I've never been one who considers women somehow inferior to men. Yes, on average, women are physically weaker than men. That's just nature. Things like this have a purpose in nature. So, with that said, I never understood how anyone could view women as somehow "weaker" than men. Men have no inherent superiority over women. But, generally, the human race has ruled by strength. This probably led to thinking that women were inferior. When this thinking is slowly corrected, which I believe it largely has, it can led to something I call "over-correction." We have perhaps become so vigorous in our attempt to make up for our past that we go overboard. This brings me around to my topic of women in action roles. Namely, that we have given women abilities that they do not possess.

Let me clarify. Have you ever heard of reverse-racism? I believe this is the same concept. In this present culture, we have gone beyond the equilibrium and have actually become somewhat condescending to women. Case in point: I finally got around to watching Captain America (2011) on DVD. There is a scene where new Army recruits have shown up for basic training. In this scene, Hayley Atwell, playing Officer Peggy Carter, cold-cocks this new recruit and lays he out flat, like you see in a dozen war movies depicting basic training. The problem with this scene? Hayley Atwell is all 5'6" and about 110 pounds. She hits this guy with a closed fist and he's knocked out flat. I'm sorry, but this woman has no super powers. Most likely, the guy's head would have turned with the punch and it might have stung. And she would have probably broken her hand.

This got me thinking about all the other action movies I've seen featuring sexy, thin actresses playing action heroes. Can you imagine an typical Hollywood actress getting into a fist fight with a MMA fighter? I don't care how much martial arts training a character has, she would get torn apart by a professional figher. Yet, we constantly see small, thin women beat big, burly fighters in fist fights. Isn't that a little condescending to women? We went from saying that women are inferior creatures to that they can beat us big, bad men in a fist fight. How realistic is that? When I see previews for this new movie called "Haywire," I just have to shake my head.

Again, women are in no way inferior to men, other than basic genetic stuff that nobody has any control over, and vice versa. I know it's just movies and tv shows. It's fantasy, I get it. But I don't like the reasoning behind it. It almost feels like the entertainment industry leaders are winking at the audience. Perhaps they are simply cashing in on the fact that maybe women want to see a movie where a woman kicks ass. Whatever the reason, I think it's pretty condescending. But yeah, that's just me.