Women in Television
Share this Article
Twitter
Facebook
Delicious
Digg
Stumble
RedditAuthor:
Maria GuzmanTags:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer internalized racism Reality Bites Back reality shows role models The Real World tv shows
- Image by brizzle born and bred via Flickr
During this past week, a question arose: who are your favorite women in television and why? The contexts changed occasionally–Buffy, True Blood, action heroes–but the reports came up with more jeers than cheers.
This topic remains complicated due to the lack of potential answers. In fact, I can’t remember any characters that I sincerely wanted to be friends with besides a choice few. Furthermore, they were typically supporting roles. If we were all to sit down and choose, what would we come up with? Most likely, we’d reach back into our past, and end up scavenging through most recent faves but most likely, we’d have to reach back even further for a satisfying representation of women we loved to watch onscreen. Afterwards, some of us might feel the urge to cross out women that we wouldn’t want to be identified with.
This is the dilemma that we’ve all experienced; right in the middle of enjoying a good show, it happens. We lose all respect for a character. Expectations are not reached, and we tend to stick to those judgments. So how do we tend to rate women in media? Spoiler alert: it’s mean and also a re-run.
s.e. smith raised a good point about how this boils down to our tastes as viewers. In her Social Commentary blog overa at bitch, she wrote about how our interpretations can end up sounding like woman-bashing as a result of poor programming and internalized sexism:
There are some parallels in the ways we talk about female creators and women characters in pop culture; both are subjected to some truly misogynist, in addition to antifeminist, critiques.
The Today Show also reported that there are changes ahead in the construction of womens’ characters. Guest speaker Jennifer Pozner, author of Reality Bites Back, elaborated upon the longstanding disavowal of stronger, or even fully defined, roles for women. As she made clear in her interview, her interpretation of popular culture and media is motivated by her interest in the power of imagery, and especially the latest concoction in television history–the “reality show.” I was especially struck by her well-researched dialogue–did you know that reality shows are more common now as a result of their bargain rates? It really makes me sad, especially when I think about Heather B and Julie, cast members on the very first season of The Real World; those women managed to exude genuine interest in other people and cultures despite the editing tricks that were used in order to market the show. Pozner and smith are right–lately, the imagination of women in our televised world can be limited.
What are your favorites? What memories do they bring up, and how did they shape your sense of self? Read The Museum of Broadcast Television‘s page about Gender and Television and jog your memory!
Here’s my top 10 list of women in television:
- Denise Huxtable (The Cosby Show): Although it was a toss-up between her and Claire Huxtable, the presence of a new-wave/hip-hop style icon proved to be ahead of its time and a welcome change of pace for young girls who didn’t look like Molly Ringwald (no offense, Molly!).
- Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer): Willow’s romantic interests were treated with respect, and she always offered smart commentary for posturing that typically characterizes action-packed fare. The lesbian jokes were hilarious and poked fun at conservative moralism.
- Laura Palmer (Twin Peaks): This character has haunted pop culture’s memory beyond the series’s short run, and her diary (written by David Lynch’s daughter, Jennifer) elaborated upon a figure whose controversial tale confronted serious issues that can exist even in scenic small towns. The concept of Americana was never the same.
- Liz Lemon (30 Rock): Funny, smart, and willing to satirize what’s popular–Liz Lemon is a Geek hero.
- Kit Porter (The L Word): Like Willow Rosenberg, Kit’s anchoring presence offered a distinct perspective about self-examination, love, and respect.
- Clarissa (Clarissa Explains It All): One of the earliest adolescent stars that existed for my generation–the special effects reinvented the Ferris Buellerisms that marked the Eighties teen sensibility.
- Winnie Cooper (The Wonder Years): The teen years were exceptionally portrayed by her character. While she was the sweetheart next door, Winnie also refuted the doormat personality that is usually attributed to such archetypes.
- Patty Greene (Square Pegs): So. Cool. Sex and the City would have been more legit with a lead like Patty.
- Laverne de Fazio (Laverne and Shirley): What’s not to love about a sarcastic roommate that always has your back?
- Lilly Munster (The Munsters): Lilly’s womanly instincts were at once morbid and playful; she also played a role which changed television history–she and Herman were the first to sleep in one bed together. No more twin beds or typical femininity, ladies and gentlemen…
Are you new to Gender Across Borders? Please read this first. We may update the site, and you can stay in contact with us through our Twitter feed and our newsletter. Like Gender Across Borders on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr. Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
11:14 am
I have to throw out Carol Burnett, because it’s so exceptional for a lady to have her own comedy/variety show with that kind of longevity, and which had garnered so much critical acclaim. (23 Emmy awards!) Cheers to the funny ladies of the world.
11:32 am
oh wow, she was definitely going to be in my Honorable Mentions section but I just KNEW someone would bring her up! did you ever watch Laugh-In? I think that Jo Anne Worley is the bee’s knees…she’s one of the earliest larger-than-life women that I can recall growing up.
11:53 am
What a great clip!
11:16 am
I just finished the L Word last night, and I love love love love the characters, except Jenny Schechter of course
Yes, there are problems with the show’s representation of lesbian sexuality and culture, but you cannot help but love the five women (other than JS) who stay through the show from start to finish and the many more that come into their lives and leave across the six seasons. They are strong women. They are smart women. They are fun women, and they are loyal women.
11:36 am
Indeed, Roxanne! I thought that the show was very open and wondered if perhaps the depiction was more hipster than universal. What did you think about Max’s character, which incited a lot of comments about the potentially negative reinforcement of trans identity on television/pop culture?
10:21 am
Well, with Max it becomes one of those debates: is the show transphobic or are some of the characters? There were certainly some frustrating and even deeply angering moments, but I’m also glad that the show chose not to skirt the issue and instead had a trans character at the center of many plots during the last three seasons. It’s certainly something other shows to this day avoid, so props for that.
12:50 pm
Off the top of my head: I loved Punky Brewster when I was little, Clarissa Explains It All, and more recently Debbie from Dexter. There’s something about all of them that inspire me a little with expressing my own individuality. Oh yeah, I always enjoyed watching Roseanne.
4:50 pm
Sweet! Roseanne was fantastic–she also had Sandra Bernhart on for an ongoing guest role. I think she’s my favorite comedian. Thanks for the comment, Mizz Alice
9:14 am
Sadly American screen writers are usually men who have latent mysoginistic tendencies towards women from:”why did my sister get all the attention, Why didnt Kate want me in Highschool and, I refuse to portray my swee…t innocent mom on television” and replaces the female characters with dramatic-come- fuck- portrayals of women,Usually Kate who didnt want them in highschool, therefore the characters on American TV represents that.
Television plays a great role in our social attitudes towards each other and no one wants to see their own reality on TV, that would be too boring and depressing, so the writers produce Bitch-Whores to replace our inate boring wholesomeness and then after a while we start becomming Bitch-Whores and gladly wait for that likeness to comfort us on Television.
My favorite Television character was actually out of the Adaptation from the Mexican Tela Novella -come American Favorite.Ugly Betty.Though, America Ferrera was awesome, I licked my lips whenever Vanessa Williams came on screen because she played the role of a cruel Diva very well in her designer brands and stillettos to sell your soul for. In the world of writers and entertainment, Ratings is King, whom brings more ratings,controversial stab in the back females or cute little docile lambs? I must also tell you that this is not Just American Television, I am a rabbid Indie Soap Opera and Tela Novella Junkie, though these cultures usually balance out the Evil Bitch Protagonist,who always meets some cruel fate against her sweet innocent Nemesis to depict Good over evil. The story lines also cover a broader base of social everyday issues than just sex, and tension. American Television has lost concept and also usually just focus on one single character with a plot that goes nowhere but into the bedroom and some wretched bitching,manipulation and coniving to get laid. American Television actresses are Divas and the producers and writers do not ever go in the direction of a shared lead therefore the leads are usually surrounded by less paid,less rolled,less written for women who must wilt in the presence of the grand Bitch.. just my opinion though, not liek Im a critic or anything