Because sometimes only Doral will do...

[lizardbeth]

I'm still highly irritated by a blog I read, full of the most ridiculous poorly-thought-out mishmash of faux-feminist b.s. I've read in a long time. This is a blog that wants to cancel "Fairly Legal" unaired, on the basis of only one promo, because Sarah Shahi is too beautiful to be a lawyer and therefore little girls won't want to become lawyers because they can't measure up.

I just.

I've been annoyed by this thing for TWO DAYS. I restrained myself from engaging (okay, that was more because I didn't know where to START than any innate nobility on my part), but GOOD LORD. Like this is the first t.v. show to have an attractive lead actress. She's not even the first attractive actress to be a lawyer, and somehow the profession has managed to thrive for women. I desperately wanted to ask if this blogger is also actively petitioning for the cancellation of "The Good Wife", since I'm sure Julianna Margulies is also a bad influence, being so pretty and all. Or y'know, Mariska Hargitay for police detectives. I would bet a million dollars in the real world, where people actually LIVE, Olivia Benson has inspired more girls to become police officers than were ASHAMED because they're not as beautiful as Mariska.

And that was only the start of the stupidity on display. Seriously, if we had to remove all t.v. shows with unrealistic portrayals of their profession, would we have any left? Heck, I'm kind of excited since I think FL might be closer to what an ADA actually does since the early days of L&O (okay, they might really screw it up, too, and I will have words about it, if they do. But at least they look like they're trying more than your average medical drama). Which of course, this person doesn't know, because she didn't bother to look for more evidence to support her conclusion.

(and she's a law student! supposedly. Which means she got through college! gods.)

Comments

[ellestra.livejournal.com]

because Sarah Shahi is too beautiful to be a lawyer

This is a that's been annoying me for a while. I resent the whole concept of too beautiful (or ugly for that matter). This is stereotyping that works against women in long term. I'm a scientist and there is this myth that only ugly girls are good in science. It's of course untrue. But this stereotype caused my friend to quit science after PhD because she felt she wasn't taken seriously because she was seen as too pretty.

So every time I read comments about that this actress can't be a nuclear physicist because she is too beautiful I feel like screaming at people. They obviously never been in any lab and the only things they know about science comes from shows like The Big Bang Theory. The fact is I now more scientist looking like the cast of Bones then the BBT. (This goes for men too - one of my friends has PhD in molecular biology and is a body-builder so yes there are scientists looking like Arnold)

It's probably even more true for profession like law where looks are one of tools and therefore more important for success.

PS I also agree with everything you said.

[lizardbeth-j.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, it's certainly true. that attorneys are judged by looks. Sometimes in an unfortunate way like my DA friend who was told to her face by a juror that he voted against her because she was fat! And it's also true that on average, attorneys are ... average. But to then take from that the idea that a beautiful woman playing a lawyer is somehow, not just representative, but WRONG. I just. I can't even.

And you are so right about that physics geek stereotype. I have a uni friend who's now a physics prof, and she's a dead ringer for a blonde like AJ Cook. And I once had a crush on a physics post-doc who was OMG SO FUCKING HOT my pulse would seriously start to race when he got close to me. *dreamy sigh*

[ellestra.livejournal.com]

I think on average most people working in professions that are not look oriented are average. But that's just a mean. There's a full range of looks and saying that one of them is not representative for that profession is actually doing more harm then good. There are studies that show that stereotypes affect performance and pretty girls are already told they are stupid by too many sources.

I know that the television (especially American) shows a skewed version of the world where everyone is pretty and thin. I understand the frustration with that but this is the wrong way to fight against it. It just create another harmful stereotype. And in the end the roles go to the same pretty people just remade into less attractive versions of themselves. Like in the BBT.