The representation of women and girls on TV has not always been ideal or fair, but once in a while some shows were not what we would call flawless, none are, but showed a different type of women and in this case three of them.

When I was little, there were many TV shows where women were present, but there was one especially that was a favourite of mine: Charlie’s Angels

In it, three women were responsible for solving cases, but not just only asking questions as Angela Lansbury in A Murder She Wrote or Miss Marple, but physically! To me, they were the female equivalent of Starsky and Hutch.  Even now though, the entry in imbd.com for the two shows reflects the misogynistic way women are represented. As they are “streetwise” while the angels are “three sexy female private eyes.” Yes, they were pretty, but they were also smart, funny and intelligent. So when they combined their talents, they could solve anything.

Probably if I were to watch it now, I would find more flaws to do with plotlines, the treatment and representation of women and many other issues that were considered reasonable at the time, but we cringe when we watch them today. Nonetheless, I enjoyed watching the show as many of my female friends did, and wanted to be a PI when I grew up, because Kelly, Sabrina and Kris knew how to get the job done.

-Alicia
Junior Girl
Girl Museum Inc.

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