In defense of the dresden files
One of the most common charges levelled against the Dresden files series is that is mysogonistic. While it is possible to understand where these critics come from, this interpretation isn't entirely accurate.
Point 1: Sexism only gets you into trouble
Harry's sexism is not something that makes his life easier; in fact it often makes it worse. In the first two books his sexism induced secrecy damages his relationship with the police, thus making it harder to stop the supernatural meneces that are ravaging Chicago. His refusal to share information with a female trainee also results in that trainee's death at the hands of a werewolf, meaning that his allegedly "protective" actions ultimately hurt those they were meant to help. It is not until he finally realizes that nothing good can come of this and starts opening up that things get easier for him. For instance, Harry's plan in book 3 to defeat the villain Kravos involves temporarily dying (so that an imprint/ghost can be created to help him) and then being revived with CPR. The most available candidate is his newly half vampire girlfriend susan. Even though she could easily loose control and kill him, he ultimately trusts her with resuscitating him, confiding in her and asking her help. Ultimately the plan works perfectly; harry is revived and with the help of his own ghost he manages to overpower Kravos and kill him. By fully trusting his girlfriend, he was able to succeed, whereas his earlier secrecy and mistrust only hurt him. In book 5 the villain nicodemus lampshades that Harry tends to do stupid things when women are endangered, and Harry (after giving nic what he wants due to not wanting a woman to die) actually acknowledges this. In book 7 he acknowledges that his attitude is backwords and retrograde, and in book 10 he has to restrain himself from attacking the Denarians after they brutally torture a 12 year old precisely because he knows they want him to do so.
Point 2: Female Characters
There are several women characters in the series and while their portrayal is somewhat dodgy early on, they do become far more solid as the series progresses. First up is Harry's partner Karrin Murphy. At first she seems overly judgemental and intolerant of Harry, but even as far back as book 1 it's implied to be Harry's own damn fault. When he stops being secrative and actually fills her in on the important details she starts to trust him more and more. Her background also gives her a legitimate reason for her hostility; if she fails in the SD division, she looses the job she's worked to accuire for years. Harry's advice on the supernatural is the only thing that has kept her afloat as long as she has, so his secrecy ultimately hurts her a great deal. while her accusations of murder in books 1 and 2 may seem far fetched and irrational, they aren't given the circumstances. In the first book he was seemingly the only wizard in town, and he withheld information, something that gaurentees that the police will be suspicious; in book 2 he also lied about his relationship with one of the victims despite an earlier promise. Yes her crying in the first book is somewhat annoying and cringe inducing, but people can sometimes crack under pressure, and murphy is facing a lot of pressure not only to do well, but to try and fit into a male dominated field all while some guy whose suppposed to help her is advising her to be more feminine. She also demonstrates a high degree of intelligence; in book 2 she incapacitates the werewolf loup garou while simultaneously proving that she is far smarter then harry gives her credit for (she uses a method mentioned in a report that he firmly thought she would never ever read) and after saving Harry's life lampshades how stupid he was for thinking she was trying to shoot him. In Aftermath she singlehandedly comes up with a plan to save innocent people from the Formori armed with only stealth and a pistol, which succeeds admirably. Her skills as a detective are also shown to their fullest. Plus she kicks ass many times.
second is Susan Rodrigez, Harry's first girlfriend in the series. At first, she appears to embody the worst sexist traits; shallow, manipultive, and overly sexy. As books 2 and 3 progress, this is fortunately proven wrong. They form a genuine romantic relationship, and she even gives up her memories of Harry to save him from his fairy godmother (Again, it makes more sense in context). Even after getting turned into a half vampire she displays a high level of emotional control. rather then aangsting repeatedly, she decides to use her abilities productively, and when she and harry break up she calmly explains why it will never work. there's no angsting. She also ties up her old life without a fuss. Hell, she manages to keep her problem under countrol for almost a decade. She also displays physical strength post transformation, managing to hold her own against another villain with the strength of a fallen angel behind her.
the final protagonist female is Molly Carpenter, Harry's apprentice: Molly's a well rounded character. She's kind, loyal brave and wants to help people. At the same time she's impulsive, reckless and somewhat short sighted, many of which are common in teenagers. She displays high levels of magical talent, and while harry is somewhat protective of her the main reasons have nothing to do with sexism. Reason 1 is that she's under the doom of damocles with harry (he made a deal to keep her being executed), meaning that if she fails he dies with her. Another reason is that Harry wants to be a good teacher, unlike his first mentor Justin DuMorne (an abusive jerk who later turned out to be a total monster). Harry wants to be a better teacher then his mentor, and molly gives him the chance to do so.
Point 3: The Evolution of Harry throughout the series. There is no denying that the Harry dresden of the first book is a mysogonist. He irrationally believes women are more violent and hateful then dudes, and he dismisses murphy's legitimate concerns. At the same time, he does grow. As mentioned earlier he was willing to trust Susan to give him CPR despite the fact that she could easily kill him, showing that he believes she can control her emotions and impulses. When his freind's daughter inadvertantly screws up the minds of two people, he does not say that her weakness was due to being a woman, but rather due to being a hot heade teenager (and lets be honest teenagers can be pretty hot headed). He even acknowledges that it's a bad thing about himself, which is far more than most people with that kind of attitude can honestly admit. His later interactions with Murphy also show a more mature attitude; the only time he consideres not asking her to get involved is in Turn Coat, and that's because the villain Shagnasty is an obscenely powerful demigod who's torn apart a group of werewolves; as powerful as Murphy is, she's only a mortal, and while he has no problem asking her to get involved vampires are far less powerful then shagnasty and can be matched by mortals. He even learns to restrain his overly chivalrous impulses in book 10, while his admission of having a hard time understanding women is just that; an admission of his own weaknesses. Now some might say that improvement is not enough, that he should overcome it. No offense, but prejudice is rarely overcome completely; some elements may linger. Compared to most people with prejudices Harry has changed largely for the better.
Point 4: Narrative voice: finally, people use the voice to say that the author also endorses the character's views. first of all, first person perspectives are not unbiased. If the events and actions of the characters supported it maybe there would be a case, but as i mentioned earlier his views are repeatedly proven false, they get him into trouble and make his life harder, and they are repeatedly challenged by others (his male friend michael calls him out on his flimsy excuse to avoid having a real relationship with susan beyond dating. So it's safe to say that the character's flaws are only the flaws of the character, not the writer.
I am not advocating that everyone love the dresden files. there are plenty who don't and i acknowledge that.
still, they are not mysogonistic as people claim.