Rachel's Opening Blog Post

Through out the course of this blog my fellow students and I will be researching the progression of gender roles through forms of media. We decided to start with the decade 1950, taking a look at the family life during that time. The 1950s is a decade known for it’s typical American family unit, a basis to start our research on. From there we will look at each decade for proof of the progression of gender roles using different types of media such as television, films, advertisements and so on. I believe that I will find a steady progression to the equality of genders with every new decade bringing advancements for the roles each gender is seen in. My final out come will prove that over time the roles that each gender is suspect to play has changed to a more equal based idea of what characteristics belong to a certain gender.

            We have divided up the different forms of media that could have been used to produce gender role ideals. Each person in the group will claim one form of media and produce an article based off of the portrayal of a gender role through that media over time.

            The media I chose to study was television, and more specifically sitcoms based on family life. For each decade I will look at sitcoms of the time period and see how each gender is portrayed. It will also give me a look into how the styles of family life have changed over time as well. As I continue to move my way through decades of sitcoms I expect to see the progression of how each gender is portrayed eventually resulting in a more gender equal side of the spectrum.

            Starting with the 1950s era I will be looking at sitcoms such as I Love Lucy, and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet. I expect these sitcoms to portray the type of family life that was once believed to be the America dream. The wife of the family stays home and does housework, meanwhile the husband goes off to work and takes care of everything else.

            For the 1960s era I’ve chosen a television show that was played early on in the decade called Leave It To Beaver. In this decade I expect to find the same amount of gender stereotypes as seen in the 1950s decades. The second show I chose to look at is slightly different although has the same layout in terms of family as the previous sitcoms. Bewitched was a sitcom made in the late 1960s and I expect it to portray a slightly stronger woman role in the sitcom due to the radical woman’s rights movements of the 1960s.

            I will be researching two sitcoms to represent the 1970s decade, The Brady Bunch and The Odd Couple. Both of these sitcoms are a large jump for the progression of gender roles and the ideals of family life from the 1960s. I expect my research to reveal a lot of kick back from these two shows from the public as well as seeing major steps towards gender equality.

            In the 1980s not only did we start to see the equality of gender roles in sitcoms but we also saw the equality of races through sitcoms. One of the sitcoms I will be researching is The Cosby Show, which portrays an African American family in the 1980s. The second show I will be researching is also a significant step towards gender roles in the 1980s. It’s called, Three’s Company. With this sitcom I expect to see the ideals of the standard home life completely switched as well as a more gender equal ideals.

            I will only be researching one sitcom for the 1990s. This sitcom brings in many aspects from some of the previous decades as well as incorporating a fresh ideal of the male gender. The sitcom I will be researching is called, Full House. As I continue to research this television sitcom I expect to see the roles of men in a family setting change entirely as well as the dynamic of family life.

            Finally, to represent the start second millennia I will be researching the sitcom, Modern Family. The title of this sitcom is a good description of the show itself, it’s a realistic portrayal of what family life has become in the United States. With this sitcom I expect to see roles of gender being more equal, as well as a completely new dynamic to family life.

            Through out my research I set out to prove that over time the way America sees and portrays stereotypes of gender has changed. Starting with the 1950s decade which is known to portray the ideal family life, all the way to current day which shows a sitcom being open to gender equality and new types of relationships in the family life.