a few good women

Dear Makers of Law & Order S.V.U,

It is so great to be able to turn on my television and see a strong woman character like Detective Olivia Benson. Women like Det. Benson are so shockingly refreshing and RARE against the backdrop of saccharin young pseudo-reality stars of the day who are clogging up our channels. Sure, you could've made her into Detective Eliot Stabler's useless "comedic" female side kick, or even into his lover, but you didn't. You keep her tough, independent and compassionate episode after episode. And you didn't stop there; you also gave us a female Medical Examiner and a female Assistant District Attorney.

Actually, thank you to crime shows in general for giving us a few serious and dedicated women who are much more than a sum of their physical parts. These characters can take care of themselves, do everything their male counterparts do and are not treated as mere sex objects for the men of the show. That's not to say the actors who play these characters are not conventionally beautiful- of course they are, but at least they are giving young women something to aspire to other than being perfect plastic socialites.

I just have one question for you:

Why is it that being a strong woman on television means being completely alone and having no personal life to speak of?

Elliot gets his wife and kids, love affairs and Olivia doesn't get a thing outside of her job. Not really fair is it? Are you telling us that women can't have power, respect and equality without it costing them love and happiness?