When media critic and University of Buffalo professor Elaine Rapping showed a segment of Ally McBeal to her “Gender and Media” class, her male students were shocked by the negative stereotypes. They couldn’t believe that the women on the show were so competitive and catty. To Rapping’s dismay, the female students, even smart and outspoken ones, insisted that “that’s how women really are” and “that’s what you have to do to be successful.”
