We watched the last episode of a TV series where a tiny, skinny woman physically fought a ripped, much larger man for a significant period of time and did not lose.
I have no idea why this kind of fantasy scenario is so beloved in film and on TV. In real life, that woman would last exactly a second and a half against a man seriously interested in taking her out.
Viewers who grow up watching this stuff sincerely don’t understand the difference in the upper body strength between men and women. It’s impossible to explain to them why men on women’s sports team are a horrible idea. They sincerely wonder why a rape victim just lay there instead of doing what every female character in every movie does and pummel the assailant. They don’t understand history or the extreme value and preciousness of civilization where women live peacefully and unmolested.
Clarissa's Blog 
I think the popularity of this fantasy is perfectly understandable. I’m sure there are tons of women out there who wish they could beat up the men who have intimidated and abused them.
The issue is more that people watch this and don’t recognize this is a fantasy portrayal. The same could be said for lots of TV representations of romantic relationships and “middle class” lifestyles. Tons of stuff that is wildly unrealistic and causes people to have all sorts of unrealistic expectations and interpretations in their everyday lives.
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I get it, too. It feels good, it’s flattering. But this fantasy can have really poor real-life consequences.
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http://www.wukongtg.org
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“a tiny, skinny woman physically fought a ripped, much larger man for a significant period of time and did not lose”
I’m pretty certain I don’t want to watch this (whatever it is) but did she at least have a weapon or three? I could imagine an exciting scene were a smaller, weaker woman barely beats a much larger man through quick thinking and use of weapons (including improvised weapons) but it’s always mano a mano which is just dumb.
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Several times, she gives him such a kick with her foot from a supine position with him on top that he literally flies backwards.
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“she gives him such a kick with her foot ….that he literally flies backwards.”
I just about flew backwards from the stupidity of that….
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The power of stunt magic.
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“I have no idea why this kind of fantasy scenario is so beloved in film and on TV.”
Nonsense, womens’ overwhelming purchasing power(75-80%) controls not only TV commercials, but affects not only TV content, but that of most movies. You know it, I know it, and most certainly so does both those that create the commercials and those who develop both television and movies.
But you do state a harsh truth when you say, “they don’t understand history or the extreme value and preciousness of civilization where women live peacefully and unmolested.” Relatively few have any concept of how it was built and maintained.
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It is no more a fantasy than all the TV and movie drama portrayals of CPR.
I mean, compare the outcomes of CPR in movies vs. CPR, done by laymen, in the field, IRL… I think the tiny lady fighting the large male assailant actually has better odds of success.
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methylethyl
Can you further explain your analogy of the portrayal of CPR vs fighting?
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I had to look up those stats for my own sanity, after (unsuccessfully) performing CPR, in the field.
If you got your information from pop culture portrayals, you’d think CPR is like 90% successful. Rates of success are actually pretty good, if you go into cardiac arrest in a hospital, surrounded by electronic monitors, trained staff, and nifty equipment like ambu-bags.
Rates of reviving the patient after a cardiac arrest outside a hospital, with CPR performed by bystanders… are abysmal. Really really low. Like 10% or less are successful, for various reasons (response time is a big one), and that’s just… able to get a pulse and breathing re-established. Of those 10%, you’re still looking at a dismal proportion who just die a little bit later in the hospital anyway, and/or are permanently brain damaged from lack of oxygen. It’s not like the movies. At all.
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…also, can’t say I’ve ever seen an onscreen portrayal where someone rendering aid breaks the patient’s ribs or pukes from the adrenaline. One gets the feeling the scriptwriters have never done it.
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Had a similar situation when my wife passed, CPR failed almost immediately by myself, then a few minutes later by a neighbour fireman, and then a few more minutes by the ambulance personnel. Afterward, the surgeon explained that that nobody could find a pulse because the arteries in her throat were blocked.
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See? I didn’t know this. Precisely for the reason you say. Thank you for the information. I had absolutely no idea.
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Yeah. I mean, if the situation calls for it, it’s still worth a try just in case. But manage expectations and all. If it doesn’t work: it’s not your fault. It hardly ever works.
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Fair enough, I had taken three courses because Worker’s Compensation required the license. We were warned about the odds, but that at least one would know what to do in an emergency.
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I was red-cross certified, but I don’t recall them ever disclosing the odds.
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merhylethyl
My last course was given by an old paramedic, he was not shy about the odds of success, both in the field and in hospitals. The point was that without CPR there was no chance, so you must try.
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I’m fine with it as long as it remains in the ambit of fiction. Women in the police/military, now that’s a different thing altogether, and a real problem.
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You can add the Fire Departments gutted by lowered reqirements. And no, if you cannot carry the equipment let alone pack out a victim, we sure as hell do not need you as Chief ;-D
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