She's a Cop; She's a B*tch

When I'm not watching sci-fi or supernatural shows, I'm probably watching a procedural of some sort. And typically (I would say 9 times out of 10) that procedural probably has a strong female lead. A couple months ago I heard that Ally Walker was going to get her own show on Lifetime--a procedural (whether they want to admit it or not) with a nice balance of personal drama.  I was ecstatic to hear about the show, I've missed Ally has a true lead since Profiler (one of my favorite shows of all time).

But something hit me last night while I watched the show, and it wasn't a new revelation but it seemed to come into focus: A woman cop main character--she's a b*tch. If the main character isn't rip, roaring with a b*tch-a-tude; she's at the very least difficult. This seems to be the tried and true method for making a strong woman character, especially if she is to portray a police officer.

Don't get me wrong, I--at times--proudly take the title b*tch with me. But why? Why is it that if a woman has an opinion and is (more than likely) right, she has to be difficult or a b*tch? Why isn't she seen as strong, admirable or confident?

Watching The Protector made this common (and if I do say so myself) lazy ploy come into a painfully, razor sharp focus. Unfortunately, it's not the first time this has been done, and I doubt it will be the last time.  But to give you a few more examples, here are some strong female police characters I love who happen to be b*tches:

• Gloria Sheppard from The Protector. Ally Walker was fantastic, as usual. But the writers made Sheppard smart, tough, endearing with a manipulative twist and a b*tch. At least 3 different characters asked Sheppard if she "was going to make someone cry;" and one of those times, the words came out of her own mouth. Writers, you can make a character smug, sarcastic and a badass without beating us over the head that she's a raging b*tch.

• Grace Hanadarko from Saving Grace. My husband hates this show, but to me Holly Hunter got to play one of the most interesting characters on TV. That being said, she was a different type of b*tch. She has no problem hitting, kicking, shooting, drinking, fornicating. They tried to balance all of her character's flaws/vices with her undying devotion to those closest to her, especially her nephew. But at the end of the day, she got labelled a "slutty bitch" because with all of her flaws and vices she broke up her partner's marriage by sleeping with him.
• Brenda Leigh Johnson from The Closer. Kyra Sedgwick doesn't play Johnson as an overtly b*tchy female. Oh no, these writers were clever enough to mask it with a southern accent and charming sayings; which means, simply put, they gave the rest of the world all of our Southern Belle secrets. I assure you, if you hear a woman with a slight or gigantic twang say, "bless your heart," she doesn't think highly of you.

• Mary Shannon from In Plain Sight. Mary McCormack is hysterical. But at the bare bones her character sums it up well with "I don't play well with others." Yet again very strong woman, but they paint her too strong. She avoids family, is more cynical than anyone on television, and always assumes the worst. Mary is inflexible almost to an unbreakable fault, but she has compassion under her stony exterior.

In case you can't tell, I do still love these characters. I just wish television writers would learn to write a strong, sarcastic character without branding them a b*tch. You can still have that character liked by more than just their inner circle--it won't hurt their street cred, honest.