Male Bashing As A Bad Habit
Dr. Helen notes that the magazine Cosmopolitan has broken a mild taboo -- talking about the detrimental effects of male bashing on relationships in general. They refeence it in terms of how it damages women, of course, but the magazine hits the problem head-on otherwise:
The advice is good and direct, such as telling women to stop telling their dates they are not like the jerks they usually date. "You're actually broadcasting for the most part, you think dudes suck." To break the habit, the author suggests when your girlfriends start guy trashing, you change the subject. Or, "if a girlfriend says that guys never commit, ger her to see how silly it is to make such broad statements by making one about women, like, 'I know, and women start shopping for a wedding dress after the third date.'" Cosmo gives suggestions (but should you really need this advice after the age of 12?) that women should ditch lines like "Men are dogs" or "Unless its football, it's too complicated for his brain."
Until I mostly gave up episodic network television, I found this to be doubly true in entertainment and in advertising aimed at women. Men were made helpless by washing machines, mops, cold & flu season, food preparation, and with any other product whose most discerning consumers -- women -- would certainly choose the advert's brand. Fathers on sitcoms were emasculated, ridiculous boors getting daily comeuppances from their wives and their children.
One exception to this was The Cosby Show, a deliberate exception as conceived by Bill Cosby himself. Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played his son Theo in the series, told a story about his audition that highlighted Cosby's choice. He read for the part in the manner most TV series used, with a snotty, back-talking, sarcastic manner. Cosby stopped Warner and asked, "Do you talk to your parents like that?" Warner said no, and Cosby then asked, "So why would you talk to me like that?"
Unfortunately, it was one of the few exceptions. Male-bashing has continued for most of one generation and into the next, but perhaps we may finally have tired of it, even if we haven't learned any lessons from it. (via Instapundit)
Posted by Ed Morrissey on March 10, 2007 10:38 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)
