The Sassy Era

Douglas sure knows her stuff. In this week's reading she once again delves into the ever-so-popular topic of feminism in the media and breaks down three noteworthy topics; the stereotypical roles females play in popular television programs and how if their roles deviated from the norm, something else had to give, real-life females violent acts displayed on the nightly news and lastly unlikely characters females portrayed that yielded surprisingly high TV ratings.

In "Get the Girls", Douglas begins by reviewing the success of the two shows Beverly Hills 90210 and Melrose Place. 90210 was a instant phenomena that attracted a predominantly female adolescent audience. Though it's main characters were a mix of both men and women, they were a far cry from what we would call eclectic. They were all white, upper middle class (with the exception of the two main characters who had just moved to the big city all the way from Minneapolis) teenagers with their own share of problems. The shows producers tackled many dilemmas which "normal" teenagers could relate to such as losing your virginity, eating disorders, shoplifting and parental problems, all contributing reasons for the show's ultimate success. These "teenage characters transported young women to a financially untroubled universe in which they could leave their lives hind and try on identities quite different from their own." (30) Despite being such a hit, 90210 sounds the message of bypasses feminism loud and clear. The main family's mom is a stay at home mom who loves cooking, cleaning and disciplining her children (we see later that this is the only mother figure who has any influence on her kids and thus it is accepted that this is the other form of a productive "mom" role). The teenagers in this show as well compliment their stereotypical molds quite nicely as well. The boys are "rational" and "anchored" while the girls are "impressionable" and "susceptible" to the peer pressures of adolescence. My favorite line from Douglas' chapter is, "the one academically ambitious girl Andrea (Gabrielle Carteris) is, yes, Jewish, wears glasses, and is poor. Oy gevalt." (30) We see the roles are a little reversed in the show Melrose Place as the main characters are strong, ambitious, power hungry women who take charge of their own lives. The thing I picked up on from the discussion of this show was that despite the unique roles females played in this show, the women could not have it all. If they were successful, beautiful and intelligent (what a combo for a women's role on television) they were lacking in the love department. If they were successful, intelligent and had a boyfriend you could bet they probably weren't that good looking. Unfortunately this paved the way for future shows to come and once again 'educated' its young female audience members by claiming that once again power reigned from beauty and drove home that once your at the top, something must go wrong since it was destined that women couldn't have it all.

The next chapter "Castration Anxiety", was a great section revolving around real world women in the news media. It highlights two women caught in acts of violence and how they became household names almost instantly. The first, a women named Lorena Bobbitt who cut off her husband's penis after her husband allegedly raped her. The second, a teenage girl named Amy Fisher who shot a women in the face after the women's husband, who turns out was sleeping with Fisher, broke up with the distraught teenager. As Douglas says, "had girls truly gone wild?" (56) These two incidences threatened the social order of male dominance and you better believe the media was there to capture every minute of it. The public had a field day with the portrayals of these two women highlighting their kick-ass, take no prisoners attitudes. Douglas notes, however, that the frenzy would have paled in comparison had the two not been so sexually appealing; it was after all their sexuality that had gained them such notoriety. Douglas then takes the opportunity to introduce Janet Reno, a member of Clinton's staff circa 1992. She was a very successful state prosecutor who was just north of 6 feet and avoided anything resembling make up. Although she was great at her job, the media (especially late night television) loved making fun of her lack of femininity, even questioning at times whether she was really a woman. In this capacity, again, the media is challenging that women (no matter what background) really can't have it all.

Perhaps television took a turn when in the late 1990s the new concept of "Warrior Women in Thongs" emerged. Shows like Xena and Buffy transcended the previous norm and displayed heroic women as the lead roles. These women "were accomplished and powerful, but always, always, slim and beautiful" (77) and most importantly, could kick any guy's butt. It was the first time women were showcased as not being the victim and instead were the ones rescuing others. It was a good turn for the media and, what do you know, the viewers loved it. It is interesting to point out though how Douglas finds that these women exist in other netherworld or parallel universes and that such a female character is not present in the every day lives of the show's easily amused audience members. Gender roles can't change that easily, our society wouldn't let them.