To think DH is lucky I'm so fucking reasonable?!!!

[bertiesgal]

We were watching one of the many many alien franchise films (actually I was arsing about on my phone as they all look the same to me-unless Sigourney has the starring role-swoons ).

One of the male characters started to vomit blood.

The female trained nurse in the team ran away crying and started sobbing to the control centre that she'd "never seen anything like it" and was scared etc. The man in the control room was her husband and said something along the lines of "calm down sweet heart".

I can't remember the last time I saw a man sobbing dramatically with fear in a film but I'm pretty sure I could name 10 movies off the top of my head with hysterical females.

To add insult to injury the actress is playing a trained nurse.

She will most likely have seen plenty of people vomit blood and if remotely competent will have remained calm and professional throughout.

I'm pissed off that women are portrayed as hysterical idiots in so many films.

I work in medicine and I can't remember the last time we stopped CPR because a female team member was too emotional!

Initially DH agreed with me and I felt all pleased that I had such a lovely DH. Five minutes later he decided as it's all fantasy, my point is nonsense and that I'm just wasting a good movie.

He then proceeded to impersonate my upset every time a man appeared on the screen "oh look at the way that man's convulsing, they'd only make a man look so pathetic" and on and on it went.

AIBU to think that this kind of crap and totally unrealistic portrayal of "hysterical" women exacerbates sexism and is subtly holding women back?

Also is my DH's mockery as hurtful as I find it or am I just tired and grumpy?

It's even worse as the original movies were among the first and few to portray an incredible character who just happened to have a vagina!

I'm a bit livid and could do with your wise words mumsnetters .

No you're right to be annoyed. I'd be supremely pissed off.

You're right its always the woman who is shrieking and running away. If she was a nurse she would have calmly seen to the victim and then quietly cleaned up after, in fact most women would too!

It's hard for men to hear. Imagine being told exactly what kind of arsehole your privilege makes your kind and having to empathize with the 'other' for two minutes. I've done anti-discrimination training and there were white people who walked out and didn't come back.

He needs to stop being part of the problem though. Poor DH has heard it so many times but it took having a DD for him to internalize it.

The strange thing is that I initially watched it from the corner of my eye in a kind of accepting way and then thought about the utter shit storm of a week I've had at work with a bunch of women who have just rolled their sleeves up and got on with it.

It's so normal in Hollywood that had I not recognised the scenario and compared it to my own consistently phenomenal experience of trained nurse responding to a spot of bloody vomit I'd probably have let it pass me by!

The early Alien films really had something interesting to say so it's annoying that these spin offs revert to the very stereotypes the originals subvert. Really, the only answer is to grab a bottle of ketchup and a cunningly fashioned, evil-looking sock puppet and wake DH by reinacting John Hurt's stomach scene from Alien to see whether his shrieks can match the nurse's. 'Tis only what he deserves.

One of the things that is a pitty is that apart from the sigourney weaver alien films the rest are utter garbage.

Also I think it might be the same the film but in the newest one the medically/combat trained nurse who is a women not only runs away at the first signs of blood but runs back with gun, Miss fires it, slips on the previously mentioned blood, gets her ankle broken in an automatic door and then when she finally shoots it blows the entire ship up. Honestly it was ridiculous! If you had but benny hill music over it, it would have been one hell of a comedy sketch!

This so unrealistic it irritated the hell out of me!

Pfft my only reaction to a man vomiting blood was to think, "shit where are my gloves?" And shout at him to turn his head so he didn't aspirate. And I'm not even a nurse, I was a lowly homeless worker in a shelter dealing with an OD. May have saved his life while the blokes in the room stood about but whatever

This is why i love the Resident evil franchise, ok the live action films not so much (based on storyline) but the games and live action/cgi films are full of bad ass women.
I also loved the film doomsday for that reason.
I'm trying to think of films with overly fraidy cat males, and tbh i cant actually think of one.

Tbf in alien 3 sigourney weaver has to deal with quite a lot of male prisoners who are supposed to be the baddest men in the universe but turn into a cowardy cowardy custard at the sight of an alien!

Also almostajillsandwich loving the screen name!!!! Love the resident evil games and films!!!!

Also have to add the guy in Jurassic park who runs away, hides in the toilet and leaves the kids to get eaten by the t-Rex! He does not cover himself in glory!!

Gah. Men can be such dicks.

Alien. Fucking. Covenant.

I was forced to have two whispered angry rants during that film because the science officer collecting samples was an inept, squealing mess too. My DP had the common sense/instinct for self-preservation to join the ranting though.

I am really cross with the Alien franchise now and daren't see any more of the films at the cinema because the urge to angrily tear them to pieces is too strong. It would've cost exactly the same to make a film which didn't belittle and misrepresent half its audience. What a sad, sad waste of potential. Ripley would not be impressed.

I argue with DH about everyday sexism a lot. And he eyerolls at me. Twat.

Oh and may I please second the sock puppet wake up call idea? Let the punishment fit the crime.

And when I introduced him to the concept of the Bechdel test he spent ages coming up with films and TV shows which passed.

IME, women are far better able to deal with blood than men, partly because we generally don't get a choice. All the people I know who are squeamish about blood, broken bones or anything like that, they're all men.

Stereotypes are often rubbish.

LTB.

The Bechdel test is something which normally silences men - it;s pretty damning for -shockingly- most mainstream films. Even Harry Potter struggled. And that was JK Rowling.

It's the '2 named female characters have to have a conversation that is not about a man' that sorts the wheat from the chaff, and there's not a lot films that pass.

Alien the original passes, I think. Possibly Alien II.

Alien II passed because of Newt and Vasquez.

Alien I passed because of Lambert.

Seriously, WHO starts exploring an alien world without at least a face mask and/or respirator????

The newest Jurassic Park film was the most sexist piece of shit I've ever seen.

There's an Alien franchise without Sigourney?

Misses point completely

@HeartsTrumpDiamonds it is the same in this house Every time I say something I am accused of being 'Germaine fucking Greer'

I haven't seen all the aliens but from your description I'd have thought the same as you.

I'd find it so frustrating to have a partner who belittled my opinions though