Monday 12 April 2010

Getting pregnant is not letting your employer down

Yes this is me admitting that I watch Desperate Housewives. If you do too then you'll know that I'm talking about Gabby's response to discovering her friend Lynette, who works for G's husband, is pregnant.

Gabby reckons Lynette has let her husband, L's employer, down by getting pregnant. Later on in the same episode the husband (Carlos, for those not up with the Wisteria vibe) effectively fires Lynette for being pregnant. But Lynette is the bad guy in this, for becoming knocked up without her boss' buy-in.

ARGH!

5 comments:

lisette said...

I heard another WOMAN at work slagging off someone for sick leave due to preggy complications. Sher herself had just returned from Sick leave under ACC for a broken leg from falling down drunk.
I wanted to smack her.
What makes this other woman a "leach" and her not.
bah.

Anonymous said...

LOL @Julie I can't believe that you actually though that we mere women should have any decision making in the usage of our wombs! I thought that you realised by now that even though we shouldn't have the right to remove anything from there without approval, we also don't have any right to put anything in there either without similar approval. As I don't watch the show, I have to ask, did the other person responsible for putting the criiter in there suffer any recriminations at all?

Alana

Anonymous said...

Good TV drama has characters in conflict, so I wouldn't take this too seriously. Just because Gaby and Carlos were critical of Lynette in last night's episode doesn't mean that is the end of the matter. Maybe Lynette will file a discrimination lawsuit and will end up the winner in this storyline!

A Nonny Moose said...

"Good TV drama has characters in conflict, so I wouldn't take this too seriously."

I used to dismiss media depictions like this as just harmless fluff, until I began to realize just how much society draws their permission to behave from them.

I knew a woman who lived and breathed Wisteria Lane. It was frightening. Her view of women was completely borne by this TV show (and others of it's ilk throughout her life). Yes, this is an extreme case, but it goes to show that people will easily abdicate responsibility to teach and be taught morals and obligations towards women.

I know a lot of people would argue "It's just a TV show, haven't you got bigger fish to fry?" and I would say "yes, but I'm quite capable of dealing with multiple problems". All the small things add up, and we shouldn't let lazy depictions like this go unchecked.

I find drama like this in media so frustrating if there isn't the proper rebuttle from the aggrieved party. So many times I find myself yelling at the screen "Just TALK! Open your mouth and say something"...instead we get sulky, brooding looks, and stupid ass revenge.

Julie said...

Someone has been reading ahead on the internet Anon (yes I get bored and I read Wikipedia summaries of various stupid fiction thingies) so I realise there is far more to play out on this storyline.

As to the letting the side down by daring to get up the duff thingy - a workmate has just got another job somewhere else and is resigning, and I have yet to hear anyone say he is leaving people or the organisation in the lurch. In fact in my experience I hardly ever hear anyone say a resignation, or a request for a significant period of leave to travel or for health reasons, is a minus for the employer - people just accept it and get on with it. But when you need time off because you are breeding well that's a different kettle of fish entirely it seems.

Somedays I feel we still have so very far to go.

Anonny, I always find it funny when they cut away from a scene where two characters are in conflict and then we next see them talking to other people or in a different setting, and I wonder gosh how did they get out of that room/car/elevator/etc?