Women never had a chance

[gabeana]

just watching a marathon of MASH and the sexual harassment is everywhere on the show, as a punch line. Same for the show Cheers, I remember family feud with Richard Dawkins kissing all the women contestants, not saying that was sexual harassment, but WTF was that.

Basically it was accepted behavior

[SharonClark]

1. Do you mean accepted behavior?

[gabeana]

2. Thanks for catch LOL

I'll fix it now, I'm in California a little high right now

[whathehell]

3. The movie was even worse in that regard..

I remember feeling uncomfortable watching it even back in the early 70's when I was quite young.

[Orrex]

4. Regarding M*A*S*H...

We watched it from start to finish when it was still on Netflix. I'd seen every episode years ago, of course, and though I knew that some jokes would have aged terribly, I was surprised at the extent of them. The tone changed a great deal over the years, though.

Something that surprised me in a positive way was the evolution of Major Houlihan, and I credit much of this to Loretta Swit herself. The early character was a stereotypical battleaxe and little more than a pretty foil for Hawkeye. Later she became much more assertive and a much more interesting figure, with a significant shift occurring when she divorced her husband.

One episode that really stood out in this regard was Follies of the Living, Concerns of the Dead in season 10. Major Houlihan explicitly calls out "hepeating" when the surgeons ignore her suggestion on a medical issue, only to embrace the idea when one of the men makes the identical suggestion.

Elsewhere she tells her romantic interest to get lost because he wants her to be a meek, supportive housewife figure, while she knows that she's much more. The show also makes the specific point many times throughout its run that the nurses are vital components of the medical team, even if the characters themselves don't get top billing like the surgeons.


So I agree with you, in that the humor is very dated and very reminiscent of Bob Hope-era sexism. The show was product of its time, and much of our modern awareness didn't exist in entertainment at the time. Still, I'm gratified that the writers (Alda chief among them) made the choice to evolve the characters and the program as a whole.

[hlthe2b]

6. Reading your comment after making mine, I find we are on the same page re: Major Houlihan

and her evolution. I've always been really happy about that.

[Hortensis]

8. Good balance to a frequently unbalanced subject.

As for the OP, I strongly disagree that harassment was everywhere. Being hit on and whistled at, both nicely and hostilely, is harassment when the object feels harassed. Otherwise, no.

These sex roles do continue in similar environments today, btw, even if styles may have changed a bit (or occasionally not a bit). Doctors without Borders, for instance, has a reputation for off-hours behaviors, and most nurses are still women and most of the authority figures are still men.

[hlthe2b]

5. Times change... Would we laugh at a Klinger character in a new sitcom?

While I totally agree with your comment, I do gain some satisfaction that, at least we now question this portrayal. I also firmly believe in judging films and other shows in the context of the era (Gone With The Wind comes to mind) and to celebrate whatever progress from those period norms we may have made.

BTW, if you look at how Major Houlihan is portrayed from start to finish of the series, the evolution of her character is quite reassuring.

[hlthe2b]

7. Here's an episode that clearly shows the evolution of how MASH portrayed women

and how both Hawkeye and Charles were taught a major lesson by the manor in which they reacted to both the female swedish doctor and Major Houlihan. It is a favorite of mine.

http://mash.wikia.com/wiki/Dr._Inga_Halvorsen

When Dr. Inga Halovrsen, a visiting Swedish surgeon, arrives, Hawkeye is at his most flirty, escorting her to the V.I.P. Tent, carrying her suitcase. Winchester tries to horn in, but he goofs when he makes a crack about how "lumpy" older Swedish women can get. Realizing he's made a horrible faux pas, he excuses himself, leaving Hawkeye and Inga to laugh collectively.

When Inga, who, in OR, demonstrates egual, if not superior surgical skills than her male counterparts, it irks Major Winchester, and also rubs Hawkeye, who tried to make romantic advances on her, which seemingly had been working, the wrong way too, at least a bit; when she corrects Charles in another surgery operation, the embarrassed and even more irked Charles is forced to eat crow, sheepishly and somewhat sarcastially thanking her, then fuming about it to Hawkeye.

Hawkeye, at first put off by Inga's sexual agressiveness, in talking to the angry, complaining Charles, then realizes who much of "an ass he's been" in his own attitude towards her after he discovered in The Swamp, was just as romantically assertive as he can be with the opposite sex. In the end, Inga earns the respect of both Winchester and Hawkeye, whom with she also finally spends a romantic evening with, even sharing a tender kiss, before she leaves camp.