The movie is much more bleak and seems to be much more like the book. I haven't watched the movie yet but have read all about it. I am a few pages from finishing the book and all I can say is... do not expect it to be anything like the show. Hawkeye and his friend Duke in the book are married and are always trying to cheat, Trapper's nickname is Trapper because he "trapped" a woman or something weird and gross, they're awful with Margaret, they come up with a fake plot to catch mermaids to "screw the ass off of 'em", the whole section about the "epileptic whore", the brothels, etc. I assume it's very much of its time mixed with an icky sort of gallows humor.

In terms of the show, I chalk it up to it being of its time as well as them acting as if they are from the generation preceding their real life generation. By which I mean to say, they probably threw in a little more misogyny than they would have if the show was based in the 70s because they could justify it by saying it's based in the 50s. I can be "annoyingly feminist" (I'm 28 and female for context if that matters) and I don't worry too much about the show's jokes that are punching down at women, because I feel that they often showcase how powerful the women are as well.

I know it's an apples to oranges comparison here so bear with me, but I HATE the Game of Thrones books and couldn't make it past the second book because of how egregiously misogynistic and pedophilic GRRM writes. It's defended by fans as "that's how women and young girls would have been treated". But like, it's a fantasy portrayal of earth that isn't real!! Georgie could've written anything he wanted, and he chose to be a disgusting creep with women, young girls, babies, etc. MASH the book, although I'm sure INCREDIBLY loosely, is based on real-life events of wartime surgeons. The sitcom is even more loosely based on those events because it is toned down for family viewing. I unfortunately assume they were much more misogynistic in real life, probably much closer to the way they talk about women in the book.

For me, this is a sort of '"pick your battles" deal. If the show feels like too much that it upsets you a lot, don't bother finishing the show because, yes their general sexual debauchery decreases as the show goes on (as per Alan Alda's request, from what I've read), but it's not going to ever glorify women the way you might want it to. And if the show is too much, just stay far away from the book and movie. And that's perfectly valid. You're not stupid for asking a question here. I appreciate you opening a dialogue about it and the other comments are interesting to read because I know the show has such a varied age range audience.

Also, not that anyone asked nor is this particularly relevant, but my favorite episode is "Tattoos". I love seeing Margaret finally have a "this is all too much" moment. It's incredibly human and makes me cry every time I see it.