The women of Coronation Street have always had a hard time. And those Corrie ladies have always been fighters. Think of soap legends like Bet Lynch or Deirdre Barlow, more recent icons such as Karen McDonald or Vera Duckworth, or even familiar faces like Gail Rodwell, Eileen Phelan and Jenny Connor.
They’ve all had their problems and what unites them all, is they all came back stronger and feistier than ever. Those women saw off serial killer husbands, baby heartaches, troubled kids, cheating fellas and all sorts.
But we can’t help think something’s changed at Corrie recently. The women are still suffering, but somehow, just recently, it seems to all be a bit…unfair.
We’ve noticed a trend for the women of Coronation Street to be paying the price for men’s mistakes. And it’s not sitting quite right with us.
It all started with the factory roof collapse and the formerly fierce Carla Connor taking the rap. All on her own. For something she didn’t do. Yes, builder Gary Windass – the one who was really to blame – took a bit of heat. But not enough. And Carla’s (rubbish) business partner Nick Tilsley didn’t get so much as a cross look. Remind us why it was Carla’s fault again?
Since then, it’s been a relentless stream of women taking the blame for men’s errors. Last week, Gary murdered evil loan shark Rick. But he did it for ex-girlfriend Sarah Platt.
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“You don’t know the things I’ve done for you,” he told her, thankfully stopping short of fessing up to murder.
Meanwhile, Michelle is about to get her heart broken – again – by her rotten fiance Robert, who doesn’t seem to have grasped that keeping secrets from his missus never works (seriously, Rob, learn from your mistakes, mate). She even took the blame for their break-up and told him: “I really hurt you, didn’t I? Ending it like that?” Forgetting the awful things Robert said about her baby boy, Ruairi.
This week the Geoff and Yasmeen coercive control storyline kicked off when Geoff got snippy with Yas for having a drink at the wine tasting and even pretended he’d cooked her beloved chicken, Charlotte Bronte. Things are going to get much worse for Yasmeen in the coming weeks.
Even the comedy stories are ‘punishing the women’. Gemma trying to get the money she needs for her quads while Ches moans and groans and criticises every idea she has. Or Tracy running herself ragged at StreetCars. Even the Bailey/Barlow feud, which was started by the men, ended up with Ken and Eddie having a drink in the Rovers, laughing at their ridiculous women trying to out-noise each other.
It’s all just not very Corrie. We want our Coronation Street women to be active, not passive. If they need to be punished, we’re fine with that – but let them be punished for their own mistakes, not their fellas’ errors.
Obviously, there’s moments of brilliance among all this. Vicky empathising with Michelle about her lost baby was heartbreaking, Jenny is always a treat, and who doesn’t love all-new sassy Sarah flaunting her romance with Adam (come on, you would, wouldn’t you?)? Let’s just hope a few more Coronation Street women follow Sarah’s lead and get their sass on.
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