homosocial desire and female characters
I've heard (some) feminists claim that men are typically subject to homosocial desire: they will hang out with men, value men's opinion higher, and want the appreciation of men. Women, on the other hand, are subject to heterosocial desire - they, too, are focused on men.
I don't know if that's true in real life. It isn't for me, but then I, as you know, am pathetic. But it certainly seems to be true on television.
The "Buddy cop" show is a standard on TV - and slashy as hell. :-) The buddy group a'la A-Team is a classic too. These stories are typically male, although one or two females may appear in the latter. And even leaving these particular genres, a male top billing often means men talking to and caring about other men.
There are also shows with a shared billing: Moonlighting, Lois & Clark, Beauty and the Beast, and so on. These have heterosocial desire (and plain heterosexuality) as their main relationship focus. Newer ensemble shows are often heterosocially oriented or have a mix of male homosociality and general heterosociality (like West Wing).
Female homosociality is rare. There are a few female "buddy cop" shows out there, though not many. Xena, Cagney & Lacey, and Charlie's Angels come to mind. (I can't believe I just used Charlie's Angels as a positive example.) Most other shows with a woman as top billing will have her relating primarily to men. (Dark Angel, Buffy, Ally McBeal.)
The main exception is family. There are quite a few female leads with important family relationships to other women (Charmed, Judging Amy, Gilmore Girls, to a certain extent Roseanne.) But even then, the main relationships outside the family will be to boyfriends or male associates - female relationships exist, but won't be given much screentime.
Even a show like Sex and the City, which has only female characters as the leads, is mainly about the female friends going out to find a man for themselves.
So judging from this, women on TV are either family- or heterosocially oriented. Which is kind of creepy, if my hypothesis holds.
I don't know if that's true in real life. It isn't for me, but then I, as you know, am pathetic. But it certainly seems to be true on television.
The "Buddy cop" show is a standard on TV - and slashy as hell. :-) The buddy group a'la A-Team is a classic too. These stories are typically male, although one or two females may appear in the latter. And even leaving these particular genres, a male top billing often means men talking to and caring about other men.
There are also shows with a shared billing: Moonlighting, Lois & Clark, Beauty and the Beast, and so on. These have heterosocial desire (and plain heterosexuality) as their main relationship focus. Newer ensemble shows are often heterosocially oriented or have a mix of male homosociality and general heterosociality (like West Wing).
Female homosociality is rare. There are a few female "buddy cop" shows out there, though not many. Xena, Cagney & Lacey, and Charlie's Angels come to mind. (I can't believe I just used Charlie's Angels as a positive example.) Most other shows with a woman as top billing will have her relating primarily to men. (Dark Angel, Buffy, Ally McBeal.)
The main exception is family. There are quite a few female leads with important family relationships to other women (Charmed, Judging Amy, Gilmore Girls, to a certain extent Roseanne.) But even then, the main relationships outside the family will be to boyfriends or male associates - female relationships exist, but won't be given much screentime.
Even a show like Sex and the City, which has only female characters as the leads, is mainly about the female friends going out to find a man for themselves.
So judging from this, women on TV are either family- or heterosocially oriented. Which is kind of creepy, if my hypothesis holds.