ABSTRACT
I was rather flattered to be described as a ‘theoretical guerrilla’ in Beverley Alcock and Jocelyn Robson’s article ‘Cagney and Lacey Revisited’ (1990). Yet it was clear from this article (and the debate that Alcock and I had within the pages of Spare Rib in 1988) that there has been some misunderstanding about the female gaze argument made in ‘Watching the Detectives’ (Gamman and Marshment, 1988). Alcock and Robson assert that ‘Gamman seems to be saying little more than that it is important to have strong female characters with which to identify’ (Alcock and Robson, 1990:43). This crude reduction completely misrepresents my position which I would like the opportunity to restate within the pages of Feminist Review.
