From Melissa Wong's, "Days Like This," Fall '99 From Melissa Wong's, "Days Like This," Fall '99Seeking professionals to work in prestigious Boston law firm. Tight miniskirts and willingness to have love affairs with colleagues required. Welcome to the world of Ally McBeal. This is obviously not a job description you would find while searching for summer jobs or careers after graduation. Still, the manner in which Ally McBeal portrays women in the workplace is misleading and even offensive to women who do work in professional environments. First, the characters barely seem to be maintaining a working law firm, being instead much too busy with their sexual exploits to show much regard or concern for their clients and cases. Law partners end up sleeping with judges and trial witnesses and very rarely do we see a segment where work is accomplished without some obvious degree of flirtation. Sex is an issue that is supposed to be kept separate from the workplace but the ease with which the two are intermingled in every episode of Ally treats a very serious issue frivolously. While America is finally at a point of awareness about sexual harassment, inappropriate conduct on Ally McBeal occurs constantly without anyone seeming to mind. Sexuality also seems to be the premier asset of the women of Ally McBeal. Characters are not depicted as being capable and independent women, but rather as women who cannot stop thinking about men. They seduce their colleagues, pine over old boyfriends and use their sexuality as their main asset instead of their aptitude, intelligence or skill. Other character traits seem to be firmly rooted in the sexist television of the sixties and seventies. Take the example of Ally McBeal herself. She is a flighty and neurotic woman who continues to obsess over her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, both of whom work at her office. Ally also carries with her an aura of weakness and fragility, looking ready to break down and burst into tears at every one of life's complications. She -- like most of the show's women -- is hunting for a man, and this remains a big priority in her personal and, so it happens, professional life. Is this how we picture the modern working woman? At the opposite end of the spectrum is Ally's new co-worker, Nelle. She is a competent and confident character but she has also long since alienated many of her colleagues with her cool and distant manner. Perhaps she would have been better accepted if she were a little less smart or a little less capable. And then there is Ling, the sole Asian woman in the group, who stands out as the exotic sex kitten. Her love scenes have included pouring hot candle wax on her partner's chest, the usual dose of the stereotypical Asian fetish fantasy. Of course, this is television and entertainment and we viewers chuckle at the exploits of Ally and her cast as they tackle legal cases and the trauma of the yuppie life with flair, fun and humor. But Ally McBeal appeals to viewers because it attempts to parallel our own experiences in the workplace. And it is now evident that Ally is no longer treated as just a television show that we watch purely for enjoyment. Increasingly, we are turning to Ally McBeal as if it was representative of a trend in American society. Time magazine placed Ally McBeal star Calista Flockhart on its June 29, 1998 cover alongside Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem with the headline, "Is Feminism Dead?" We answer with a resounding no, that to draw upon this weak fictional character to represent the modern woman is utterly wrong and ridiculous. And yet the fact remains that many still do see women through Ally-colored glasses. Considering the family-friendly time slot of the show, we should be even more concerned for girls who look to Ally's character as a role model and Ally's career path as one they'd like to follow. As for those of us who are already members of the workforce or will soon join the ranks, look elsewhere for your role models.
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