I was listening to Pandora this morning while working on a paper when an ad for a new NBC show "Prime Suspect" came on. Set in New York City, the basic plot revolves around a female detective trying to prove herself in a man's world amongst male co-workers who don't really want to work with her. Interesting.
The ad did its job well and sparked my curiosity enough to get me to wander over to YouTube and check this thing out. Not surprisingly, my suspicions were confirmed: Blonde? Check. Beautiful? Of course. Tough? Yep. She's also brilliant, smarter than all the dummy male detectives she works with, and highly driven, determined to catch the bad guy and bring them to justice every time. And, lest we hate her for being perfect, she sometimes reveals glimpses of a dark and mysterious past behind that tough exterior. Add to all these likable qualities her sensitive side and genuine compassion for the victims she encounters in the line of duty, and she's exactly the kind of woman we want fighting for justice, right?
But her type is really all too familiar. It seems every other crime show on TV has a main character with strikingly similar qualities. The Closer. Bones. Saving Grace. Cold Case. The Mentalist. Rizzoli & Isles. In Plain Sight. Alias... The list goes on. Even those that lack such a female lead, usually manage to incorporate a similar character as a prominent supporting actress. Any given version of CSI or Law & Order provides a good example in this case, and even comedy shows like Psych manage to fit a strong female detective into the cast.
When did such caricatures of women become the norm, and how should we respond to this cultural phenomenon?
Only foolishness or naivety would fail to see anything significant in such an obvious trend. The fact is that it communicates something about the way our society thinks of women. Our culture proclaims that these are the kind of women that are admirable, the kind of women that we can look up to and respect. It sets them on a pedestal as an example to be followed. They can do anything they want, whenever they want, because they answer to no one but themselves. They can keep up with and even show-up any man, and most of the time they don't need anyone or anything but themselves because they are so strong. These are great women.
Ironically, many of the qualities esteemed in these women are actually very masculine attributes. Our society apparently values women who act like men, and it seems a woman is most admirable and worthy of respect when she acts less like a woman, and more like a man. If women who actually behave like women are not worthy to be the heroines of our TV shows, is there any value in being womanly at all?
Herein lies the fundamental flaw of feminism. In attempting to free women from the oppression of men and elevate the status of women in society, women were given the right to do and be anything that a man does and is. But the ironic thought lying behind that shift communicates that the things a woman does and is are somehow inferior. In order to be free from man, woman had to become man. As a result, today's women are merely subjected to another stereotype, trapped yet again by men in that now they must imitate them in order to be valued or respected.
The biblical view of woman is entirely different. In the beginning, God created her to be distinct from man, to complement and correspond to him. He designed Eve to be Adam's helper, not his clone. Men and women have different roles, but that does not make them different in value or worth. God created them both in His image, and both possess inherent value as His image-bearers. Nor can one simply argue that any gender role distinctions were a result of the fall. God set them in place before sin entered the world. The New Covenant doesn't erase these distinctions either. New Testament writers like Paul refer back to this created order when teaching how men and women ought to behave in the church.
When you read the Scriptures and carefully observe how God speaks of women, it becomes apparent how far from truth the world has fallen. God's Word assumes a difference between men and women, while this world attempts to blur those lines of distinction more and more.
Today's TV heroines may not appear to preach their worldly message with plain words, but the truth is that they are communicating something. Don't be fooled. Just say no to the heroine of the day. Labels: Bible/theology, feminism, reflections