52 MAY 2017
What Your TV
Crush Says
About You
You’re not weird; you’re just a guy.
Let the experts explainANTHONY IS SURE he’s found the perfect
woman. She’s a platinum blonde with
green eyes and a smoking body. Literally:
the last time he saw her, she was emerging
naked from a burning temple, having
just obliterated the Dothraki oppressors
who tried to enslave her. There is one
downside: this perfect woman is not
technically real.
The object of Anthony’s affection
is Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of
BY ERIC SPITZNAGEL I L L U S T R A T I O N B Y SEAN McCABEDragons from HBO’s Game of Thrones,
played by 30-year-old actress Emilia
Clarke. But that little detail doesn’t bother
Anthony. He remembers every second of
her naked fire scene.
Even if Daenerys isn’t your cup of sexy,
you’ve no doubt had impure thoughts
about at least one character on the small
screen. “Media shapes the way we view
love and relationships,” says Dr Julia
Lippman, a media researcher at theUniversity of Michigan. “People tend
to adopt the beliefs and expectations
about romance they see portrayed on
TV every night.”
The small-screen women we idealise
are windows into our subconscious,
hinting at what we want from real,
flesh-and-blood women. Here are a few
examples of what your favourite TV
leading lady might reveal about your
innermost desires.