I'm sure she absolutely feels like a single mom. She's the first lady. I agree, like, "and?"

People are working on this. I don't have the references at my fingertips but anthropologists and public health professionals are working on the problem of lack of resources in urban/poor areas. The term is urban food desert:

I started reading but I have never seen Mad Men OR Breaking Bad (I lived abroad — like far abroad for a number of years) and so I don't want to spoil it. I have the first season of Breaking Bad, though.

I think it's also frustrating to see other comments on this article. Like, "well, dudes are bigger!" and completely misses the point. This isn't about science or biological strength but character development and the ability to think beyond binary gender stereotypes in the zombie apocalypse. More women now are MDs…

Do you watch the Talking Dead? Every commenter/comic of color has been like, "what's with all the black people dying?!"

And she was out of the handcuffs. Not like 10 minutes in the show earlier she held off three zombies around a tree. Like she couldn't have not gotten bit ON THE NECK by zombie Milton. A foot? A wrist? Maybe. So much more believable.

You know, I hadn't realized that. So true. Like she could transgress only to a certain degree. And her season 3 development was the worst. It made no sense.

Huh, that's a really interesting take (I don't mean that snarky at all). I hadn't considered it that way. Do you think the writers are as sophisticated?

The gender and race politics are regressive and it is and it's troubling because I almost forgive/forget the regressiveness because it's so ubiquitous in fantasy/horror.

Did you see the Talking Dead with that comic woman who basically called it out that Andrea had a pedi? While not exactly on topic, my point is that the whole pliers scene was dumb. The character survived in the woods with Michonne for like 6 months and she couldn't pick up pliers with her feet?! Come on.

I agree. he's SO loved. I had just interpreted it like he's "safe" diversity. He's a redneck, sure, but like you said: he's not Meryl. He's tough enough but still within bounds. I think the character of Rick has really gone out of bounds— and perhaps maybe Glen but then he had the whole apology and sex scene…

Oh huh. I hadn't considered that. Do you have any links you could share with additional commentary?

But in the zombie apocalypse how important is that, really? I thought he was making some b*s* excuse for poorly written women characters.

I responded to someone else but I'll copy it here b/c I agree:

And your point?

I replied to another commenter that of the Glen/Maggie dyad, he's a much better developed character in my opinion.

I also felt her death was a bit of a "tie up loose ends" maneuver rather than actually adding to the plot, you know? Like COME ON, she lived with Michonne in the woods for like a year and she couldn't take out Milton zombie with pliers!? Maybe the writing was geared towards the end of her character? I just never…

Seriously. They could have totally went there with her. Like, don't apologize, you thought your man was dead. But that scene with her whispering to Rick made my skin crawl. It seemed stereotypical that a woman would expect her man to make a stand in "her honor." Just awful.

I think that's one of the reasons why I keep watching the show is I'm fascinated by what would actually happen in the zombie apocalypse. Apparently, according to the writers, the gender roles would stay — or regress, even.

I know very little about the comic book community but it seems like there's a surprising amount of misogyny and/or stereotypical portrayals of women. It also seems like many of the comic book writers don't care all that much.