The two women are human beings, not just women, and as Simone de Beauvoir wrote, whenever women start acting like human beings they are accused of trying to be men.
A critic quoted in Julie D’Acci’s "Women Characters and ‘Real World’ Feminism" from her book Defining Women: Television and the Case of Cagney and Lacey. The article sketches the history of the development of Cagney & Lacey as a progressive TV show founded on liberal feminist ideals and the constant negotiation of the femininity portrayed by Cagney and Lacey between the creators of the show and CBS.
Thoughts?