What Women Want?

What Women Want is an interesting American romantic comedy film written by Josh Goldsmith et al., directed by Nancy Meyers and released in 2000, with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt playing the protagonists. Gibson is essaying the role of Nick Marshall, who, by a freak accident, discovers that he has a new power and can hear women’s thoughts; he goes on stealing the ideas of his accomplished women colleagues to sell as his own in the ad agency that he worked for. The film went on to be a revenue grosser, despite mixed reviews. If men need that special power to read a women’s mind may be a difficult proposition to answer, but a literature review of a couple of centuries, especially penned by women writers and activists, reveals that a certain bias has existed against women on their capabilities, status, and role within homes and in the public sphere. The inherent bias clearly has, over a period, given an idea to media writers in general on how women would be portrayed, especially in the entertainment and commercial space. Before, we discuss the role of women in spearheading various movements that lead to bringing the issue of biased portrayal in the public domain; the role of social reformers and lawmakers and later international organizations in contributing to ensuring women some rights and a glimpse of some classic books and other literature would help us in getting a feel of what women have desired and the ignominy and barbs they suffered for speaking their mind on the rights of women.