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Representations of
Motherhood and Fatherhood in Contemporary
Advertisements and Sitcoms
Leah Knowles and Colleen Roche WMS 325 Rep.'s of Motherhood Research Paper 17 November 2010 1
Word Count: 1,4181 MLA Documentation
We previously discussed the possibility of exceeding the allotted word count with the professor and were given permission to do so within reason.
2 Our research on the roles of mothers and fathers in contemporary television advertisements and sitcoms has revealed the rampant portrayal of fathers as inept and mothers as the queens of the private sphere. Although we are not the only ones to have noticed this trend, many seem to blame feminists for the perpetual “male-bashing” on contemporary television. On the contrary, we argue that the representations of both fathers and mothers are negative and anti-feminist. Both media genres present a pseudo-feminist perspective in the form of male inadequacy, but in reality they continue to limit women to the domestic realm as wives and mothers. We believe the commercials and shows we observed misrepresent feminist ideals of egalitarian parenthood and, as a result, perpetuate patriarchal standards of parenthood. In general, advertisements have a profound impact on a culture which relies on television as a fundamental pastime. “For example, Singer, Singer, and Rapaczynski (1984) argued that television has as much potential to influence the family as does the home environment, parental behavior, and the socioeconomic milieu of the family” (Bryant, 248). If commercials do influence the formation of familial culture, it is imperative to examine the messages they are sending. “If all you did was watch television commercials for minivans, you might think that the traditional All-American family was still intact... But ads (depending on your perspective) are either selling aspirations or guilt: This is the family you're supposed to have, supposed to want” (Beam). Furthermore, it is important to analyze and critique the messages modern advertisements send regarding the roles of parents. What messages do advertisements portray? “In a perfect world as represented in advertising there are no male primary care givers; all children have the ideal, gender-appropriate set of original parents” (Hill, 244). In my analysis of specific contemporary television advertisements, the images of the dim-witted father and ever-capable mother prevail. The first commercial is selling the iRobot Roomba, a handsfree vacuum cleaner. The mother/wife character narrates, describing her children as pigs and her husband as a donkey. This advertisement reduces both fathers and their children to equally barbaric, destructive forces within the home. The mother, on the other hand, is alone in carrying the house-
3 keeping burden (except for the help of her vacuum). In another advertisement for Pizza Hut, a mother and her two daughters arrive home with the expectation of dinner made by their father/husband. The daughters groan at the thought of their dad cooking and their mother seems to feel the same way. When they enter the house, they discover that Dad has ordered pizza, causing the girls to squeal in delight and his wife to sigh in relief as she tells him she loves him. In the end, the father jokes to his family, “who says I can't cook?” I believe this commercial is anti-feminist on a number of levels. First of all, the mother is expected to slave away in the kitchen actually cooking a meal while the father excuses himself from the responsibility. The mother is also somehow too naïve to know how to order a pizza. In addition, since Pizza Hut can be considered fast food and is unhealthy to eat on a regular basis, the father-figure is portrayed as both an incompetent cook and a poor advocate for the health of his children. I believe that these advertisements are antithetical to the claims of feminism because while they portray the female as the more intelligent parent, she is still confined to the same domestic setting. “In that latter scenario—particularly when it comes to home and hearth—women are the calm, efficient counterweight to irresponsible men” (Unger, 173). “Some feminists might argue that, for decades, women on TV looked mindless, and that turnabout is fair play” (Abernethy). While this may be true, are these commercials which supposedly promote women's rights doing so at the expense of men? “It reads a little differently if you're a woman who wants her husband to take some or all of the responsibility for child care or if you are a father who takes caring for his children seriously” (Unger, 164). These negative representations of parenthood can also be found in contemporary sitcoms. Similar to commercials, sitcoms have a profound impact on our society’s ideologies. “There is consistent evidence that television, film and video… have substantial short-term effects on arousal, thoughts and emotions” (Livingstone, 6). “Americans own more televisions sets than inhabitants of any other country” (Schor, 3). This pervasiveness suggests how important television is to our culture. Often
4 present in many popular sitcoms is the representation of the “typical family.” Incorporated into this representation of family exists a pseudo-feminist perspective in the form of male incompetence. “You’ve seen him plenty of times on sitcoms; he’s the dumb, bumbling, idiot dad, who appears useless at everything but bringing home a paycheck” (Voyer). These sitcoms “feature women who are better organized and possess better relational skills than their male counterparts” (Abernethy). “Television scholars have already identified the ways in which particular television texts identified as ‘feminist’ redirect independent, assertive female characters into safely traditional female categories” (Rabinovitz, 9). Everybody Loves Raymond is a popular sitcom that displays this redirection of the female character from strong to merely domestic, while the father remains inept when it comes to parenting. During my analysis of the episode “Home From School,” I found evidence that reinforced this ideal. During this episode, Deborah (the mother character) attempts to get her son Michael to go to school after playing “hooky” for two days. As Michael resists her efforts, she asks his father Raymond to go upstairs and get their child out of bed. While Raymond begins parenting their child, Deborah stands behind him and acts as a coach, telling Raymond what to say. When Michael continues to resist, Raymond turns to Deborah and explains that he just “can’t do it.” While this scene seems to support feminist ideals by portraying Deborah as a strong woman, it also works against feminism by insinuating that the domestic roles are up to the woman to perform. Raymond’s character remains infantilized and because of this he is exempt from parenting. As the episode progresses, Raymond’s parents appear. When Raymond’s mother Marie finds out that her grandson has stayed home from school yet again, she immediately questions Deborah’s parenting. When Deborah begins to refute this argument and explain to Marie that she had asked Ray to help, Marie perpetuates the patriarchal standard by insisting that Deborah isn’t parenting correctly, excusing Raymond from parenting and the domestic sphere. Throughout this series, Deborah is limited to the domestic realm due to her title as mother. Also present in this sitcom and episode was the “reification of motherhood as the central element in a women’s identity” (Dow, 195).
5 I believe an audience may interpret Deborah’s powerful presence as if egalitarian standards are accurately represented. Rather than accepting Ray’s inabilities or desire to parent, she forces him to assist her in getting their son out of bed. However, she still stands behind Ray, telling him what to say. This works against feminist claims, but can easily be overlooked and viewed as if Raymond and Deborah’s parental responsibilities are egalitarian. The presence of Marie also works against the feminist ideal by reinforcing the ideology that the domestic duties and children are a woman’s job. Throughout this series, Marie is constantly excusing Ray from parenting and household chores while criticizing Deborah for her poor parenting methods. This “sitcom is basically repetitive; it uses stock characters and recycles variations on the same plot over and over” (Dow, 49). Exhibited throughout our research was evidence that the media works in misleading ways when it presents information to our society. Both advertisements and sitcoms misrepresent feminist ideals. Even though there were powerful women in these commercials and sitcoms, “that power usually came through association with a male family member and hardly challenged the power of patriarchy” (Dow, 97). The media includes strong female figures and some semblance of an egalitarian family, but in commercials and sitcoms these representations continue to limit women to the domestic sphere and reinforce patriarchal standards. “Family television assumes that feminist goals have been achieved, for the most part, by women’s access to the public sphere” (Dow, 99). However, while exploring the presence of females in advertisements and sitcoms we discovered this “access” was misrepresented and kept a woman’s place confined to the home.
6 Works Cited Abernethy, Michael. “Male Bashing on TV.” Pop Matters 9 Jan. 2003. Web. Beam, Cris. “The Changing American Family.” American Baby May 2005. Web. 1 Nov. 2010. Bryant, Jennings. Television and the American Family. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001. Print. Donaldson-Evans, Catherine. “Dad's in Charge in New TV Ads.” 11 Jan. 2005. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. Dow, Bonnie J. Prime-Time Feminism: Television, Media Culture, and the Women's Movement Since 1970. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. Print. Gamble, Cole. “15 Most Sexist Daytime Commercials.” Babble: For a New Generation of Parents. Web. Hill, Daniel Delis. Advertising to the American Woman. 1st ed. Ohio State University Press, 2002. Print. Livingstone, Sonia. “Do the Media Harm Children?.” Journal of Children and Media 1.1 (2007): 5-14. Web. Rabinovitz, Lauren. “Sitcoms and Single Moms: Representations of Feminism on American TV.” Cinema Journal 29.1 (1989): 3-19. Print. Schor, Juliet B. Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture. 1st ed. Scribner, 2004. Print. Unger, Donald. Men Can: The Changing Image and Reality of Fatherhood in America. Temple University Press, 2010. Print. Voyer, Marc. “Top 10: Worst Male-Bashing Ads.” AskMen.com: Helping, Educating, Entertaining. Web.