Women’s Domestic Roles in Popular

Television Shows

Throughout the Years

By Maral Cavner,

Our Group’s GoalTo examine and cross-

evaluate women’s domestic roles in popular television shows, starting

in the 1950s and continuing through to

today.

Goal Refined We are now focusing specifically on housewives and their role in media and

avoiding other themes that might conflict (such as race, reality television, family dynamics, etc.) so that we might

give proper attention to our central themes and not spread ourselves too thin. Thus, we have eliminated four

shows from our research.

Our Approach: We are transcribing the scripts from the first (pilot)

episode and the finale episode for the four remaining TV shows.

We will then enter this data into the PC-ACE software and code for various gender themes such as: Love. Submission. Obedience. Employment. How the family treats the man vs. the woman. Women’s activities.

Our Approach Continued:

We will also analyze: Tonality. Feeling conveyed. Bias.

And other factors that are found when watching a television show vs. reading the scripts.

From this we will examine how TV affects the human ethos in comparison to reading it?

1950s: I Love Lucy

Ricky auditions for a new TV show but sends Lucy downtown to file their wills so she won’t find out and audition for the show.

The clown for the show gets hurt and Lucy finds out about the audition. She acts as a clown, rescues the show, and save the day.

Themes: deception, heroism, comedy.

Example Source of Literature Available For the 1950s and

1960s Spangler, L.C. (2003). Television Women

from Lucy to Friends: Fifty Years of Sitcoms and Feminism. Westport: Praeger Publishers.

1970s: The Brady

Bunch

Pilot: - Mike and Carol's wedding.- Carol is constantly worrying about her appearance.- Vows are exchanged promising to love, honor, and obey.

Finale:- Bobby and Cindy take on jobs.- Carol is a devoted mother offering encouragement and support.

Example Source of Literature Available For the 1970s and

1980s

Signorelli, Nancy. “Television And Conceptions About Sex Roles: Maintaining Conventionality And The Status Quo.” Sex Roles 21.5/6 (1989): 341-360. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 20 Sept. 2012.

1990s: 7th

Heaven

In this pilot episode, audiences are introduced to the tight-knit Camden family, who reside in Glen Oak, California. Protestant minister Eric Camden and homemaker Annie enjoy a very loving and happy marriage as they raise their five children--rebellious Matt, athletic Mary, emotional Lucy, inquisitive Simon, and adorable little Ruthie--all of whom range from ages 5 to 16. Each Camden offspring manages to keep their parents on their toes on a daily basis with their varying problems, but things are ready to start changing for the family when they receive upsetting news.

7th Heaven Continued

:

The description uses the word "homemaker" to describe the wife and mentions the "loving and happy marriage" the main characters have in the show.  They also mention that one of the daughters is "emotional," which is a common female stereotype.  This episode will most likely portray gender roles between the working father and stay at home mother.  It will be interesting to see who deals with the children's "varying problems" more - the mom, dad, or if the show has them as a parenting team.

Example Source of Literature Available For the 1990s

Wood, Helen. Talking with Television: Women, Talk Shows, and Modern Self-reflexivity. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2009. Print. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dgIr7MAiL7gC&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&dq=housewives+in+modern+television&ots=GxMng0zMDi&sig=IQwqOSl5HlMQCq0NbvkIzwUE1qQ#v=onepage&q=housewives%20in%20modern%20television&f=false)

This book discusses how personalities and ideas clash in the living room when watching the television, but what the broader implications there are for the real world.

The book also discusses the consumption practices of modern women and how they use television characters to shape their real lives.

2000s: Desperate

Housewives Pilot Summary:

The suicide of a woman named Mary Alice rattles the other residents of Wisteria Lane, including her closest friends. There's former high-powered businesswoman Lynette Scavo (Felicity Huffman), who is unable to manage her three unruly boys. There's klutzy single mom Susan Mayer (Teri Hatcher). There's model-turned-trophy-wife Gabrielle Solis (Eva Longoria). And, finally, we have the perfect homemaker, Bree Van de Kamp (Marcia Cross). These four ladies were Mary Alice's best friends. And not a single one of them has a clue as to why she killed herself.

At Mary Alice's wake, Susan meets plumber/hunky new neighbor Mike Delfino (James Denton). Susan approaches Mike and lies about having a clogged drain. Susan's initiative as a prowling divorcee comes into conflict with her daughter’s education when we see her stuff her daughter’s school project down the drain to create the aforementioned clog.

Desperate Housewives Pilot Summary Continued

Stuck at her husband’s boring work party Gabrielle falls into the arms of her teenage gardener, John (Jesse Metcalfe), with whom she's been having a secret affair. Gabrielle’s husband notices the yard hasn't been mowed when leaving for the party. Rather than risking having John fired, Gabrielle sneaks away from the party and mows the lawn -- in her long dress and high heels.

Themes related to women: women keeping secrets, lack of loyalty to spouses or family (daughters’ school projects), and chiefly the pursuit of being thought of as the “perfect housewife.”

Example Source of Literature Available For the 2000s

McCabe, Janet, and Kim Akass. Quality TV: Contemporary American Television and Beyond. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. Print.

This book focuses on the late 1990s through 2000s era of consumer choice in television, with a special section on female consumption. It examines the dramatic shift from the past in television shows that today would be deemed, by their viewer numbers, as ‘quality television,’ including Desperate Housewives.

Thank you for your

attention! The end!