So the Washington Post produces and distributes a sort of mini-news paper called the Express, which focuses much more on fluff than on “real” news.  It’s distributed at every metro station every morning — I always grab it* because, hey! free crossword puzzle!

And I’ve been noticing a trend — it seems to take a MUCH more feminist approach than most newspapers.  I don’t know why this is.  I don’t know if, because it’s the fluff paper, it has more woman writers, or if it’s because it’s trying to be “edgy,” or what, but, well, check out the articles below and tell me if I’m wrong here.

The saddest part is how shocking I consider these articles.  That a reviewer — in a real newspaper!  Produced by the WASHINGTON POST!  A REAL NEWSPAPER! — would refer to a movie as “almost misogynistic**”.  Or that a headline would take a sarcastic tone about how Kate’s career got in the way of Jon’s comfort.  Or that a blurb would just flat out say “Chris Brown beat Rihanna,” rather than completely disappearing the crime and/or the perpetrator (see an nigh-infinite series of crime articles from every newspaper about how a victim “was raped,” “was beaten,” or, even better “had sex forced upon her”).

I really wish I could copy and paste from these, but I can’t, so I’m adding the .pdf links:

All About Steve review, page 28
Headline “Being a Working Mother is Now Spousal Abuse,” page 58
Blurb contains the sentence “A judge sentences Chris Brown to serve five years of probation and perform six months of community service for beating Rihanna,” page 30

*The Washington Times produces a similar mini-paper, the Examiner.  I give it a pass because, hey!  It’s the Washington Times!
**If the movie bears any semblance to the review at all, it’s not “almost” misogynistic.”  But zie is headed in the right direction.

Guest Post by MoleWife

So I just finished watching the pilot episode of Glee.  It is a terribly hokey show in the finest traditions of 80’s underdog movies — the only thing it didn’t have is a training montage, and I’m SURE that’s coming.  But it had everything else:

1. Tiny (6-person) underfunded, under-appreciated collection of misfits drawn together by their talent and love of music?  Check.
2. Handsome, popular teacher struggling to keep said glee club alive?  Check.
3. Evil, popular, well-funded football team and cheerleading squad?  With associated evil, territorial, elitist, conformist and ball-busting coaches?  Check.
4. Incredibly talented and well-funded competition doing extreme production numbers to popular songs while we see our misfits rehashing Grease?  Check.
5. Inspiring female friend of glee club teacher who teaches him to follow his passion instead of going for money?  Check.
6. Inspiring journey of hot football player who decides he won’t let conformity and peer pressure keep him away from his love of music?  Check.
7. End on inspiring 80’s song (Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’)?  Check.

And the flip side:

1. “Misfit group” comprises aforementioned football player, beautiful diva pursuing fame at all costs, one disabled boy in a wheelchair, one Asian girl, one African-American Girl (who together make up apparently 66% of the POCs in the entire town) and one gay boy?  Check.
2. Gay kid and disabled kid bullied in completely approved ways?  Check.
3. POC in glee club sassy, fat, and hip?  Check.
4. Gay boy loves his designer clothing and sings soprano?  Check.
5. Inspiring teacher’s wife a lazy, shrill, gold-digging bitch who complains of having to work three 4-hour shifts a week and only wants more THINGS? Check.
6. Other female characters the aforementioned diva (raised by two gay dads, see what happens to you?), emasculating ball-busting cheerleading coach, and pretty young female friend teacher who cries to herself in car over love of hot inspiring male teacher, and hot cheerleader who is head of the celibacy club and bursts into prayer during makeout sessions?  Check.
7. Only other POC in the whole episode an apparently Hispanic worker at a TV “linen’s & things” who is comedically too clumsy and stupid to fold sheets?  Check.

Not to mention that the original glee club teacher is fired for molesting a singing student in an absolutely HYSTERICAL way — see, he was stroking the gay boy’s chest to give him encouragement, and the diva was pissed because he gave the solo to the gay boy SHE should have gotten, so she ratted him out to the principle and AREN’T WOMEN SCHEMING AND UNDERHANDED???

And our sassy fat black chick gets approximately three token lines in the whole episode.  Enough for us to know SHE is BEYONCE, not a BACKGROUND singer.  But she’ll meekly fall back into line for “just this one song.”  But that beats out our Asian chick, who gets one line and a “we’ll figure out what you’re good for” at the very end.** The gay and disabled boys can, quite frankly, sing circles around our hot football player, but they aren’t capable of keeping up vocally with our Diva, for some reason.  And the “next on Glee” preview shows us the shrill bitchy wife lying about being pregnant in order to manipulate her husband to get a job as a CPA instead of a teacher so she can have THREE MAHOGANY TOILET PAPER HOLDERS from Pottery Barn, because Dr. Phil says there’s nothing wrong with wanting THINGS.

And don’t even get me started on the gay ex-teacher as pedophile, or how molesting a student is FUNNY, SEE?

I will probably watch the show.  I’m a sucker for underdog stories and large musical production numbers of any variety.  And this was just a pilot, and there’s a chance the characters will be developed as something other than caricatures.  But some days I honestly have to ask if all TV studios get all their ideas from the Conservative Stereotype Vending Machine(TM).

**Oh, I just read the Asian girl is supposed to be a lesbian.  Clearly, this was indicated by her singing “I kissed a girl” for her audition, since she had no other lines or displayed any evidence of being attracted to women.