Thoughts I had while watching NBC's medical drama: 'The Night Shift'
Now, thankfully TV doesn't always inspire in me the level of RAGE that the most recent episode of NBC's medical drama, 'The Night Shift' inspired in me last night (March 23rd, 2015, episode titled: 'Don't Shift Where You Eat'). 'Cause otherwise I'd needing serious therapy. (PS: This discussion can be followed even if you have never seen the show -please do weigh if you wish to since this post is more about the portrayal of women in popular culture in general than any one specific show.)
A brief summary of the episode in question is here.
To summarize though, here is a brief summary of the plot point I am referring to.
Essentially, a female intern (i.e. young physician in training) has been 'hooking up' (term used during the episode in question) with a young male nurse. During the episode we are treated to the growing attraction between the aforementioned female intern and a male surgeon who has supervised said female intern on many occasions. As for the young male nurse, he was initially shown to be quite content as a nurse (i.e. rather than wanting to become a physician) yet another (male) character suggests that he seems unhappy and needs to figure out what is bothering him (my read of this scene was that this 'unhappiness' may refer to not having a more committed relationship OR it may refer to his 'only' being a nurse). Someone (male) during the episode asks someone else whether they have ever seen a successful relationship between a MALE nurse and a FEMALE physician. The episode ends with our young male nurse being witness to a passionate kiss between the young woman he has been seeing and the previously mentioned surgeon.
Question: Why did this make me so angry?
The answer: The answer lies in the power dynamics accepted in heterosexual romantic relationships. In other words this episode crystallized something for me which had been niggling at me when I watched other TV shows, namely that partnerships between equals are (sometimes!) popularly accepted, as are partnerships where an imbalance exists but the balance of power lies in the hand of the MAN (always accepted!). Yet to depict a relationship where the imbalance favors the WOMAN seems anathema.
In other words, still think we live in a 'post sexism' world? Why then is it impossible to have a sensitive and realistic portrayal of a relationship between a male nurse and a female intern (or fully-fledged physician, for that matter) on a show like 'The Night Shift'?
Furthermore, why then was it apparently impossible for the producers and writers of Star Trek: Voyager (see also here for more info on this show) to give Captain Kathryn Janeway a long-term relationship (a potential partner who was hinted at early in the show was actually her first (and male) first officer)? Instead, the male first officer was paired with a female character whose hierarchical status was lower than his. "It is very possible that the J/C romance wasn't developed because it made the male producers and writers uncomfortable. At the end of the series, in a move which was essentially the antithesis of fanfic, Chakotay [(i.e. the aforementioned first officer)] is paired with the younger, larger breasted, lower-ranked Seven." (Excerpt is from the article, Somogyi V. Complexity of desire: Janeway/Chakotay Fan Fiction. Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 2002; vol. 25 (issues 3-4): pp.399-404.)
Finally, why are there so many problematic aspects to the relationship between Claire and Jamie Fraser in 'The Outlander' book series written by Diana Gabaldon (and apparently also in the associated Starz television series)? To recap: the relationship starts with a certain power imbalance, partly due to the fact that Claire is slightly older and more experienced than Jamie is about certain aspects of life (in particular, about sex and relationships). Claire is also (at this point anyways) depicted as a very strong woman who knows her own mind. She is also considerably more educated than Jamie (she is in fact a twentieth century nurse in the 1740s!), at the time these two characters marry. In other words, at this point the power imbalance is in Claire's favour. In relatively short order however, Claire 'misbehaves' (such details aren't entirely germane to the discussion at hand, but for those who care, she runs away to try to return to her time but of course cannot explain this to anyone, including her new husband) and is 'punished' by her new husband by being beaten "within an inch of her life" (!!). Days later, Jamie further enforces a changed power dynamic by raping Claire. (For further details on how problematic this show and the books are, go to my previous post here.)
Misogyny forges on.
PS: My use of the expression "'only' a nurse" in the text above uses quotes around the word 'only' because I am referring to the apparent attitude of the characters in show regarding nurses. This in NO WAY reflects my personal feelings towards the wonderful and courageous people who work as nurses all over the world. (NOT an easy job!)
A brief summary of the episode in question is here.
To summarize though, here is a brief summary of the plot point I am referring to.
Essentially, a female intern (i.e. young physician in training) has been 'hooking up' (term used during the episode in question) with a young male nurse. During the episode we are treated to the growing attraction between the aforementioned female intern and a male surgeon who has supervised said female intern on many occasions. As for the young male nurse, he was initially shown to be quite content as a nurse (i.e. rather than wanting to become a physician) yet another (male) character suggests that he seems unhappy and needs to figure out what is bothering him (my read of this scene was that this 'unhappiness' may refer to not having a more committed relationship OR it may refer to his 'only' being a nurse). Someone (male) during the episode asks someone else whether they have ever seen a successful relationship between a MALE nurse and a FEMALE physician. The episode ends with our young male nurse being witness to a passionate kiss between the young woman he has been seeing and the previously mentioned surgeon.
Question: Why did this make me so angry?
The answer: The answer lies in the power dynamics accepted in heterosexual romantic relationships. In other words this episode crystallized something for me which had been niggling at me when I watched other TV shows, namely that partnerships between equals are (sometimes!) popularly accepted, as are partnerships where an imbalance exists but the balance of power lies in the hand of the MAN (always accepted!). Yet to depict a relationship where the imbalance favors the WOMAN seems anathema.
In other words, still think we live in a 'post sexism' world? Why then is it impossible to have a sensitive and realistic portrayal of a relationship between a male nurse and a female intern (or fully-fledged physician, for that matter) on a show like 'The Night Shift'?
Furthermore, why then was it apparently impossible for the producers and writers of Star Trek: Voyager (see also here for more info on this show) to give Captain Kathryn Janeway a long-term relationship (a potential partner who was hinted at early in the show was actually her first (and male) first officer)? Instead, the male first officer was paired with a female character whose hierarchical status was lower than his. "It is very possible that the J/C romance wasn't developed because it made the male producers and writers uncomfortable. At the end of the series, in a move which was essentially the antithesis of fanfic, Chakotay [(i.e. the aforementioned first officer)] is paired with the younger, larger breasted, lower-ranked Seven." (Excerpt is from the article, Somogyi V. Complexity of desire: Janeway/Chakotay Fan Fiction. Journal of American & Comparative Cultures 2002; vol. 25 (issues 3-4): pp.399-404.)
Finally, why are there so many problematic aspects to the relationship between Claire and Jamie Fraser in 'The Outlander' book series written by Diana Gabaldon (and apparently also in the associated Starz television series)? To recap: the relationship starts with a certain power imbalance, partly due to the fact that Claire is slightly older and more experienced than Jamie is about certain aspects of life (in particular, about sex and relationships). Claire is also (at this point anyways) depicted as a very strong woman who knows her own mind. She is also considerably more educated than Jamie (she is in fact a twentieth century nurse in the 1740s!), at the time these two characters marry. In other words, at this point the power imbalance is in Claire's favour. In relatively short order however, Claire 'misbehaves' (such details aren't entirely germane to the discussion at hand, but for those who care, she runs away to try to return to her time but of course cannot explain this to anyone, including her new husband) and is 'punished' by her new husband by being beaten "within an inch of her life" (!!). Days later, Jamie further enforces a changed power dynamic by raping Claire. (For further details on how problematic this show and the books are, go to my previous post here.)
Misogyny forges on.
PS: My use of the expression "'only' a nurse" in the text above uses quotes around the word 'only' because I am referring to the apparent attitude of the characters in show regarding nurses. This in NO WAY reflects my personal feelings towards the wonderful and courageous people who work as nurses all over the world. (NOT an easy job!)