Gender Stereotypes - Term Paper Example

Gender Stereotypes The differences, attributes and the general roles of particular individuals in the family have existed for centuries. These roles are accompanied with gender assumptions regardless of the modern world evidence, thus perpetuating the gender stereotypes. Globally, people have recognized the dangers that come with such stereotyping yet they still cling to them from generation to generation. Traditionally, the role of a female in the society is to marry and bear children. Moreover, she is supposed to place the family’s welfare or interests before hers; be caring, sympathetic, loving, nurturing and compassionate. On the other hand, the male is supposed to be the breadwinner of the family, the financial provider; a man is expected to be independent, assertive, career-focused, courageous and competitive and always be the one initiating sex. Thus, there is so much weight, scientifically, that children will always learn these stereotypes from their parents (Franz, 14). However, as we look at this from a legal perspective, the current society advocates for equality; men and women should have equal or same rights in the society. The evidence of all these is in the television sitcom Modern Family which places emphasis on the outdated ideologies and stereotype roles in families. This analysis will explore a number of aspects on how gender roles are depicted in families. The television series (Modern Family) revolves around the lives of members of three families who end up forming a one extended family. It portray common but innovative societal aspects in the twenty first century such as a father who had an interracial marriage with a relatively younger woman and a couple that is gay adopting a baby of a different race. The series present a number of prevalent gender stereotypes. To start with, women are seen as unintelligent, emotional and irrational persons in families. Alex is the only exception. However, she is deemed to be unattractive. A perfect example of an inaccurate stereotype is presented in the “Fifteen Percent” episode where Phil says, “You put the remote on to TV mode and then press "Input" till you get HDMI 1 and- -!” Claire has some difficulties using technology such as the remote controls and alarm systems, unlike Phil. Additionally, Claire gets frustrated when an attempt to use a technological device fails leading her to be irrational and emotional; she even, sometimes, throws such devices on the floor. Whenever Phil attempts to teach her how to use any electronic gadget, Claire is treated like a child in that Phil comes up with a childish song that he believes can enable Claire to remember how a gadget is used. For instance, when Phil is teaching her how to use a thermostat, he used this song: “The snowflake button makes it cold, cold, cold "Set temperature" makes it hold, hold, hold…. The little flame makes it hot… [Crying] This is so humiliating,” Claire said. In addition, when Phil purchases a new remote control Claire claims that it appears to be too complicated to use. She goes further and challenges Phil to teach one of their children how to use the device. Phil gets disappointed when Claire mentions that Haley should be taught how to handle the gadget and not Luke. Phil says. “I taught Haley how to use the remote in 20 minutes. So think how fast you can learn it.” This implies that Haley will have a lot of difficulties mastering how to use the remote control because she is not intelligent. This offends her, “What’s that supposed to mean?” She asks. As much as the two parents agree on Luke not being the brightest either, that scene is a suggestion that females will always have difficulties using electronic gadgets, compared to males. Thus, the aspect of hegemonic masculinity is brought forth in this series; dominant males’ positions and the females’ subordinate positions in families are portrayed. The aspect of patriarchy dominates in the series. Men are the bread winners in these families. For instance, Phil Dunphy is portrayed as immature and goofy but being the man in the family, he takes on a professional role while Claire stays at home take care if the children. This emphasizes patriarchy since the roles of men and women are distinctively defined. As portrayed by Claire, women’s role in families is caregiving. Moreover, Gloria is ever seen at home either taking care of Manny or in the kitchen cooking. She says, “When my grather used to cook, the whole house would she…” This is a domestic role that fully supports the idea of patriarchy. Jay is always in charge of the family because his position is of a breadwinner. However, there are instances when Gloria manipulates Jay at some instances. For instance, she says, “Jay, he wont admit it, but I know that Mannys sad because hes missing the party. Why dont we take him somewhere to take his mind off it, hmm? I could have guessed hed have trouble with roller coasters.” This incident fulfills additional gender stereotypes; Gloria wants Jay to do what he never intended to. Gloria displays some elements of “gold digging.” Gold diggers are women who are romantically attached to men because of their wealth. Thus, this characteristic in women is presented in the episode “Coal Digger” whereby Claire calls Gloria by the name gold digger. Moreover, every other character in the series thinks indeed Gloria is a gold digger, “If I say something that everybody else is thinking, does that make me a mean person? Or does it make me a brave person? One who is courageous enough to stand up and-and say something behind someones back to a 10-year-old.” Jay, Gloria’s husband, is a wealthy man and Gloria, according Jay, is always seen spending money on new clothes regularly. The age difference between these couple is quite large and thus it indicates Gloria got married to Jay simply because of his wealth. Haley is portrayed as a victim of clever pranks by Alex, her sister. When Phil tries to explain how an iPad functions, “a movie theater, music store and a library rolled into one,” Alex makes fun of Haley by turning to her and say, “A library is a place where people get books.” Haley goes further and responds, “A movie theater is a place where people go on dates.” This scene places emphasis on the dumb girl stereotype-Haley. In addition, Alex shows that Haley is too dumb to explain what a library is. The episode “Hit and Run” presents Claire as a woman who is tired of being a housewife and opt to run or rather vie for public office. Her actions lead to temporary changing roles of the two parents for the day. However, Phil’s staying at home taking care of the children that day never lasts due to his professional role in the family. As Claire tries to run for the position of the town council, the features of emotional and irrationality in women are depicted when her rival (a councilman) says. “I dont plan on losing to some bored housewife, so dont quit your lack of a day job.” Claire is seen as a woman who is tired of being a housewife and she is working out a new project. Thus, this episode fully persuades patriarchy and presents the importance of the initial traditional gender roles. Taking a look at the family of the gay couple, they are both male but they go by the traditional roles of a man and woman in a family. Mitchell takes on a professional role since he is the breadwinner of the family. Cameron, on the other hand, takes on the domestic roles just like any other women in families; he maintains the home and acts as the family’s care giver. There is an unsuccessful switch of duties in the “Benched” episode when Cameron tries to look for a job while Mitchell stays at home. Cameron ends up missing Lily, their daughter. He says, “Being away from my Lily is literally torture.” On the other hand, Mitchell admits that he loves Lily so much but he cannot take the same role as Cameron’s, “As much as I love Lily- which is, you know, more than life itself- I am- whoo- not cut out to be a stay-at-home dad,” says Mitchell. This show portrays Cameron as the woman in the family. Though, offensive to any male in the society, Cameron’s role seals the gap between gender and sex; he takes a role of a typically woman in a family thus promoting the aspect of hegemonic masculinity. Thus, the series “Modern Family” is given an ironic title as per the way characters take on their roles in the families. Gender stereotype in this television show is not far from the traditional roles of men and women in families. Whether these depictions are intentional or not, these families are quite far from an ideal modern family where gender equality is prioritized. Therefore, the series is reinforcing the traditional gender roles, attributes, hegemonic masculinity and patriarchy (Smith and Crystal, 13). Moreover, the show does a remarkable job to depict several actions and situations that tend to be pulled away from the stereotypes that are rigid in the minds of individuals in the current society. It has enabled us to look into a number of situations that our modern family settings are not used to due to everything that televisions have portrayed in many years. Works Cited Brott, Armin A. “Not All Men Are Sly Foxes.” The Bedford Reader. Vol 10. Boston: Bedfor St. Martin’s, 2009. 345-47. Print. Franz, Stephanie. Gender Identity and Gender Stereotype as Interacting Influences on Child Adjustment. Michigan: ProQuest. 2009 Smith, Stacy L., and Crystal, Allene C. Gender Stereotypes: (2008): n. pag. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media. The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, 2008. Web. 12 Jan. 2015. Read More