boston legal

Is an incredibly sexist show. But it's hilarious and clever and fun to watch, so at first I didn't really notice. Now I do, all the time; it's not exactly subtle once you start noticing. I suppose this is probably true of most things in our culture; I think it was Last Plantation (although I'm not sure) where I read about the online flight magazines, which I had never noticed are totally dominated by photographs of white people, even on flights that are majority-minority, such as the one I took from San Salvador from DC. Racism and sexism and homophobia are most clear in overt forms, obviously. Matthew Shepherd, Pennsylvania crowds railing against "illegals," the Supreme Court ruling against women in that whole pay raise thing. It's far more difficult to notice, and far more difficult to call others' attention to, things like the sexism on Boston Legal. After all, some of the women appear powerful. They are confident, articulate, demanding and usually win arguments. But sexually they are clearly inferior to the male protagonists. The women are unlucky in love, either because they get the wrong guy, or they can't have the guy they want, or what have you (I won't even get into the episode where the young black female attorney basically uses her body to scam a pervert pastor/lawyer into settling a case). Then men all, by virtue of the same confidence that the women show, get pretty much any woman they want, when they want. Bully for them.

The problem for me, here, is that I like Boston Legal. I feel guilty for enjoying it, and I'm torn over whether my objections to some of the show's undercurrents should be enough to make me stop watching. What really makes me uncomfortable is that the sexist part is fun/funny, too. Sexist and racist jokes make me laugh sometimes and I don't know whether that's wrong or not. I know those topics are not funny and I try hard in my life to fight the inclinations I and those around me have in that regard. But what about humor? I don't know this is coming out all wrong. Maybe it'd be better to come back to it when I've got my thoughts a little more organized. Interesting topic, though.