I actually just blogged about this the other day, so I found this article especially applicable to my life right now. I see these same patterns of thinking in my own life and in the lives of my friends. I think we are afraid that if we give up on these distractions, we will have nothing left to hope for, nothing or no one left that will love us. When we take our eyes off of God, of course we are disappointed, but keeping our eyes there takes an discipline that has to be cultivated and practiced. http://hopefullydevon.blogspot.com/2013/03/no-fear-in-love.html

Its heartening to read such positive posts from Christian women..Here in the UK its sex 24/7 even in the daytime shows its why my country is in such an immoral mess.

"'Shame-free virginity: not currently a fictional TV offering.' But that's a whole different post." Oh please, write that post. We need to have a discussion about that media stereotype. I call it the Myth of the Forty-Year-Old Virgin. You know, we're all neurotic, socially maladjusted losers who can't get a date, and that's why we live in our parents' basement playing video games and collecting sci-fi memorabilia. Our culture is so accustomed to think of losing one's virginity as a rite of passage to adulthood that virginity has become synonymous with arrested development.

Last week I borrowed the first and only season of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency from my library and was completely bowled over. It is a completely winsome depiction of a young woman, having been well raised by her father, striking out on her own and winning the respect of her community. She wins the heart of a man not by her flirtatious manner, but by her intelligence and kindness. I heartily recommend it and recommend writing HBO to bring it back.

Where are the good sitcoms? I haven't found any good ones in years! Why don't we have a show like "The Cosby Show" on the air right now? Why no "M*A*S*H" equivalent? Where are the shows that educate families - adults as well as children - while entertaining them? Almost every sitcom is about single people, workplaces discussing topics that would usually get them fired, or about revolving relationships. Where are the shows about the loving couples and families? The closest thing to a family sitcom on TV now is The Simpsons.

If young, single women want to gain understanding about how to remain pure, they should consult the 40-something single women - those who are still virgins, and those who are not. TV/movies are not a good place to receive guidance about life, because what they depict is not real life. The shows in my day - the 80's - were pathetic enough, but today's shows have only one resolution to EVERYTHING: sex. "How I Met Your Mother" is a funny show, but it is also a pit of a show, considering the dynamic among Charlie, Robin, and Ted. I haven't watched the Mindy Project and New Girl, because they're just stupid, shallow shows. The only other option is non-humor, such as Criminal Minds which has such awful story lines I wonder about the writers and their ability to continue writing about violent content - mostly against women and children - year after year after year. Go out for coffee with your girlfriends. Spend time with your parents, siblings, nieces/nephews. Life goes so fast.

Fantastic analysis, Alicia!

1. As christians we shouldn't be drawing our role models from secular sitcoms. 2. Secular sitcoms view the world through a no-God lens -- and it seems obvious to me that OF COURSE, these people will be desperately searching for something to fill their lives with, because they don't have GOD.

I think this is a pretty good analysis of the ways in which our tv heroines fail to offer helpful examples. I'm not sure what plot lines make you think Jess organizes her life around wardrobe and vintage stores, though- the most satisfaction she gets comes from being an inspiring teacher! (She's still my least favorite of those three, though.) But the best parallel to Tina Fey is Amy Poehler! She's my real favorite.