The Simpsons Feminist Analysis

It is often said that the media and the arts are an accurate reflection of any given community. This is especially true in American pop-culture, where television shows depict the various stereotypes attributed to men and women and the roles they play in society. House, a highly popular medical drama that revolves around Dr. Gregory House and his diagnostic team, is a particularly good example as it represents the true state of the traditional gender roles in American culture today by, both, redefining and reinforcing them over the course of the show.

American society has been known as the melting pot of our world’s many diverse cultures. A nation where many come together to form a multicultural environment. Stemming from this American melting pot of culture is the animated television show, The Simpsons, “a satirical parody of a middle class American lifestyle,” (Flew 1994, p. 97). Starting out as a comic strip created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons came into existence as a thirty minute television show in 1989. As of today, the show has produced over 573 different episodes over a remarkable span of 26 years, and has already been renewed for seasons 27 and 28. The show tends to make many references to our American culture making it a comedic sort of reference to what issues are happening

One can view Two and a Half Men as a parody of old-fashioned gender roles, but in many ways the series still cements some of the outdated views on women. As I do not feel that Two and Half Men accurately depicts gender and sex in the United States on the average, however the show reflects, even though exaggerated, somewhat the idea that women are supposed to be beautiful and for males pleasure. As the saying goes, one cannot be “too rich or too thin”. (Henslin, 2012, p.

It proves “Men on television are…powerful” when Hank commands his family (Witt). In addition, “Women are portrayed as spending much of their time…talking” and “The women in these media are also more likely to be seen doing activities best described as stereo-typically female” (Signorelli). Most of the episode consisted of the women talking. While it conforms a lot, it also defies stenotypes. The Women on the show are average size, not “thin” (Signorelli). When talking, Frankie and hank don’t dominate each going against the stereotype of “…men are usually more dominant.” (Witt). Most of the female characters also wear little to no makeup defying women’s emphasis being “…on attractiveness and desirability”

However, it can be observed and said that they have always lived up to the image of “housewife” material or as a constant collaborator of a male role, instead of being the main character. According to Elasmar, M., Hasegawa, K., & Brain, M, on their essay the portrayal of women in the US prime television, “TV has portrayed females in many ways, studies have shown that women have been underrepresented and stereotyped in TV programs.” Women have been living under that invisible stereotype that has cornered them and does not allow them to grow professionally or socially. TV has been the master-mind behind a stereotype that has left women without the chance of demanding equality or credibility on shows, a stereotype that will always be mentioned and enforce if TV shows do not start producing real-world programs based on true stories or true qualities of

On the same cable networks that act as the home for gay and lesbian television series, America finds its new woman for the new millenium: she’s smart, independent, gainfully employed, sexually confident, and, usually, she’s single. Television finally has room for a woman to fly on her own, without her minivan, Cub Scout den-mother meetings, or workaholic husband to feed and clean up after. The prime example for TV’s new “wonder woman,” is found in the four women of HBO’s Emmy Award winning series, “Sex & The City.” These

On September 20, 1984 a show aired that changed the way we view gender roles on television. Television still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes and in reflecting them TV reinforces them by presenting them as the norm (Chandler, 1). The Cosby Show, challenged the typical gender stereotyping of television, daring to go against the dominant social values of its time period. In its challenge of the dominant social view, the show redefined the portrayal of male and female roles in television. It redefined the gender role in the work place, in social expectations, and in household responsibilities. The Cosby Show supported Freidan in her view of “castigating the phony happy housewife heroine of the

On September 20, 1984 a show aired that changed the way we view gender roles on television. Television still perpetuates traditional gender stereotypes and in reflecting them TV reinforces them by presenting them as the norm (Chandler, 1). The Cosby Show, challenged the typical gender stereotyping of television, daring to go against the dominant social values of its time period. In its challenge of the dominant social view, the show redefined the portrayal of male and female roles in television. It redefined the gender role in the work place, in social expectations, and in household responsibilities. The Cosby Show supported Freidan in her view of "castigating the phony happy housewife heroine of the women's magazines" (Douglas 136).

What does it mean to be a Feminist? Does it automatically mean you hate men or does it mean you're an activist for women's rights? Contrary to popular belief, feminism is not about establishing a superior gender. It is about fighting for equality and destroying the social, cultural and historical norms set upon women throughout the world. The Twenty-first century has brought change and growth to female empowerment. Although, in many parts of the world women are given the same rights as men, they are still treated and viewed inferior to men. G.I. Jane perfectly illustrates the struggle women have gone through, even when given “identical” opportunities as men.

The definition of feminism is very elusive. Maybe because of its ever-changing historical meaning, it’s not for certain whether there is any coherence to the term feminism or if there is a definition that will live up to the movement’s variety of adherents and ideas. In the book “No Turning Back,” author Estelle Freedman gives an accurate four-part definition of the very active movement: “Feminism is a belief that women and men are inherently part of equal worth. Because most societies privilege men as a group, social movements are necessary to achieve equality between women and men, with the understanding that gender always intersects with other social hierarchies” (Freedman 7).

For the record, feminism by definition is: ‘the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.’ It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes. (Watson 1)

The show makes an obvious distinction between how men/boys and women/girls act. Anyway, the episode continues with lisa playing with her doll pretending that Malibu Stacy is giving a speech at the U.N, but Lisa is disappointed when she realizes that the new and improved doll says sexist remarks such as “don’t ask me, I’m just a girl” and “let’s buy make up so that boys will like us!”. Lisa goes on a rant about how “millions of girls will grow up thinking that this is the right way to act! That they cannot be anything more than vacuous ninnies...!”and gets really mad when Bart does not understand why she is so upset. The difference in communication styles is shown here as Lisa is more adept with words than Bart is as Bart can only give Lisa a stupid reply like “that’s what I was going to say.” This illustrates the stereotype that girls are more expressive and sensitive than boys are. On the other hand, Marge plays the more traditional housewife as her mind never delves into issues that are not relevant to the domestic center; she is not privy to relevant discussions on social issues like Lisa and cannot understand why Lisa is so upset. She said that Lisa had been speaking up “an awful lot lately.” This suggests that typical lady-like behavior does not include speaking out and that the mother should enforce positive female behavior. Additionally, in

The Simpsons proves to be a distinguished franchise. The show has been a part of American culture for more than 20 years, with vast number of audiences around the world. The Simpsons provides insights into American culture and the human condition. It is a show we can watch for entertainment purposes, or to ponder philosophical dilemmas. The show offers many perspectives on a variety of issues from politics, religion, sexuality, gender, and culture. This show has characters that represent a diversity of views, experiences, and backgrounds. This gives the writers and producers a lot of leeway as to what they say and what kind of topics the show tackles. The paper will examine several themes of human society and the ways in which certain characters represent and/or shatter various stereotypes about Americans or other groups those characters represent.

The messages presented by these shows have an unrealistic expectation for reality. Almost all the shows project a middle-class, heterosexual couple with their children, and characters of Caucasian race, apart from the Simpsons family who are yellow. Most of the violent/inappropriate actions in the shows will go without consequences. On many occasions, The Simpsons has exhibited child abuse through the actions of Homer Simpson to his son, Bart (Pesce). Men are projected to be the main bread-winner, while the wives are meant to care for the

Sexism is a form of discrimination based on a person's sex, with such attitudes being based on beliefs in traditional stereotypes of different roles of the sexes. Sexism is not just a matter of individual attitudes; it is built into the institutions of society. In the film, Walker