I started watching Grey’s Anatomy last year, and now I never miss an episode. While there are sources out there that claim there are no gender issues in Grey’s Anatomy, I strongly disagree. Every female character on the show has their own identity and is trying to get ahead in the field of medicine. As well as gender, the show has a very racially diverse cast. It also doesn’t hurt to add the fact that the creator and writer of the show, Shonda Rhimes, is an African-American female.
The hegemonic norms of males being dominant are sometimes apparent in Grey’s Anatomy. The chief of surgery, Richard Webber, is a male. Also, three of the main surgeons are males (Derek Shepherd, Preston Burke, and Mark Sloan). While there are many men in charge, the female characters on the show have strong personalities and therefore are able to show their dominance in the hospital as well.
One of the most apparent counter-hegemonic elements of the show comes in the character Miranda Bailey, one of the residents at Seattle Grace hospital. She is in charge of the five interns that the show follows, and from the beginning she was known as the Nazi because of her toughness. All of the interns, and even some of the doctors, fear her. Recently on the show, the chief of surgery, Richard Webber, is planning on retiring and needs to find a replacement. He told Miranda that he wishes he could give the job to her because he knows she’s one of the few people who could do the job right.
Last season, Miranda had to leave work for a while because she was pregnant and had a baby. This new role for her made her question her toughness and ability to be a good doctor. Being a mother made her maternal instincts come out more often at work. She had always been the one to tell her interns not to get involved with patients lives because it makes it harder to do their job. She then found herself doing just that. Eventually Miranda had to understand that she had to change her ways of thinking, and being more caring would make her a better doctor.
Some people may watch the show and think of the main character, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), as “whiney” and can sometimes seem helpless. However in a recent episode, at least to me, she showed her strength and that she is capable of standing on her own. As the show progresses, she continues to find her strengths
The other main female characters include one surgeon, Addison Montgomery, one resident, Callie Torres, and two interns, Isobel Stevens and Christina Yang. These women also find ways to assert their dominance over the male characters in counter-hegemonic fashion. They are not part of the women who are “afraid to speak up for themselves or to use their voices to speak up for themselves” (Steinem). (Hopefully in future blog posts I’ll be able to speak about each of these characters individually, but my post is already getting long)
One issue that is often raised is the fact that the nurses on the show are not very often seen as important. A nurse is usually thought of as a female. Many nursing organizations have voiced their outrage about the way nurses are portrayed on Grey’s Anatomy.
Some people may say that there is no reason to analyze Grey’s Anatomy for gender issues, but I think that is very untrue. Grey’s Anatomy continually tries to go against hegemonic norms and shows women trying to get ahead in an area (medicine) that is often thought of as dominated by males.
Steinem, Gloria (1990). Sex, lies, and advertising. Gender, Race, and Class in Media, 223-229.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Grey's Anatomy Collage
This collage shows most of the main characters of Grey’s Anatomy. Many of the pictures have some sort of sexual imagery in them. A large amount of the show deals with the sexual relationships between the characters.
The third picture on the top row shows Izzy Stevens, one of the interns, topless. In this particular episode, she was angry with the fact that she was being ridiculed because she was a former model. No one was taking her seriously as a doctor. She took off her top and yelled at the other interns about how just because she is an attractive woman, and yes, she does have breasts, that it doesn’t make her any less of a doctor.
A few of the other pictures show the vulnerability of the women on the show. While the women on the show are all also portrayed at times as strong, there are also other times where their vulnerability is very apparent. While this may seem like it is showing the women on the show as weak, I feel it only serves to make them seem human. Also, as the show progresses, I think the strengths of the women are becoming greater and they are all learning to become stronger and more independent.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Feminism Friday - Grey’s Anatomy by Thinking Girl
Our assignment this week was to find a blog with a similar topic as ours and make a comment about it. The title of the blog is the title of the blog I chose. The following is the first paragraph from that blog post:
OK, so everyday I get hits on this site from people looking for a feminist analysis of the hit TV show, Grey’s Anatomy. I guess they end up here because I have the show linked in my sidebar and, well, I write about feminism. Since Grey’s Anatomy is my new favourite TV show since the untimely death of my true all-time favourite, Alias, and in keeping with Ballgame’s post about feminism in film, I thought I’d give them what they come here looking for.
And here is my Comment:
For my “Gender in Popular Culture” class, I am making an entire blog based around issues of gender in Grey’s Anatomy. I agree with your analyses of each character, however I feel like some of the ways the characters are portrayed have been changing. First, you talk about how Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is portrayed as strong, tough, and dedicated. However, in some of the episodes earlier this season, they showed her questioning her ability to be a doctor. Even the one woman on the show who seemed so confidant and sure of her abilities began questioning herself. However, she has regained her confidence, which was shown in the episode where she decided she wanted to build a free clinic. I’m sure everyone would be really excited if they really do let her become the chief of surgery. Or even if Addison became chief of surgery, even though that seems less likely.
Also, in the last three part episode, the power Meredith has over Derek was really shown. Even Derek didn’t know how much he needed her until that happened. In the first episode, Meredith talks about how a girl has a “knight in shining whatever”. Then show Meredith “drowning” in the bathtub, and Derek comes and pulls her out. When she is knocked into the water, Derek once again saves her from drowning. However, when it comes to actually saving her, he was helpless. He couldn’t even pull himself together enough to know what to do. In the end, it was that Meredith had to save herself.
Considering the main writer for the show Shonda Rhimes is a woman, I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually the female characters on the show begin to hold their own against the men eventually.
The URL for my blog is http://nicolepopcultureblog.blogspot.com if you’re interested!
-Nicole
OK, so everyday I get hits on this site from people looking for a feminist analysis of the hit TV show, Grey’s Anatomy. I guess they end up here because I have the show linked in my sidebar and, well, I write about feminism. Since Grey’s Anatomy is my new favourite TV show since the untimely death of my true all-time favourite, Alias, and in keeping with Ballgame’s post about feminism in film, I thought I’d give them what they come here looking for.
And here is my Comment:
For my “Gender in Popular Culture” class, I am making an entire blog based around issues of gender in Grey’s Anatomy. I agree with your analyses of each character, however I feel like some of the ways the characters are portrayed have been changing. First, you talk about how Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is portrayed as strong, tough, and dedicated. However, in some of the episodes earlier this season, they showed her questioning her ability to be a doctor. Even the one woman on the show who seemed so confidant and sure of her abilities began questioning herself. However, she has regained her confidence, which was shown in the episode where she decided she wanted to build a free clinic. I’m sure everyone would be really excited if they really do let her become the chief of surgery. Or even if Addison became chief of surgery, even though that seems less likely.
Also, in the last three part episode, the power Meredith has over Derek was really shown. Even Derek didn’t know how much he needed her until that happened. In the first episode, Meredith talks about how a girl has a “knight in shining whatever”. Then show Meredith “drowning” in the bathtub, and Derek comes and pulls her out. When she is knocked into the water, Derek once again saves her from drowning. However, when it comes to actually saving her, he was helpless. He couldn’t even pull himself together enough to know what to do. In the end, it was that Meredith had to save herself.
Considering the main writer for the show Shonda Rhimes is a woman, I wouldn’t be surprised if eventually the female characters on the show begin to hold their own against the men eventually.
The URL for my blog is http://nicolepopcultureblog.blogspot.com if you’re interested!
-Nicole
Thursday, March 1, 2007
The Girls Next Door: The Portrayal of the Women on the Show
I would like to say starting off that I do enjoy the show “The Girls Next Door” and am not in any way trying to talk down about the show. I am simply trying to analyze it, because that is what I was told to do. For anyone that is judgmental of the show and think that these girls “act dumb”, if they did not act like that there would be no show. People watch the show because the characters are entertaining.
“The Girls Next Door” is a show on E! that follows Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends that live with him in the Playboy Mansion. These are all girls that started out as Playboy Playmates, and he chose as the select few with which he is intimate with. The three girls are Holly, the oldest and leader of the girls, Bridget, and Kendra, the youngest girlfriend. In fact, Kendra is 21 years-old, and started “dating” Hefner when she was only 19. The relationship that Hefner has with these girls is questioned by many, and in this television show, even more questions can be raised.
The two episodes of the show that I watched tied into each other because they both feature Hugh Hefner’s 80th birthday parties. The first episode ends with a party that is more “classy” and guests are required to dress in formal attire. The second episode ends with his “lingerie” themed party, in which, as implied, female guests wear lingerie. Throughout the episodes, the girls are shown preparing for the parties, and also interacting with other people, including their families.
Considering these girls have been shown naked on the pages of Playboy Magazine one would think that these girls have to be very self-confidant and secure with their bodies. One of our readings for class titled “The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size”1, talks about how girls are taught that less is more. That being thinner, wearing less clothing, and talking less are all ways to being “attractive”. This is seen in advertisements, and can be seen by young girls in Seventeen magazines.
In “The Girls Next Door” this is seen in many different ways. When Bridget’s parents are visiting, she doesn’t eat so that she appears thinner. Also, she wants to be thinner when she wears her outfit that consists of very little. She wants to feel attractive not only by being thin, but also by wearing almost nothing. This is emphasizing that “girls of all ages get the message that they must be flawlessly beautiful and, above all these days, they must be thin” (Kilbourne, 260). Even a girl who is considered pretty and “flawless” enough to be in Playboy Magazine, a magazine known for beautiful women, is still self-conscious about the way she looks.
The girls are also often shown spending hours getting ready for parties. They have their personal stylists, hairdressers, and make-up artists. This is just emphasizing the stereotype that women should spend lots of time in order to try to look “perfect”. This perfection is important in order to be attractive to males. Women should not have to put on a fake exterior in order to try to make men find them desirable.
1 Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add". Dines, Gail. Gender, Race, and Class in Media. Sage Publications, Inc. Thousand Oaks, California. 2003.
“The Girls Next Door” is a show on E! that follows Hugh Hefner’s three girlfriends that live with him in the Playboy Mansion. These are all girls that started out as Playboy Playmates, and he chose as the select few with which he is intimate with. The three girls are Holly, the oldest and leader of the girls, Bridget, and Kendra, the youngest girlfriend. In fact, Kendra is 21 years-old, and started “dating” Hefner when she was only 19. The relationship that Hefner has with these girls is questioned by many, and in this television show, even more questions can be raised.
The two episodes of the show that I watched tied into each other because they both feature Hugh Hefner’s 80th birthday parties. The first episode ends with a party that is more “classy” and guests are required to dress in formal attire. The second episode ends with his “lingerie” themed party, in which, as implied, female guests wear lingerie. Throughout the episodes, the girls are shown preparing for the parties, and also interacting with other people, including their families.
Considering these girls have been shown naked on the pages of Playboy Magazine one would think that these girls have to be very self-confidant and secure with their bodies. One of our readings for class titled “The More You Subtract, the More You Add: Cutting Girls Down to Size”1, talks about how girls are taught that less is more. That being thinner, wearing less clothing, and talking less are all ways to being “attractive”. This is seen in advertisements, and can be seen by young girls in Seventeen magazines.
In “The Girls Next Door” this is seen in many different ways. When Bridget’s parents are visiting, she doesn’t eat so that she appears thinner. Also, she wants to be thinner when she wears her outfit that consists of very little. She wants to feel attractive not only by being thin, but also by wearing almost nothing. This is emphasizing that “girls of all ages get the message that they must be flawlessly beautiful and, above all these days, they must be thin” (Kilbourne, 260). Even a girl who is considered pretty and “flawless” enough to be in Playboy Magazine, a magazine known for beautiful women, is still self-conscious about the way she looks.
The girls are also often shown spending hours getting ready for parties. They have their personal stylists, hairdressers, and make-up artists. This is just emphasizing the stereotype that women should spend lots of time in order to try to look “perfect”. This perfection is important in order to be attractive to males. Women should not have to put on a fake exterior in order to try to make men find them desirable.
1 Kilbourne, Jean. "The More You Subtract, the More You Add". Dines, Gail. Gender, Race, and Class in Media. Sage Publications, Inc. Thousand Oaks, California. 2003.
The Girls Next Door: Male Dominance
At times, it seems like Hugh Hefner is more of a father-figure to the girls, rather than a “boyfriend”. They are always trying to please him, and have rules in the Playboy Mansion that they must follow. In another episode I have seen, the girls go to Las Vegas, but have to follow the rules of the mansion and get home by 9 o’clock, their “curfew” time. These girls are seen naked on the pages of Playboy Magazine, and yet Hefner gives them a curfew they have to follow. I guess in that way he is not very fatherly. Most fathers would not be willing to put naked pictures of their daughters out for the public to view. However, most men would not be willing to put naked pictures of their significant others in the public eye either.
The girls are seen almost as objects that belong to Hugh Hefner. They are always vying for his attention. When the girls are talking about the presents they bought for Hefner for his birthday, they are all nervous that he won’t like their present. However, in the show, it is very rare that they show the girls getting any affection from Hefner, other than in a fatherly way, like kisses on the cheek. It is true that no one sees what goes on behind closed doors at the Playboy Mansion, but one can very easily question whether or not the girls have a sexual relationship with Hefner. It is also strange that these girls are capable of being such good friends with each other when you would think they are all fighting for the love of one man.
The “present” that stands out the most is Bridget, who plans on performing a strip tease for Hugh at his big birthday bash. Before the party, her parents come to visit and they have a big meal together. However, Bridget eats only a few vegetables because she wants to look good for her “performance”. He stepfather however is shown chowing down on anything put in front of him. The camera is shown going back and forth between the two of them to emphasize the difference in their eating habits.
A little later, Bridget does a “dress rehearsal” for her mother and stepfather. Keep in mind that her strip tease ends in her only wearing a thong and pasties (little stickers made to cover the nipples). As she is performing they keep putting the camera on her stepfather who is sweating, and obviously enjoying his stepdaughter’s performance. This obviously does not make her stepfather look like a very good man, but is it possible that the way the camera is moving around is purposely to make him seem that way. He could have been making those facial expressions and movements at a different time, but the people producing the show chose to add these moments at this point in order to show this man in a bad light.
When this whole issue is looked at, these are women that have made a living by posing naked for men to look at their pictures. It’s realistic that these women are looked at as “objects” to be gawked at by men. This is the way that they have chosen to be seen by men. Even by doing the television show, they had to know that they were going to get a mostly male audience who were going to watch simply because they tend to wear very little clothing throughout the show.
The girls are seen almost as objects that belong to Hugh Hefner. They are always vying for his attention. When the girls are talking about the presents they bought for Hefner for his birthday, they are all nervous that he won’t like their present. However, in the show, it is very rare that they show the girls getting any affection from Hefner, other than in a fatherly way, like kisses on the cheek. It is true that no one sees what goes on behind closed doors at the Playboy Mansion, but one can very easily question whether or not the girls have a sexual relationship with Hefner. It is also strange that these girls are capable of being such good friends with each other when you would think they are all fighting for the love of one man.
The “present” that stands out the most is Bridget, who plans on performing a strip tease for Hugh at his big birthday bash. Before the party, her parents come to visit and they have a big meal together. However, Bridget eats only a few vegetables because she wants to look good for her “performance”. He stepfather however is shown chowing down on anything put in front of him. The camera is shown going back and forth between the two of them to emphasize the difference in their eating habits.
A little later, Bridget does a “dress rehearsal” for her mother and stepfather. Keep in mind that her strip tease ends in her only wearing a thong and pasties (little stickers made to cover the nipples). As she is performing they keep putting the camera on her stepfather who is sweating, and obviously enjoying his stepdaughter’s performance. This obviously does not make her stepfather look like a very good man, but is it possible that the way the camera is moving around is purposely to make him seem that way. He could have been making those facial expressions and movements at a different time, but the people producing the show chose to add these moments at this point in order to show this man in a bad light.
When this whole issue is looked at, these are women that have made a living by posing naked for men to look at their pictures. It’s realistic that these women are looked at as “objects” to be gawked at by men. This is the way that they have chosen to be seen by men. Even by doing the television show, they had to know that they were going to get a mostly male audience who were going to watch simply because they tend to wear very little clothing throughout the show.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Some links...
Some websites that have to do with Grey's Anatomy and/or gender/race:
http://www.greyswriters.com/
This website is where the writers of Grey’s Anatomy get to talk about the episodes after they air. It’s really interesting because they tend to point out things that people may have missed or not looked deep enough into. The main writer, creator, and executive producer is an African-American female, and so she often discusses details that have to do with gender and race in the show.
http://www.racialicious.com/
The main topic of this blog is “the intersection of race and pop culture”. There’s even a few posts where they talk about race in Grey’s Anatomy.
http://thinkinggirl.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/feminism-friday-greys-anatomy/
A feminist analyzes the characters of Grey’s Anatomy.
http://capitalismbad.blogspot.com/2006/10/greys-anatomy-vs-scrubs-or-limits-of.html
A blog entry that discusses issues of race and gender in Grey’s Anatomy and also compares it to the show Scrubs.
http://www.greysanatomyonline.com/
A Grey’s Anatomy fan site.
http://www.greyswriters.com/
This website is where the writers of Grey’s Anatomy get to talk about the episodes after they air. It’s really interesting because they tend to point out things that people may have missed or not looked deep enough into. The main writer, creator, and executive producer is an African-American female, and so she often discusses details that have to do with gender and race in the show.
http://www.racialicious.com/
The main topic of this blog is “the intersection of race and pop culture”. There’s even a few posts where they talk about race in Grey’s Anatomy.
http://thinkinggirl.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/feminism-friday-greys-anatomy/
A feminist analyzes the characters of Grey’s Anatomy.
http://capitalismbad.blogspot.com/2006/10/greys-anatomy-vs-scrubs-or-limits-of.html
A blog entry that discusses issues of race and gender in Grey’s Anatomy and also compares it to the show Scrubs.
http://www.greysanatomyonline.com/
A Grey’s Anatomy fan site.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Blogging In College: The Gender and Pop Culture Experiment
This is a link to our professor's page and an explanation as to what it is we are doing...
http://genderpopculture.blogspot.com/
The Professor's Page! The ringleader of this crazy project! My 28 students and I will be blogging all Spring Semester 2007 on many forms of pop culture. This site will link to all of their sites, and provide the evolving dialogue we will consciously be intervening in via the technology of the blog and through critical analysis. Please visit often as it will change rapidly! Provide links, feedback, anything is fair game right now...
http://genderpopculture.blogspot.com/
The Professor's Page! The ringleader of this crazy project! My 28 students and I will be blogging all Spring Semester 2007 on many forms of pop culture. This site will link to all of their sites, and provide the evolving dialogue we will consciously be intervening in via the technology of the blog and through critical analysis. Please visit often as it will change rapidly! Provide links, feedback, anything is fair game right now...
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