There is something for everyone in Mad Men, but not everything for everyone. My mom is basically Peggy's age; born in 1939. And also from Brooklyn. But this very waspy world is quite foreign to her Jewish experience. Some things she relates to, but most of these people are unfamiliar to her.

Just like to say that I love this blog. Nice to see lots of attention go into following a brilliant show.

@Anne B, I see what your friend means. I am a black woman and I think one of the only reasons I can relate to Mad Men now is or should I say was Sheila's character. But in the 1st season, I related to the gender portrayals to a small extent.

Thanks,

Aulelia

Ever since the departure of Rachel, I have this terror of losing every Mad Men woman forever. Sheila dumped Paul; I think we'll never see her again. That's pretty much the way it goes. The smart women (e.g., the Rachels) finish their business, and move on.

That intrigues me, every bit as much as watching the more trapped women — like Betty — either flounder, or tread water. I still want to see where the other women went and how they're doing.

And of course race matters. My closest friend at work, who watched Mad Men in Season 2, is having a hard time with Season 1 because she can't find a way in. I get it: she's a Black woman, and that was a tough season from her perspective. Silence is not my friend's thing, and the silence from her side of the stands (so to speak) in Season 1 was deafening.

Still: here comes the good news. How very far we have come. A Betty type and a Sheila type can argue about who jacked the desk candy one day, and cry and hug over our new President-elect the next. Who happens to look more like Sheila than Betty — for once.

Are these better days? Ohhhh yeeesss.

I feel a kinship with Joan, even though we're essentially total opposites (ok, well, aside from the curves). When people see her in the first episode, she appears to be a caricature of the "Mean Girl", the girl who's naturally brave and bitchy and gets pleasure out of nothing but power trips. Obviously, that type of girl always has some "deep, dark tragedy" that made her that way, yadda yadda, so we're supposed to pity her.

MW doesn't play into the trap of heavy-handedly forcing us to empathise with her, though. The only hint we get of a tragic background is that veiled "hospital comment", and the only overt acts against her that provoke sympathy are the rape scene (which was great, but practically unnecessary – Harry taking her new job away was much more heartbreaking, IMO). For most of the series, Joan is what she is – someone who has used her mind to improve her life, working within the paradigm she has been given. Love her or hate her behavior, I've never once thought she was motivated by malice or even jealousy – as Matt once implied, she barely even understands the changes that are occurring around her.

Growing up in the 80's and 90's, I had brains and knew they'd be respected without a tight sweater – and while I've got a bitchy streak mean enough to make Don cry, I would never express it in the workplace. But there were certain things I wanted – or thought I should want – and I knew I had to work very hard in ways I didn't necessarily think were fair or should be necessary to achieve them. So I did work hard, because what choice do you have? And you know what? Despite all that hard work to build yourself into something you think people expect of you, at the end of the day… it's a house of cards. One new secretary or some asshat fiance can come breezing in and blow the whole thing down. And then where are you, what has happened to that carefully cultivated sense of identity?

I'm not a bombshell like Joan, and I probably have more in common with Peggy, but Joan is definitely my favorite character because it is more of a challenge for people to identify with her – and it is that much more revealing when you do.