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Gender roles in television
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I Love Lucy (1951-1957)
I Love Lucy was a counter-culture show due to it not following the norms of shows from the 50's. Lucy still cleaned, cooked,and had a stereotypical white suburban family, but she challenged the role as well, due to being seen as the dominant character. In the second season there is an epsiode in which Lucy and her husband, Ricky, swaped places. He cooked and cleaned, while she worked. This was a step towards change in gender roles. -
Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963)
June Evelyn Bronson Cleaver, in Leave it to Beaver, was the stereotyplical woman role. The show portrays her as a women who cleans, cooks, and is expected to stay at home. It implies that women during this time were not to pursue a higher education, work, and that they are a fragile figure who dresses in high heels. -
The Donna Reed Show (1958-1966)
The ideal housewife of the 1950's is patient and obedient to her husband, while taking care of her family. The Donna Reed Show depicts just that. Donna is the mother of a stereotypical family, but she feels annoyed as if she is being taken advantage of. The show follows the norm because of the post WWII family situation, but you could tell the gender roles of women were slowly being broken due to Donna thinking she is being treated unfairly. -
The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968)
The Andy Griffth Show was popular sitcom from the 60s well known for conveying to Americans a nostalgic desire for an idyllic small town lifestyle. Remarkably, the show's first season included a progressive female character named Ellie who is a pharmacist, a career which was dominated by men at the time. In addition to this shift in the depiction of women in television, the show was also one of the first to address the emerging women’s right movement without condescension. -
I Dream of Jeannie (1965-1970)
I Dream of Jeannie was a sitcom which starred a female genie who serves the male lead character after he activates her lamp. Jeannie is depicted as seductive, submissive, and ignornant. Her performance was a typical example of the behaviors men desired from women in the 60s. -
Star Trek (1966-1969)
Star Trek was a sci-fi show which was groundbreaking for its depiction of women. One of the shows most prominent female character, Lt. Uhura played by Nichelle Nichols, was a communications officer as well as the fourth in command on board the starship Enterprise. She is almost never portrayed as a stereotypical woman incapable of accomplishing anything without male assistance. Having a woman in such a prominent position with her responsibilities was truly remarkable for 60s television. -
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
-A unique sitcom that ran from 1970-1977
-Different from other single women sitcoms
-Associate producer of a news station
-Showed a woman who was able to make it on her on without a husband or family -
Maude
-Maude was a sitcom that aired from 1972-1978
-She was an "outspoken, politically liberal, middle aged" women living in the suburbs of New York
-Broke the social norms of women at the time -
Golden Girls
-4 elder women sharing a house in Miami
-Stories deal with various aspects of their lives
-Became an instant hit -
Seinfeld (1989-1998)
Elaine, from Seinfeld has been praised as a feminist Icon for her well developed character, relatability, and rejection of traditional gender roles. She rarely desplays any interest in getting married, rather, she spends her time and energy on her work and her friends. -
Simpsons (1989-Present)
This animated series has been praised for tackling issues like gender inequality, racism, and bigotry head on with a light and often times intelligent humor. Despite the fact that the mother in the show, Marge, conforms to typical gender roles, it is apparent that Lisa, the daughter, is highly intelligent, and often times challenges gender roles and expresses her desire for a career. -
Friends (1994-2004)
From 1994 to 2004 Friends was a smash hit that followed a circle of friends in Manhattan. The show has been criticized as being sexist for several reasons including how all of the women in the show actively pursue getting married, the fact that all of the women in the show are "unhealthily skinny," and various other instances of the characters adhering to gender roles -
How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014)
In this show, traditional gender roles are largely ignored. The main character, Ted Mosby, a hopeless romantic trying to find the one. On the other side of the equation there is Robbin who, for most of the series has no desire to get married or have children. Both of these characters refuse to conform to traditional gender roles. -
Modern family (2009-Present)
Displays women in the context of a family. They are shown fulfilling traditional gender roles. There are two women in the adult cast. Both are mothers, both are wives, both stay at home. Even in the family with two homosexual fathers, one is shown fulfilling the "homemaker" role, while the other fulfills the "breadwinner" role.
