This, to me, is an attempt to be realistic rather than feminist. Today, women are increasingly viewed, and portrayed by the media, as strong, independent creatures who can make decisions, pay bills, and "even" drive cars. They do, however, experience crime in very specific ways, and this is what I believe the show has set out to do.
In terms of women in power, the context of the show is once again ignored in favor of a claim that women are negatively portrayed because they do not form emotional attachments. The nature of the workplace and context provided preclude such attachments. There is, for example, no consideration of how the men in power do not form emotional attachments, either to their female partners or to the other men in the show. This, I feel, is not feminist, but rather sexist.
Sexism can be defined as an unrealistic, preconceived idea of a gender paradigm without taking into account the surrounding circumstances or the inner qualities of those representing such gender. It seems to me that this is what this article...
The nature of the SVU show requires that it televises women in certain context; as either victims, perpetrators, or prosecutors of criminal activity. This is exactly the same roles that are portrayed by the men. This does not mean that the show indicates that all men are either murderers or cold-hearted lawyers and police officers. These characterizations are what the show require.
For a feminist reading of the show, a more powerful interpretation would have been that the women in show are portrayed as worthy counterparts to their male partners, victims, or accomplices. They are strong-willed, motivated by an inner drive, and ultimately completely human in their reactions to a world that is far from ideal.
Reference
Cuklanz, L.M. And Moorti, S. (2006, Oct). Television's "New" Feminism: Prime-Time Representations of Women and Victimization. Critical Studies in Media Communication, Vol. 23, No. 4. Gender, Race, and Class in Media: A Critical Reader, Third Edition. Edited by Gail Dines and Jean Humez).
