That is a great observation, and as my own long-suffering wife is well aware, it has become a huge pet peeve of mine. Of course, my managerie of "peeves" is growing by leaps and bounds these days, leaving little room on the shelf for fresh new irritations...
Nonetheless, it seems like every other TV commercial (and many programs as well) features a "couple" of whom the female is invariably smart and sassy and "with-it"; she's impossibly up-to-date with every new trend, idea and gadget; she can conduct a high-level business meeting in a power suit, then go home and cook a gourmet dinner before doing three loads of laundry, exercising at the gym and coming home late to work on her third novel before running out to give a speech at the UN in the morning.
And her husband just doesn't appreciate her, as he sits in his lounge chair with his stained t-shirt open drinking beer from a can and watching Bodacious Babes of Wrestling on TV. And in those rare moments when she is paying attention to the mindless, sex-addicted drunken slob she somehow oddly chose to marry, she gives him - that look.
You know which one. It's a sort of sideways "knowing" look - at once dismissive, condescending and pitying. In fact, I've seen that look a great deal, not from my wife, ever, who is wonderful, but from someone else I see ever day: our President.
Whether you realize it or not, you have described Hillary Clinton, a woman who was touted as the “great example” for women. And look where it got her:
Her husband has nothing to do with her. Her husband has more girlfriends than a 17 year old. She is fast losing what little she had of her looks. Reports are that the relationship with her daughter is not particularly close. She has less money than her philandering husband. My guess is that she is facing a lonely future.
“Nonetheless, it seems like every other TV commercial (and many programs as well) features a “couple” of whom the female is invariably smart and sassy and “with-it”; she’s impossibly up-to-date with every new trend, idea and gadget; she can conduct a high-level business meeting in a power suit, then go home and cook a gourmet dinner before doing three loads of laundry, exercising at the gym and coming home late to work on her third novel before running out to give a speech at the UN in the morning.”
I was thinking about that very thing while watching a movie this weekend. Not particularly about women, but about the people in general. They could do all of that while still only getting up at 7 am and cooking a full breakfast on a work day!
Your post gave me the most yuks I’ve had on FReepers in years! Unbelievably funny stuff, and spot on!
Somebody asked me, if the TV wife is so `smart and sassy’, why did she marry the worthless guzzling schlub in the first place?
Answer, nobody married anyone. This is the world of TV make-believe. The advertisers probably think it’s the best way to sell their product to women. On the sitcoms, it reflects the screenwriters’ guild being thoroughly PW’d by the dominant media feminist culture.
BTW, do you write for a living or have a blog?
:^)