Feminism ruins everything.

But this really attractive woman is denoted as a geeky scientist who no man would be attracted to because she wears glasses

Remember Jane from Neighbours....

Oh the girl geek badge
Bloody Arrow is the worst, only I never enjoyed it. But this really attractive woman is denoted as a geeky scientist who no man would be attracted to because she wears glasses.
Grrrrrrd

Lass - likely that 'general feminist you' probably is on the same page as you are. Why all the scientists (and token, derided engineer to make it worse) are all misfits of varying degree is beyond me, before we start on the sexism. Who decided that it was mandatory to plonk specs on both the main female scientists like a girl-geek badge? More Leslie might have helped.

Humour is subjective of course but I found the problem with The Big Bang was that it's not funny.

I only watched a few of the early episodes but the canned laughter , obvious jokes and the lazy stereotyping that anyone who was interested in / good at maths is some sort of social misfit was awful.

It seems odd that if you (general feminist you, not you individually) think there are barriers in getting women into Science and Maths that a comedy whose premises is that people who are into those things are geeky asocial misfits would ever have been given the time of day. My husband, who was a physicist before his career change hated it for that reason.

I op, I absolutely, understand what you mean. I judge every thing. I love the Big Bang theory. I think it one of best comedies I have ever watched.
But I have my but about them too.
When the cast is read out to you, it all sounds amazing and very forward thinking. The problem with them is in the editing and nitty gritty details that a lot of people will miss. The problem lies with the portrayal of the women.

I will explain why. You only here about what the women do. You rarely see them do.
Penny.
When she did her acting job, you actually saw her do acting and behave stupidly. It's was made fun off. Now that she has a better job. You only here about it.

Bernadette
She is portrayed as the nagging wife
Her husband basically made a younger version of his mother
You only here about her work. You are meant to believe she does the job she does. Now they have got her pregnant and probably her life will have to be fulfilled. It will be interesting how it will play out when the baby comes along.

Amy
We have snippet of her at work but they have all been in her house with the monkey.
Other than, that nothing.
They show a side to her as someone who would easily give into whatever Sheldon wants as long as the relationship keeps going.

The men
Their work is the central to the show. You actually see them doing the maths calculation. Discussing the theories and trying to figure out answers. Talking about topics that is of their interest rather than what one the women have done. (They do talk about the women but it's not why they are in the show. The women are there because of them)
With the women together is usually about the men, what one is hiding, done or about to do.

And that is a coward thinking show with female scientist.

The Sapphires'. If you haven't the basic idea is that it is a movie with literally no diversity but no one cares or even brought up this fact in any main stream reviews. It's a movie were the whole cast are aboriginal women. Yet when there is something like a full white male cast it's racist and sexist. Double standards. Jesus wept. Seriously?
The movie is loosely based on a true story. All the people the girls competed against where white.
Their manager is white. The worst part is whether it's sexism or racism, when the movies was advertised in America they made Chris O'Dowed look like the leading character in promotional pictures. Double standard my arse!

www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/03/22/the-sapphires-tony-briggs-and-his-mum-on-racism-in-australia-music-more.html

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/10225235/Backlash-over-sexist-and-racist-DVD-cover-of-The-Sapphires.html

I'm cheered by the idea of Emma Carter bringing new hope to the galaxy though.

On the other hand, as well as 'ruining' lots of films/books etc, feminism allows you to appreciate many books/films on a deeper level by allowing you to feel empathy for female characters such as the above mentioned Charlotte. On a less literary level, as a child I loved the Narnia books but always felt uncomfortable at the demonising of Susan because she grew up to enjoy worldly things such as lipstick (because I could see I was headed for a similar fate!) As an adult, feminism helps me to have huge sympathy for that character.

I thought it was a bit much, though, when she was played by an aboriginal woman in the film.

OP I read 'Handle with care' years ago, it's one of my favourite JP books. I've been raking my brain but i can't remember any rape scene.

Can you give more info (or a page number) so I can dig out my copy and find it? I'm interested to see how i completely missed it.

The Big Bang Theory is an American sitcom about a group of 4 nerdy men and ThymeLord is spot on about it.

The big bang theory? Is this the name of a film? Because the idea that it might be racist stopped me in my tracks. What about gravity? Is that sexist or am I missing the boat largesome? I think I may have Sellotape poisoning.

I had a brief period of loving The Walking Dead but I'm now several series behind. I really liked the Carol/ Daryl plot line.

Yeah exactly stealth DH watches and I dip in and out but have been really annoyed by it recently.

Walking dead - can only talk superficially but it's got worse as all the female characters turn to ironing.

*sexist

I know it's not exactly highbrow but...I can't watch the big bang theory anymore. I sit shouting at the TV It's hugely sexism and I think very racist too.

I can't watch James Bond films anymore

I don't think you have to have a moment of feminist enlightenment to see how rubbish they are.

That's interesting, M0stly, as that passage struck a chord with me too. The TV version definitely conveyed Charlotte's resigned tolerance of Mr Collins, and the sense that almost any marriage was, for many women, better than nothing. We are left comfortingly aware that Charlotte is well able to get her own way, being far cleverer than Mr Collins who, though incredibly annoying, is no brute.

Mary Stewart "Wildfire at Midnight" which I loved as a teen
The Walking Dead

I accept that circumstances were very different for the women that both Georgette Heyer and Jane Austen were writing about.

As far as Austen is concerned, I think we are meant to see this as social commentary. And because she is writing contemporaneously to her characters lives, she has a certain set of assumptions about the way the world is that you just have to accept.

In my opinion, Heyer's novels are supposed to be fluffy, lightweight romances, and they work as such. But if you delve a little more closely, it can feel a bit more uncomfortable.

I do like A Civil Contract, though. (I like most of them, but they don't all bear scrutiny.) Jenny and Adam don't have a big love affair, but they do find a happy and loving companionship.

ENO are putting on Carousel, next year, which I am somewhat shocked about. Surely they could have chosen a musical that doesn't glorify domestic violence.

Watch any 'disaster' movie. You've probably got 1 female expert. Loads of male experts - whose appearance varies - as it does in life.

The female expert is invariably not attractive at all, oh no, until she takes her glasses off and lets her hair down...

(On the other hand, it almost always one of the male experts who makes a massive gaffe that almost kills everyone, or is just a plain baddie...e.g. Jurassic Park).

Prawn - one of the most acute exchanges in P&P and one that I absolutely love is this one between Charlotte and Elizabeth:

Well,'' said Charlotte, I wish Jane success with all my heart; and if she were married to him to-morrow, I should think she had as good a chance of happiness as if she were to be studying his character for a twelvemonth. Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties are ever so well known to each other, or ever so similar before-hand, it does not advance their felicity in the least. They always contrive to grow sufficiently unlike afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.''

``You make me laugh, Charlotte; but it is not sound. You know it is not sound, and that you would never act in this way yourself.''

Now obviously this is a point in the novel where (although Elizabeth and the reader don't know it yet) Charlotte is trying to talk herself into marrying Mr. Collins, but I've always wondered if it was also a cynical joke on JA's part, and much closer to her real opinions about marriage than otherwise.

My DH and I watched Pride and Prejudice on TV many years ago. It was fun to watch it with someone who didn't know the story or anything about the social mores of the period. He very much approved of Darcy rescuing Lydia, felt that it was just the sort of thing a man who loved a woman would do for her: practical and something she couldn't do herself. But his main reaction was horror, and a kind of awe, that people in a world where divorce was impossible had to decide on a potential partner from the few clues offered by brief meetings ruled by convention and in the presence of others. For men this was bad enough. He felt terribly sorry for the women, though he loved the story.