Gender roles exist in all cultures and define the expected behaviors of one versus another gender (Weiten 320). In Western cultures, gender roles are beginning to change but this is a slow process and involves the evolution of belief over many years. Gender roles are taught through family values, religious teachings, and social interactions (Weiten 320-321) and reiterated daily by the media (Signorielli 4). The way male and female characters are portrayed both reflect and reinforce gender roles. Character success in a television show may even be determined by how dramatically that character violates their assigned role. Often television characters who violate those roles are created as caricatures and serve as comedic relief. It is often difficult to find strong female characters on television who are able to consistently violate gender roles without being used as a mockery or being portrayed as cartoonish; in short, few gender-role violators on television are developed to be taken seriously. One of the characters on “Gilmore Girls” is able to do so: Lorelai fulfills some of the stereotypical gender roles as the mother; however, she also goes against societal expectations by fulfilling the unconventional roles of father and peer.
The character, Lorelai, meets many of the gender role requirements as a mother of a teenage girl. As culturally expected, she reflects on her own life and strives to give her daughter chances to be and do better than she did. She works hard to orchestrate the best education for her child including making social and financial sacrifices to accomplish this. This follows the expectations of mothers and femininity in general by demonstrating Lorelai’s nurturing instinct for her child. This follows Signorielli’s contention that women are often portrayed within the contextual framework of their relationships (8) as Lorelai’s identity is largely based on her role as the mother of one character and the child of others.
Lorelai’s character, however, has been created to violate other aspects of the gender roles in Western culture. Lorelai has characteristics often associated with masculinity, specifically her independent and rebellious nature. This is demonstrated first in the back-story given the character in which she refuses her parents’ demands to marry the father of her child knowing that in doing so she would have to leave her family and their considerable wealth. Stereotypically speaking, a woman would be more submissive to the demands of her parents, specifically her father, and would acquiesce to their demands in order to maintain her social and financial status. Lorelai’s actions in this back-story violate those assumptions as she chooses to rely on herself and raise her child without the financial or emotional support of her parents.
The character on the show is quick-witted, intelligent and opinionated. This, too, violates the cultural stereotypes of women which tend to define femininity as being more accepting of situations, passive and non-confrontational, weak and quiet (Gender and Gender Identity n.p.). Lorelai violates all of the assumptions. She is talkative and extraverted. She is unafraid of the challenges she faces, and is willing to seek out solutions to her problems. The character is unafraid to ask for what she needs but does not look for others to resolve situations for her. She communicates honestly and shares her opinions openly without regard for the social constraints by which she was raised in an affluent family that taught her to be submissive and mindful of social niceties.
The character, Lorelai, is an example of the media’s ability to provide positive role models for girls (Signorielli 6-7). She is independent, honest and intelligent. She does not depend on her sexuality or the promise of sexual favors to get what she needs. She is the face of the changes in gender roles for women.
Works Cited
“Gender and Gender Identity.” Planned Parenthood. 2014. Web. 11 Feb 2016.
Signorielli, Nancy. Reflections of Girls in the Media: A Content Analysis. Menlo, CA: Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Print.
Weiten, Wayne. Psychology Themes and Variations. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005. Print.
