We all have different experiences growing up, but most of us are brought up to believe that boys are stronger than girls and men stronger than women. I realised this wasn't true from an early age as virtually every real life situation that I experienced or witnessed hanging out with my sister and her friends ran contrary to this. They were tough, but they weren't tomboys, they just knew they were tougher than the boys in the neighbourhood and they took great delight in demonstrating it at every opportunity. Even older boys were scared of them. So to me this seemed normal after a while and it is hard to identify a specific point of realisation. I do have some interesting experiences e-mailed to me from guys though and I will post one or two of these...
Does anyone else have any stories they would like to share of when they first realised females were actually the stronger sex?
Click the word "Comments" below to share your thoughts..
Saturday 13 December 2014
Monday 29 September 2014
Girls beating up guys in TV and Film
Further to a previous post about a male vs female fight scene in a James Bond film - it got me thinking about how things have changed in the past couple of decades. It is actually very common these days to see depictions of females overpowering or getting the better of males in mainstream TV drama series and films. I'm not quite sure as to why. Maybe it is seen as more entertaining to have an outcome to a confrontation which may be the opposite of what most people expect. Or maybe it is just because there are more female writers who want to change perceptions of female physicality?
Whether it's Agent Lisbon in "The Mentalist" or Siva from NCIS or countless other female characters tackling and arresting male baddies, there seems to be an appetite for this kind of mixed action drama. This is of course most welcome if it encourages more girls to change their views on their own physicality, my only problem with these portrayals is that they are rarely done convincingly.... What I mean by that is that the female characters concerned including the two mentioned above just don't have a convincing physical presence and don't look or act like they could punch their way out of a wet paper bag - therefore the action has to be so overly choreographed and contrived that it doesn't look realistic and ends up just being patronising.
That said, I recently saw a scene which nails it. It was in a drama series called Blacklist. What I could make of the plot is that a male and a female FBI agent were persuing a female assasin who lured her targets by posing as a prostitute and injecting them with deadly chemicals when they were at their most vulnerable. The FBI agents had tracked her down to a hotel where she had just completed a job. The male agent caught up with her in the lift and as he pulled his gun and tried to arrest her, a frantic fight ensued. One of the most convincing M/F fights I've seen on TV. The female assassin was tall - taller than the guy and had a good, powerful looking physique. Despite this the fight was actually quite even as they traded punches and took turns pinning eachother up against the walls of the lift car. Eventually the female's greater strength and skill prevailed. As more of her punches connected than his, the male gradually succumbed as she pressed home her advantage, jumping on his back and executing a choke hold. the male agent collapsed forward under her weight and passed out as she crushed him to the floor. She made good her escape as he lay defeated, motionless.
This was so much more realistic that most of the other M/F fights. Firstly because the female looked physically capable to start with and secondly because the fight wasn't totally one sided - the male FBI agent gave a good account of himself, visibly trying his hardest - but she was just too strong for him. Hollywood - take note. It is perfectly feasible and acceptable for a woman to prevail against a man in a physical fight - You don't have fake it...
Click the word "Comments" below to add your thoughts...
Whether it's Agent Lisbon in "The Mentalist" or Siva from NCIS or countless other female characters tackling and arresting male baddies, there seems to be an appetite for this kind of mixed action drama. This is of course most welcome if it encourages more girls to change their views on their own physicality, my only problem with these portrayals is that they are rarely done convincingly.... What I mean by that is that the female characters concerned including the two mentioned above just don't have a convincing physical presence and don't look or act like they could punch their way out of a wet paper bag - therefore the action has to be so overly choreographed and contrived that it doesn't look realistic and ends up just being patronising.
That said, I recently saw a scene which nails it. It was in a drama series called Blacklist. What I could make of the plot is that a male and a female FBI agent were persuing a female assasin who lured her targets by posing as a prostitute and injecting them with deadly chemicals when they were at their most vulnerable. The FBI agents had tracked her down to a hotel where she had just completed a job. The male agent caught up with her in the lift and as he pulled his gun and tried to arrest her, a frantic fight ensued. One of the most convincing M/F fights I've seen on TV. The female assassin was tall - taller than the guy and had a good, powerful looking physique. Despite this the fight was actually quite even as they traded punches and took turns pinning eachother up against the walls of the lift car. Eventually the female's greater strength and skill prevailed. As more of her punches connected than his, the male gradually succumbed as she pressed home her advantage, jumping on his back and executing a choke hold. the male agent collapsed forward under her weight and passed out as she crushed him to the floor. She made good her escape as he lay defeated, motionless.
This was so much more realistic that most of the other M/F fights. Firstly because the female looked physically capable to start with and secondly because the fight wasn't totally one sided - the male FBI agent gave a good account of himself, visibly trying his hardest - but she was just too strong for him. Hollywood - take note. It is perfectly feasible and acceptable for a woman to prevail against a man in a physical fight - You don't have fake it...
Click the word "Comments" below to add your thoughts...
Tuesday 3 June 2014
Feedback required!
Guys and Girls
Since starting this blog we have had nearly 20,000 page views, but astonishingly few people have chosen to comment on anything. If you find this blog interesting or helpful, then please let us know by asking a question, starting a discussion or share a real life experience even if it just a private message. That way I can get an idea of what people want to see on the blog. All public comments are moderated by myself and rest assured no trolls get through the net....
Since starting this blog we have had nearly 20,000 page views, but astonishingly few people have chosen to comment on anything. If you find this blog interesting or helpful, then please let us know by asking a question, starting a discussion or share a real life experience even if it just a private message. That way I can get an idea of what people want to see on the blog. All public comments are moderated by myself and rest assured no trolls get through the net....
More girls need to take up sport - you bet!
I read an article in the Evening Standard yesterday which got my interest. It was basically saying that girls these days need to do more sports in schools - right on I thought to myself, but the reasoning behind the sentiment made me chuckle....Girls need to do more sport...so that they get to experience failure!
The performance of girls in the accademic field is now so consistently high that teachers are worried that they are never exposed to failure and therefore may lack the emotional fortitude to cope with disappointment. The concern seems to be that girls constantly inhabit a win, win, win environment in the classroom, so need exposure to an environment where they will at some point experience what it is to lose - an inherent part of sporting activity.
This can only be a good thing as it will encourage more girls to fulfil their physical potential too! Then it will be win, win, win all the way!!!
The performance of girls in the accademic field is now so consistently high that teachers are worried that they are never exposed to failure and therefore may lack the emotional fortitude to cope with disappointment. The concern seems to be that girls constantly inhabit a win, win, win environment in the classroom, so need exposure to an environment where they will at some point experience what it is to lose - an inherent part of sporting activity.
This can only be a good thing as it will encourage more girls to fulfil their physical potential too! Then it will be win, win, win all the way!!!
Saturday 19 April 2014
More evidence
Hello everyone. A friend of mine sent me this link earlier today:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGknRsEr_cw
Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGknRsEr_cw
Enjoy.
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