It's A Man's World, Or Is it?

Tanya Griffin
Oct 27
7 min read

The year is 1970. Leave it to Beaver is well in the rear view mirror and the Cleaver’s marriage is 50% less likely to survive the decades to come. Sitcoms reflect the new status quo. The Odd Couple, Felix Unger and Oscar Madison, struggle to survive life as two unhappily divorced dudes living together without the help of wives.

Both the civil rights and feminist movements are in full swing and vying for the pulpit. Culture is running scared and change is in the air.

Enter the The Mary Tyler Moore Show, the first of its kind to bring a single, happy-go-lucky, working woman living her best life without the ‘ball and chain’ of marriage.

Who can turn the world on with her smile?

It’s been 55 years since Mary Richards captivated audiences on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Airing on CBS, with only three major channels and PBS to choose from, this ground breaking situational comedy penetrated the cultural zeitgeist showing that life without a husband was not only possible but potentially optimal.

Starting with the pilot, Mary and girlfriends Rhoda and Phyllis were everything women were expected not to be; smart, funny, stylish, and hard working. They owned their sexuality.

Relying on vague innuendo, the cast leveraged friendships and workplace interplay to dance around equality, sexism, female sexuality, homosexuality and divorce enabling viewers to open their minds to the issues of their time.

Under the guise of “a good girl” subjects were teased, boundaries were pushed and an era was influenced.

The Mary Tyler Moore Show stood in for curious viewers not ready to fully commit to the feminist movement but attuned and aware of the plainly obvious inequities on display between men and women.

No bully pulpit needed. Just a soft "tell it like it is".

The Women Behind the Women

Empowered by an unprecedented 25% women writers, the Mary Tyler Moore Show dodged heated politics while quietly dismantling the patriarchy with a smile.

This quick-witted, smart, female dominated, urban comedy would shake the very foundation of how we navigated sex, sexism, equal pay and female independence all with zero feminist doctrine. It lasted 7 seasons.

Super Emmy Award Winner - Treva Silverman

Men have always known to leverage and build on each other's accomplishments.

While new to this game, women also stood on the shoulders of fellow female comedic greats. Shoulders like Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and behind the scenes, Super Emmy Award Winner, Treva Silverman, lead writer for The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Women could not only drive with passion but, given the runway, brought clever and self-deprecating voices that audiences craved, loved and respected.

So many brilliant comedic voices, women writers, were waiting in the wings with new and challenging perspectives. When Silverman was given a seat at the ‘boys table’ the writing rooms would change forever.

A music and comedic prodigy, Silverman's fast comedic timing, witty dialogue and ability to read the room was the voice needed to shift the culture and initiate change.

Her prophetic warning certainly stands the test of time:

There is a lot of comedy that is mean, that just makes fun of people for the sake of making fun of people and the people who do that are changing our lives and our world and our everyday fears. ~ Silverman

Conversely, the world can be a better place when we open our minds to new voices. Alternative perspectives can make you think, especially when wrapped in clever humor and shaped by kindness, grace and humility.

Silverman tackled sexuality, sexism, divorce, and The Pill. She was deeply human with a keen sense of comedic timing perfectly suited for Mary Richard’s sophisticated and quirky yet unassuming personality.

Silverman understood that in the wrong hands comedy had the power to close minds quicker than it could open them.

Mary Richards

Mary Richards never came in hot. Her disarming femininity was counterbalanced by her smile, style and independence. She reminded women everywhere what was possible. Her stealth female writers wrote from experience showing that it was possible to lean into one’s femininity while showing up ‘a player’ at work and in the bedroom.

Mary represented all the people who were not yet ready. (i.e. for feminism) ~ Silverman

Despite exemplifying happy, independent living, by 18, Mary would be married for most of her life. Her third husband, cardiologist, Dr. Robert Levine was her happiest and most successful marriage. Robert would love and care for her for 34 years, through Type 1 diabetes and alcoholism, until she died in 2017 at the age of 80.

In line with women everywhere, Mary consistently faced life with a smile despite the challenges. She was vocal about her sexual abuse as a young child, her mother’s denial, and the death of her only child, a son who accidentally shot himself.

Where We’re At

As we blow through 2025 the world is progressively fragmented. We no longer drink from the same firehose. Fifty years ago the major networks, ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS controlled the narrative. Now they are sidelined as noise pummels us from thousands of streaming siloes.

The share of women ages 18 to 40 who are single — that is, neither married nor cohabitating with a partner — was 51.4% in 2023, according to an analysis of census data by the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, this is up from 41.8% in 2000.

Relying on 2024/2025 surveys under 10% of Americans identify as LGBT or something else. That leaves the rest of us women open and curious but still in the market for a man.

The majority of women are attracted to men. The majority of us still identify as heterosexual. While GEN X identifies around 89.3%, GEN Z's numbers are dropping -75.7%. They are more likely to identify as bi-sexual.

While we all want LOVE and, once we’ve had it, a good shag, the balance is shifting. Women now understand there is a price to pay and the pros may not outweigh the cons.

A Seat At The Table

Good News, Gentleman. We just want a seat at the table.

Men and women are different. We understand our differences and value them. This is a good thing. It is in this difference that we can thrive together.

Tanya’s Tips: Show up with passion, be invaluable, authentic and impactful. Among like minded men and women, gender differences are valued.

As the moral and now political divide between men and women widens we risk a seismic shift that may be hard to crawl back from.

Women have had years to come into our own. By the 20th Century we gained the right to own property and eventually vote. By 1961 some of us had access to ‘the pill” and abortions. By 1974 many of us could apply for a mortgage and have a credit card without a man. As liberties were granted the flood gates would open leading to countless cultural shifts each landing us on more solid ground.

Statistically women have overtaken men in education and the workforce despite, on average, still earning less for equal work. By 2048, women will be the primary recipients of the ‘great wealth transfer’ ($124 Trillion). While we still trail men significantly in start-up funding we have proven to outperform when it comes to return on investments.

As power and money shifts, so will this funding.

Time and outcomes are now on our side. Progress often comes slow but when it finally comes it feels swift.

Women have had years to slowly adjust and grow while men have lost ground in what seems overnight.

Tanya’s Tips: Pick the best path forward. Change moves slow but swift when it finally sweeps in. The world is in flux and we are faced with a choice. Settle for the status quo or embrace a new path where men and women chose to progress together despite the uncertainty.

We’ve Come A Long Way Baby

Slow, gradual change is the hardest to unravel.

Women love men. Men love women. We are different and need each other. We are best when we work together.

Not all men believe they will lose what’s theirs by allowing women equal access. Despite the noise humans are capable of looking beyond gender. To do so we must acknowledge our differences and use these collectively to our advantage.

Time is a funny thing. It moves very slowly until it doesn’t.

While change is scary, especially when dismantling the status quo, when we look beyond gender, we can grow and build together. If we choose to work against each other we run the risk of severing the ties that bind us.

Is the scramble to protect what was theirs backfiring?

Gen Z women are choosing independence, freedom and self-actualization over heterosexual relationships. Men are left dazed and confused as the vibrator stands in for the penis.

While we know better, men seem blindsided by a society that seemed to change overnight.

Tanya’s Tips: Yes! Women are choosing to be single but this is not necessarily our first choice. We want to be loved and well-fxXked. Gentleman, you can do better. Show up first as humans, as your authentic selves. While this may take time to find, it will be worth it.

Know Thyself

Women, know thyself, as you dial in balance, financial freedom and self-esteem; as science catches up with hormones your libidos will not be far behind.

Women are incredibly sexual beings. We are multi-oOrgasmic. While childbirth, menopause and eldercare can throw a temporary curve ball, it is culture, shame and stigmas that have put us off sxX.

Once women drop into their true femininity, their sexuality, there is no stopping us!

Women are attracted to men. We love men. The problem is some of you (men) are not showing up attractive.