ipl-logo

Gender Stereotypes In Modern Family

783 Words4 Pages

Modern Family is a popular primetime television show that airs Wednesday nights on ABC. This hit comedy presents the daily lifestyles of three separate but related families who reside in the suburbs of Los Angeles, California. The Dunphys are shown as the traditional white American family while the Pritchett-Tucker family are a homosexual couple with an adopted daughter named Lily. The Pritchetts are the last family who are an interracial couple with a large age gap. On the surface, this show seems to be one of the most diverse on television. However even with the different races and family structures portrayed, there is still evidence of unequal representation in casting, stereotypes, and gender roles.
There are a total of eleven main characters …show more content…

For example, in the traditional white american Dunphy family, there is Phil, his wife Claire, and their three children Alex, Haley and Luke. Phil is shown as the breadwinner of the household while Claire stays at home and cares for her house and children. This portrayal enhances the gender role that society and television has deemed upon women for centuries. This fabricated role is that women are inferior to men. However, there are instances when this gender role is reversed and Phil has to conform to Claire's wishes. In the episode that I watched, Phil must ask Claire for permission before he can decide whether their daughter’s boyfriend can move in with them. This is an example of how Modern Family steers away from the traditional role of women and focuses more towards a contemporary view. Also among this family there is a stereotype attributed to the daughter Haley. She is perceived as the stereotypical “white girl” because she is bubbly, loves shopping, and is obsessed with social …show more content…

At the beginning, there are stereotypical masculine and feminine homosexual traits attributed to Cam and Mitchell. Cam could be labeled as the more feminine one, as he is very sensitive, outgoing and colorful. Mitchell on the other hand is the source of income, and has a more rugged look to him. However, the show rises above these stereotypes by making Cam’s character the more athletic handyman and Mitchell a worrier and highly dependent on his husband. Another stereotype that is surpassed in this family is that men are incapable of serving as maternal figures. This couple has shown that men can be nurturing through the adoption of their daughter

Show More
Related
1192 Words | 5 Pages

The Real Housewives Franchise (RHW) is a reality television show that provides insight into the lives of socialite, suburban housewives. The Real Housewives franchise has been around for nearly two decades, and has become a worldwide phenomenon. The series is known for its drama, gossip, and catty behavior between its cast members. The women of the show are often portrayed as shallow, uneducated, and judgmental. Although some of these traits may be true in some cases, many of the women on the show have overcome their challenges to become successful individuals.

Read More
1414 Words | 6 Pages

For example Joey’s wife says to Braddock’s wife Mae “We have to wait for them to fix everything (Ron Howard).” And “Every day they feel like they are failing us (Ron Howard).” She gets the idea in the minds of the audience that it was quite difficult to live life sailing smoothly, and that the women were quite dependent on the men and their ability to make money to help their families survive. Gender roles are still quite present today, but not near as prevalent.

Read More
1333 Words | 6 Pages

The nuclear family is having a different meaning because of the changing in culture and the representation of what the perfect “American Family” appears like, compared to the past. The sitcom Modern Family portrays three “modern” families who live in California. However, the representation of moving forward in culture and there are still stereotypes from the past that are still portrayed today. The family involves Jay Pritchett, who remarried, Gloria Delgado, and she has a son, Manny, from her previous marriage.

Read More
660 Words | 3 Pages

What are the typical female stereotypes shown on most tv sitcoms? The answer is a housewife whose sole purpose is to take care of the kids as the husband works. Not to mention, that women are displayed as unintelligent and always needing a man to solve their issues. However, the infamous program Gilmore Girls, shatters the stereotypical woman in the form of a single mother named Lorelai Gilmore. She lives in a small town called Stars Hallow with her teenage daughter Rory, and experiences many hardships that she must face on her own.

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

I chose to write my essay about the Fox sitcom, That 70s Show, which aired 1998-2006. The show is about six teenagers growing up in Point Place, Wisconsin in the 1970s. I will be analyzing how gender is portrayed in this essay. The main characters of this show are Eric Forman, Steven Hyde, Michael Kelso, "Fez," Jackie Burkhart, and Donna Pinciotti. At the beginning of the series, "Kelso" and Jackie are dating, and everyone in the group knows Donna and Eric really like each other.

Read More
800 Words | 4 Pages

Television situational comedies have the ability to represent different values or concerns of their audience, these values often change every decade or so to reflect and highlight the changes that the audience is experiencing within society, at the time of production. Between the years of 1950 and 2010, the representation of gender roles and family structure has been addressed and featured in various sitcoms, such as “Father Knows Best” and “Modern Family”, through the use of narrative conventions, symbolic, audio and technical codes. These representations have transformed over time to reflect the changes in social, political, and historical contexts. The 1950’s sitcom “Father Knows Best” traditionally represents the values of gender roles and family structure in a 1950’society, with the father, held high as the breadwinner of the family and the mother as the sole homemaker.

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

Gender stereotype, or the over-generalization about the characteristics of an entire group based on gender, is evident in any culture or community, no matter how much gender equality is promoted. Brought on by centuries of tradition, it had become a pre-established belief that women were inferior to men, in that the dominance of men was already considered to be a norm of society. Though women in the past were responsible for household chores and raising children, a new age called for new ideals and a need for change in the attitude towards women. In the Southside of Chicago in the mid 1950’s, the members of the Younger family act as a prime example in portraying the difficulties associated with going against conventional expectations. The two prominent female characters

Read More
1886 Words | 8 Pages

Evolution of Family Sitcoms “Blood is thicker than water.” A saying commonly heralded by family members in order to reaffirm the importance of family unity. These words spoke loud to the entertainment industry as they were trying to create new content for television. Situational comedies were quite popular, but there was a lack of relatability to families. The most logical step was to combine the two.

Read More
732 Words | 3 Pages

Challenging Stereotypes: How “Modern” Is Modern Family? The show won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series in each of its first five years and the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series four times. If you have never heard about “Modern Family," you have never seen comedy. Modern Family is an American television show that portrays the ‘Modernism’ in families nowadays in America.

Read More
1014 Words | 5 Pages

The characters in the play reveal some of the gender stereotypes through the way they are presented in the beginning of the play, “The sheriff and Hale are men in the middle life… They are followed

Read More
268 Words | 2 Pages

Gender roles and stereotypes are commonly known throughout society and continuously demonstrated as film as well. Through the work of director Judd Apatow, we can compare these stereotypes to the portrayal of gender in Knocked Up and identify how this film pokes fun at gender stereotypes. As we watch this film and follow the story line of Allison and Ben, we can see how Apatow reversed the gender roles of the two lead characters, Ben and Allison and how this effected the films meaning. In romantic, geek centered comedies such as “Knocked Up”, the roles of men and women are often reversed.

Read More
1013 Words | 5 Pages

Furthermore, women are also objectified throughout the story. This shows how women are at the bottom of the hierarchy. Altogether, these factors influence the role of women in the

Read More
1217 Words | 5 Pages

Synopsis: Modern family (2009–) Modern family is a USA sitcom which portrays contemporary families and cultures.

Read More
720 Words | 3 Pages

Despite the creator’s of Modern Family effort to portray a progressive view of American families, the show still accentuates outdated female stereotypes and gender roles; reinforcing gender characteristics, patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity. In contrast to its title, Modern Family promotes traditional gender roles and stereotypes of women, which result in the portrayal of an inaccurate image of the female, and weakens the stance of women in today’s U.S. society. Gender stereotypes are prevalent throughout the Modern Family; the women are all portrayed as wives and mothers, promoting a continued male dominant family ideology. Claire and Gloria are throughout the show acting on our society’s “assumptions about women’s ‘appropriate’ roles” (Dow 19).

Read More
999 Words | 4 Pages

Modern Family is a hilarious sitcom that depicts the diversity of today’s American family and is one of the highest rated comedy shows on TV. The show, which is produced by ABC was a success from the first season with over seven million viewers and grew to more than fourteen million views by season three. The shows underlying message, that there is more than just one kind of family and that we are all crazy is done with a kind humor that is a refreshing change from the modern reality TV we now see on most nights. The comedy combined with diversity and great acting makes this show attracting to a broad range of viewers and proves that everyone loves a good laugh. One reason Modern Family has been a continued success over the years is their dedication to what the show was made to be, a comedy.

Read More

More about Gender Stereotypes In Modern Family

Related Topics

Open Document