Television Programs and Proportional Representation

If Howard Rosenberg finds women underrepresented on television except in comedy roles, think about the lack of representation and negative stereotyping of other groups by the entertainment media (“The Battle of Sexes Isn’t Even Close,” Sept. 12).

Business people usually are portrayed as evil. Religion is ignored or treated as of the realm of bizarre fanatics. Then there is the lifelong hate affair of the entertainment elite for the military.

By the way, as for “I Love Lucy” featuring a “ditsy female,” Lucy certainly was not ditsy. Scheming, shrewd, imaginative, intelligent--yes. But the dictionary defines ditsy as scatterbrained or inane, something her character was not.

CAROLINE MIRANDA

North Hollywood

I for one am sick and tired of hearing about the disparity between one group or another as represented on television.

Whether or not a woman is the titled “star” of a given show she is nonetheless starred because she is allowed to upstage any man in all things. Regardless of the show, men are portrayed as buffoons, idiots, immature and immoral or negatively “macho.” In all ways they are inept at life, unable to even get out of bed if there wasn’t a woman around to tell him how.

All shows pander to women. Every girl who watches television these days learns these immutable facts of life: The man is always wrong, the woman never has to admit to being wrong or to say she is sorry, and it is the duty of the man to apologize and beg for forgiveness.

So don’t give me this drivel about how many shows must be numerically balanced between the sexes for when it comes to the battle of the sexes as shown on television, women won the battle a long time ago.

JAMES FERRIS

Lakeside