Leighton K

I was curious and watched the first few episodes of The Morning Show. Mind you I haven’t watched anything rated R or even questionable in years- a moral code I have. I wanted to see how I hoped it promoted women’s roles as equals in the workplace. First of all I didn’t realize it had a lot of bad language and some disturbingly raunchy scenes- maybe not a big deal to many, but if you never watch that stuff- it’s disturbing. I was disappointed and sad. The position of the women in the show was not what I think helps our position as women. I’ve been an engineer and professional a long time. I’ve been the only female in the room. Folks have said out of line things to me and folks have been fantastic to me. Martin Luther King Jr and Ben Carson are among my most favorite modern day inspirations. They teach to fight with grace and dignity and love. Be better than those who say you’re not enough. It’s worked for me. I’m not perfect but fighting for women looks like at least in part like earning a seat at the table like everyone else with grit and grace. And after a while they see you as a teammate not as a woman. I just never wanted to be an exception. And I can say that in general with that attitude, that has been true for me. The Morning Show lead women characters do not lead with integrity, or grit or grace- they sabotage their personal relationships, their careers were more important than anything, they sat by when injustice was done for their own personal gain, their language was foul, their behavior very self-serving- I could go on. It celebrates the marginalization of integrity- as plight of the modern day woman’s fight for justice. I’m no victim- and even if I am, I choose integrity anyway and do what needs to be done. That doesn’t mean not addressing wrongdoing- it means you make the right choices as best you can and you keep moving forward and be a good example of succeeding with integrity for others. In the end, while I was watching the show, I told my youngest daughter to stay in her room for obvious reasons. This morning she said to me “I shouldn’t have to hide in my room because you are watching something inappropriate on TV”. She was exactly right. I apologized and committed not to watch it anymore. My point: I believe women have come a long way and we still have work to do. I don’t deny that it’s bad some of the things that go on in the world- especially to women. It’s terrible. But it’s by doing and saying (and watching shows) that we can and should in front of our sons and daughters that’s righteous and paints women as strong and with integrity, grit and grace- not embarrassingly raunchy and selfish-minded and just icky- that’s how I felt watching that show. It’s by pulling each other up and fighting for opportunities for women. That doesn’t have to compromise integrity or feel icky. So I’m feeling good today that I taught my girls to be graceful and right and noble standing up for integrity - even to me, and reminding me that I shouldn’t even watch something icky that I can’t watch it in front of her and that is one way to be a person of integrity and show her strong character. It helps me be a better woman and a better human and to fight for strong women. The Morning Show gets it all wrong. The strong women I know, including my 12 year old daughter, know that.