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The left shoulder
Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 06:01 pmThis is not the most important question ever on gender politics in today's TV shows, but why is it that most of the heterosexual couples on telly engaging in happy post-coital cuddlery are usually shown in a position where the woman is lying on her side, cuddling up to the man's left shoulder?
Was there a memo? It's nitpicky, but I keep wondering why they are so uncreative about their cuddling positions. I realise that there is some sort of meaningful component to positions of couples cuddling or not cuddling in bed on TV which give the viewer an impression of their relationship status (like "distant couple", which always has the couple sitting propped up on the headboard at least 50cm apart, or "close-to-break-up", which features the man sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands, and the woman sitting, her back against the headboard and her knees drawn towards her), so it's understandable that there's some repetition, but this degree seems just strange, and I do wonder whether they're doing it on purpose. It seems as though they want to portray all their cuddling males are extremely self-confident and relaxed and their cuddled women protected and adoring, but why impose this extremely limited cuddling-norm?
Is anything apart from these three varieties so out of the ordinary that the audiences wouldn't be able to cope?
Has there been a poll suggesting that this is the most liked cuddling position for heterosexual couples and the audience would not be able to deal with anything else (unless it's the funny-sidekick-couple and not the main characters)?
Maybe I should just I step away from the gender classes.
Was there a memo? It's nitpicky, but I keep wondering why they are so uncreative about their cuddling positions. I realise that there is some sort of meaningful component to positions of couples cuddling or not cuddling in bed on TV which give the viewer an impression of their relationship status (like "distant couple", which always has the couple sitting propped up on the headboard at least 50cm apart, or "close-to-break-up", which features the man sitting on the edge of the bed, head in hands, and the woman sitting, her back against the headboard and her knees drawn towards her), so it's understandable that there's some repetition, but this degree seems just strange, and I do wonder whether they're doing it on purpose. It seems as though they want to portray all their cuddling males are extremely self-confident and relaxed and their cuddled women protected and adoring, but why impose this extremely limited cuddling-norm?
Is anything apart from these three varieties so out of the ordinary that the audiences wouldn't be able to cope?
Has there been a poll suggesting that this is the most liked cuddling position for heterosexual couples and the audience would not be able to deal with anything else (unless it's the funny-sidekick-couple and not the main characters)?
Maybe I should just I step away from the gender classes.
