainly I see in myself Tim Taylor's need to fix and build everything myself or the laziness of those other guys) only taken to the extreme to be funny.
But, the point is, this doesn't happen with women as much, does it? Typically, the woman in these situations is competent, bright, and completely capable, whereas the man is utterly hopeless. I think that situation only serves to further stereotypes that men are emotionless, driven only by their appetites, and unthoughtful. That's gotta stop!
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5 comments:
You're right. Women aren't portrayed as incompetent. However, they have just as many stereotypes attached to them on shows - just diff. ones, like overly emotional, fall apart kind of girl.
There are two new shows on about women execs (Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle) and I've seen bits and pieces and they make me CRAZY. They are supposed to show the improved woman who can do it all: career, family, friends. Yet they end up making women look just as dumb and irrational as many other types of portrayals.
We should all be offended for both sides.
Yep, that's true. I guess I wasn't trying to say that women aren't painted as badly as men - just that men get a bum wrap lately. But, if I'm going to say that, I should also recognize that women do too. And perhaps, they've been subject to that kind of thing much longer than men have.
Tv sucks, lets all watch sports instead.
Writers are lazy, TV is lazy, Hollywood is lazy. Just look at the movie titles that come out every summer. "Title of Movie 3," or "Title of Movie 6" in Rocky and Rambo's case. Its an art form, they say, but art should be original. All they do now is reproduce what has been a success in the past. Zero creativity. Thus the fat, slob, stupid man is forced on us over and over again.
I noticed this the other day on the Today Show when a female commentator said that Eliot Spitzer's prominent brow and high cheekbones reflected high testosterone levels, which explained his behavior.
Can you imagine the outrage if a man had made a similar remark about a woman's waist to hip ratio?
That being said, the reaction I'm getting from my friends about Hillary Clinton is a reminder to me that women still have to deal with sexism in a real (and perhaps more serious) way.
I like your blog! Hope and Catherine are doing well.
I've often wondered about this! Thanks for putting my thoughts to words. :-)
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