Eva and Leanne are sitting in their flat and Eva is putting her face on. Eva says to Leanne, 'Can you believe Aidan?' She talks about how she would like to throw her make up bag at him with a brick as its contents. 'What a wazzock!' she adds.
Wazzock?! I've not heard this as a term of insult for some considerable time.
Eva is upset because she thought that Aidan was preparing for the two of them to move in together. She was wrong. As a result she is fed up, cross and disappointed. She bemoans her fate and Leanne plays the wiser, older sister.
'I just know fellas Eva. The minute you mention the c word - commitment, they run for the hills. First chink in his armour and you want to move in.'
Eva says she is impulsive and asks why men should call all the shots. Leanne says, 'I'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying chill out.' Eva is not satisfied by her sister's response and says, out of Leanne's earshot, 'Thanks for the support babe, long live the sisterhood.'
I wonder if anyone else felt the same as me as a result of this conversation. I was irritated and also, I felt as if such a complaint belonged further back in time, just like the word wazzock. Or maybe you felt the same as Eva and accepted that it is always men who call the shots. BUT - is this how things really are in 2016? I wanted to reach through the TV and have a word with Eva to tell her to get out there and show her independence and not wait around until some man, in this case Aidan (who is admittedly a vision of male beauty) and live her life. She is beautiful, witty and well-liked. Let him come to you in the full realisation that he is a very lucky man.
Of the current crop of Corrie women, there are a few who are single but, as far as I can see, only Rita who feels quite content about her status. Erica was a good example of a strong, attractive, independent woman, but is now with Dev, though they hardly live in each other's pockets. In fact, I'm not even sure that their relationship is still going on.
Irritating though she is, in her role as a councillor, Sally is pushing forward with her political ambitions. Recently she had the gall to liken herself to the great suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst. Though she is indeed married to Tim, he now seems to come quite far down Sally's pecking order.
In contemporary society there are a good number of single, independent women, who maintain a strong network of similarly placed people. On the cobbles, it would be interesting to see more strong female friendships: women having fun together and not being totally dependent on men for a sense of their own worth. So come on sisters (and writers) let's see more of you doing it for yourselves.
Ruth Owen, twitter @ruth1722
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10 comments:
Another point to consider is who would have ended up paying for the (expensive) roof over Eva's head in Victoria Court? Some independence, eh....?
a very good point anon at 13.49
It's a contradiction in terms. Strong, independent women don't live on Coronation Street as they would never get a salary to pay their rent - as Anon mentions above. The current Corrie women subscribe to the philosophy: 'We may be beautiful or talented but, deep down, all we really want is security'. In that respect, Sally's got it about right. She's chosen a bloke who can't believe his luck and will always adore her. Sally, as they say, has been round the block a few times and she isn't 'settling' with Tim, she's building a solid base. Leanne may end up doing the same with Nick. Eva makes the mistake of falling for the most handsome men on the Street. That's what her big sis should be warning her about. As for strong older women, there's Erica and Liz and I wish they would celebrate their independence rather than see it as a stop gap to the next relationship.
what are your thoughts on Rita, Humpty?
You know what...this writeup actually made me appreciate Sally Webster! lol Thanks for that. :-)
Of course they are not going to portray the Corrie women as strong and independent. None of them can manage their own birth control, so why would they be able to manage anything else on their own? New writers, please.
Ruth, I’m glad you asked me that question! ‘Strong and independent’, to me, means being able to walk away from family and partners, head held high. It involves having the cash and/or confidence to do it, and that applies to anyone in Corrie. But another problem is that the younger women define themselves in terms of the man at their side. Thinking about it now, Steph is the exception to the rule: the only young woman who might be described as strong and independent. Older women, like Rita and Audrey, have toughened up through widowhood, learning to live alone but also enjoying a reasonable inheritance. Rita doesn’t need a man to feel complete nor does she need his wallet. True, she did fall for Dennis Tanner. You could say that there’s no fool like an old fool but I hated that storyline, anyway!
Zagg, you made me laugh - can't control their own birth control - how true!!
I'm sure the larger percentage of viewers are female so why does Corrie portray most of them as being vapid - the only ones who have any sense are Rita, Audrey, Liz (maybe), Leanne & Steph - at least they have jobs and are responsible. Well, Leanne was on the list until that silly storyline with her/Steve/baby.
Many thanks for your response Humpty. No, the Dennis Tanner/Rita story was disastrous.
In the pub last night several couples were explaining how they knew their partner was the one. What a missed opportunity for one of the women who could have stepped forward and rejected the whole couples idea, or at least praised the virtues of single life and independence.
Maybe, had Carla still been around, that would have worked with her
Zagg,Your comment about how Corrie women cannot manage birth control definitely brought to mind Sarah who seems more interested in getting a man, any man even a drug dealer instead of a better life for herself and her children instead seems content on sponging off her family and dumping the responbility of her children on them.
I shudder to think what sort of example is Sarah setting for Bethany?
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