"Life As We Know It" Movie Poster: An Exhibit of Negative Gender Stereotypes

 

          The above picture is the movie poster for Life As We Know it starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel. It is about two god parents who didn't know the other existed until the parents of their godson die and they are responsible for raising the child together. The movie poster sums up the messages viewers get regarding gender and raising children: women naturally fall into the warm, caring, "mother" role, while men are portrayed as babies themselves, despite being well into their 20s and 30s. 

         In the poster, Heigl looks well put together. She is responsibly and happily following the baby with open arms, and paying attention to him. Duhamel is shown as an "adult" baby, in only white underwear and sneakers, and a bottle in his mouth. He is careless, easy going, and irresponsible and cannot get his life situated. Despite all of this, Heigl settles for a relationship with him, and they live "happily ever after".

          This can be seen as offensive to both men and women. Men are commonly presented in movies as juvenile and immature, especially when the situation involves traditional "female" roles, such as child-rearing, and it takes a woman and many, many years for them to realize that they are no longer children. Women could be offended by this because it makes it seem like, although they deserve more, they typically decide to settle for a lesser man and find his negative qualities endearing rather than annoying and insulting. On top of this, they will have to assume the role of parent and adult immediately and not be able to count on their male counterparts for support in the household.

          The gender stereotypes on display here are offensive and reprehensible, but it is not uncommon in films and television shows.

--Breana Swain

Stronger Female Leads, Stronger Female Viewers

It is proven that shows that have strong, independent females in lead roles, such as Law and Order: Special Victims Unit’s lead detective Olivia Benson, played by Mariska Hargitay, causes viewers to have higher opinions of women. Watching shows with powerful women has been proven to make women feel less anxious. Also, shows with passive female characters correlated with men having more negative attitudes towards females. On the contrary, men felt less anxious when watching shows with passive women, opposed to men who watched shows with strong women. This goes to show that women gain a lot from watching shows with tough women. It lets them know that they don’t have to be vulnerable or play the victim, and they do have power and can protect themselves. Men found it more comforting when women were vulnerable and submissive. Law and Order: SVU is a great example of a show that has overall very high ratings, and a very strong, female main character.

SVU's Olivia Benson

--Breana Swain

Mary and Anne Boleyn: Women's Roles in "The Other Boleyn Girl"

        (Mary and Anne Boleyn)

          “The Other Boleyn Girl” is a historical fiction movie depicting sisters Anne (Scarlett Johannsen) and Mary (Natalie Portman) Boleyn, who are pitted against each other to vie for the affection of King Henry VIII. Because Anne is a woman, she has no control over her fate and because Mary is a woman, she is exiled from the country for standing up for herself publicly. The stereotypes are inherent in the culture of Elizabethan England, and it wasn't seen as sexist in those times because it was the way things were run.    

This movie has a strong message that men, be it your husband, father, or lover, are in charge. The women's main jobs were to bear children, and acquiesce to men's wills. Mary Boleyn, the "good" sister, is forced by her father and her uncle to have sex with the King in order for him to have a male heir, despite her incessant pleas to not have to have an extra-marital affair and hurt her husband, the Kings wife, or her sister Anne, who was originally appointed to bear his children.  Her mother attempts to voice her opinions against this plan for the family to achieve a higher status in the county by saying that it was a bad idea and would ruin the family's reputation, but the men dismiss her thoughts. Not once are any women in this movie asked how they felt, because they are shown as mere subjects and pawns.

Anne was originally chosen to be the Kings mistress, but because she showed too much strength, he decides that he doesn't want her anymore and goes for the more willing, vulnerable sister. Anne is sent away to France to learn “proper female behavior”, all because she is a woman and women were not supposed to show self-will and independence.

Mary and Anne Boleyn had their lives completely ruined and were under the reign of the men in their lives all because of their gender.

(Anne Boleyn, Mary Boleyn, and King Henry VIII)

--Breana Swain

Women of Power: The Future

The Devil Wears Prada - 2006

In many recent movies such as “The Devil Wears Prada,” there are women in strong business roles.  It is happening in our world today, so it will appear in future movies and television.  Women are becoming a more powerful part of the workforce in every socioeconomic class from small town businesses to CEOs to Wall Street.  Women in power, no matter their status, are portrayed as headstrong independent individuals who stand tall for what they believe in, fueling their success.  In “The Devil Wears Prada”, Miranda Priestly is editor in chief of American Runway magazine, which puts her in a position of high power.  Throughout the movie, she belittles almost everyone underneath her, but in such a way that shows she has worked hard for everything she has.  I believe that future movies will continue along this path, showing the struggles that a certain heroine went through to get to where she wants to be in life. 

- Carly Cibelli

Caught Between Classes: Remember Me

 

Remember Me - 2010

“Remember Me” is a 2010 film about an unexpected love.  Alyssa is a middle class daughter of a police officer who falls in love with Tyler, the son of a very wealthy man.  Tyler chooses to live a lower class life for he resents his father for pressuring his brother to live the high class life which led to his suicide.  Tyler was arrested by Alyssa’s father before he met her, as seen in the above screenshot.  Alyssa slowly finds out about Tyler’s rich family but it doesn’t matter to her.  Alyssa’s father, on the other hand, judges Tyler on the lower class lifestyle he chooses to live.  Alyssa is a strong young woman and makes her own decisions to take her space when she needs it and to support Tyler through his struggle to make an emotional connection to his wealthy father.  This story shows a headstrong woman caught in the battle between social classes because of the love she has for a man.

- Carly Cibelli

Middle Class Mom - The Emperor's New Groove

 

The Emperor's New Groove - Middle Class Mom

 

The Emperor’s New Groove, a 2000 animated film, was the first Disney movie to have a pregnant woman as a main character.  Chica, the lower class wife of Pacha, is already a mother of two small children.  The family lives in the mountains in a small rural town.  The emperor, Kuzco, wants to build his summer resort on the site of their mountain home.  This movie shows the struggles between socioeconomic class as the wealthy Kuzco believes that it is his right to destroy the home Pacha has worked so hard to maintain.  Pacha’s family are farmers and work hard to put food on the table and raise their children well.  At the end of the story, Kuzco comes around and deceides not to build his summer resort, displaying an understanding and an emotional connection between two very different classes.  In addition, the fact that Chica is pregnant shows a dueling struggle of the gender role a middle class woman is put into versus where she chooses to be.

- Carly Cibelli

Ignorant Opression Based on Class and Race: The Color Purple

The Color Purple - Hell No

Though the film “The Color Purple” takes place in the 1900’s to 1930’s, the film was made in 1985 based on the novel written in 1982.  This particular scene shows the struggle of a lower class woman to protect her pride when degraded by an upper class woman.  Mrs. Millie, the mayor’s wife, asks Sofia to be her maid.  When Sofia attempts to stand up for herself and her rights, she answers with a blunt, “Hell no!”  When the mayor hears her response, he slaps her to punish her for her lack of respect.  Sofia then slaps him back to defend her self worth and knocks him out.  She is sent to jail and sentenced to 12 years of being the mayor’s maid- the very thing that hurt her pride to begin with.  This is both a battle of socioeconomic class and race.  Mrs. Millie believes that she is kind to the lower class Sofia, but in actuality, she is unknowingly oppressing her and her family.  Because Sofia is of lower class and a minority race, Mrs. Millie assumes that her offer is morally correct and should be appreciated.  This is a struggle that continues to exist today between the upper and lower class.

- Carly Cibelli

Gender Roles in Film and TV: Through the Decades

Since television history began, in 1928, there has been major stereotyping of gender roles. Women are typically seen as homemakers, while men are the breadwinners. This follows popular shows since the 1950s and gender role stereotypes, or lack thereof, within them. 

1950s- I Love Lucy, starring '50s icon Lucille Bell, portrays major gender stereotyping. Lucy, the wife, is a stay at home mom who waits on her husband. While he is out at work daily, she cooks, cleans, and maintains the household. She is shown as a silly, unintelligent woman who consistently gets herself into trouble when trying to step out of her gender box, such as by joining the workforce, as shown in one episode. Her husband works hard then comes home to save her from whatever problem she got herself into.

I Love Lucy 

1960s- Leave it to Beaver didn't stray from the "I Love Lucy" ideal. It shows the typical housewife, June Beaver, who supports the man of the house and stays home taking care of the home and the children. Ward Beaver, the husband and father, held a white collar job and was the decision maker and bread winner of the family.

Dad on Leave it to Beaver talking to son

1970s- This decade saw a shift in women’s media portrayal. For example, in the classic movie Grease the men are still headstrong, smart leaders, but the women gain a greater sense of self importance, and show more sexuality through clothing and behavior. The sex kitten stereotype became more popular in the '70s with Charlie’s Angel’s. This series is about three young, beautiful women who worked as investigators of crime. They solved issues on their own, and showed intelligence, strength, and independence not really seen before this series. They also always showed off their bodies, going undercover in very revealing costumes, and are rarely ever shown without tight, skimpy outfits.

Charlie's Angels star in action

1980s/1990s- The '80s and '90s showed a major shift in gender roles, with shows like Full House and Roseanne.  Full House depicts a family that led by three men and no women. The guys work and take care of the home and three young girls, which was very revolutionary in that time. Roseanne shows a full figured, headstrong, wildly outspoken woman who works, was the primary decision maker in the family, and constantly balanced the line between gender roles. Women in the workforce and single-father families was a major shift from the '50s gender portrayals.

Full House family

2000-Present- Grey’s Anatomy, the hit series of the 21^st century, showcases a huge change in gender stereotyping. Females and males hold white-collar, demanding, equal jobs in society. Both genders are seen as respected and intelligent. High School Musical, a popular movie for tweens, shows females and males dancing and singing in a school play, which can be seen as a female activity.

Grey's Anatomy Cast

Future- Currently, many television shows and movies still hold gender role stereotypes, but there are also many that are breaking away from them. The future will hopefully show well rounded women who do help in the home, equally with their male counterparts, but also hold jobs and are independent. For men, I hope to see more of the less head strong, “macho” stereotypes that the media tends to show. 

Salt Of The Earth: Middle Class Women and Equality

"Salt Of The Earth" 1954

“Salt Of The Earth” is a 1954 independent film by three blacklisted Hollywood directors.  The movie follows the story of 1950’s working class miners on strike at Empire Zinc Company in New Mexico.  These men are protesting for better and safer work conditions but are plagued in their mission when they are legally banned from holding a strike.  The wives and women step up to fight for their men, who do not appreciate their act of valor.  Instead, the women are oppressed by the men, similar to the way the company oppressed the miners.  In the movie, the men learn that by working with their equal female partners, more can be achieved.  In the social class system in this era, most middle class women were domestic house wives, but many struggled for the pursuit of equality, especially in the work place due to the aftermath of World War II.  While men were off at war, middle class women were forced into taking over the open jobs.  This empowerment continued after the conclusion of the war and workplace equality is still fought for today.

- Carly Cibelli