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Gender Analysis Paper In 2004, ABC successfully premiered their new drama, “Desperate Housewives” to the delight of over 20 million viewers. An instant hit, the show garnered favor from both critics and viewers and was hailed as a critical turning point in television history: finally a show for women about women that chronicled the daily comedy and drama of a middle-class suburban housewife, the “everyday American woman”. Even Laura Bush was quoted as jokingly saying, “I am a desperate housewife.” Although the show never fails to deliver on comedic or entertainment value and often accurately depicts the struggles of domestic women, it consistently reinforces gender stereotypes. In examining the pilot episode as a microcosm of the show as a whole, it is clear that although these women face many of the same problems as the housewives of today, they are not real women but instead each an exaggerated depiction of a female stereotype. Desperate Housewives is a show about Wisteria Lane, a suburban street where it is always sunny and the beautiful, large houses have fresh-mowed lawns and white picket fences. It focuses mainly on the lives of four women who come together after the suicide of their dear friend, Mary Alice. Each of these women depicts a different stereotype: Gabrielle is the gold digger, Lynette is the frazzled mother of four, Bree is the uptight bitch, and Susan is the neurotic single mother. The men too, are hyper-masculine and act as authority over their wives. Gabrielle portrays the stereotype of the gold-digger and trophy wife. She always wears fashionable, but skimpy clothing such as short skirts and midriff-baring tops that display her obvious beauty and it is stated that during her model career she “developed a taste for rich food and rich men.” Her engagement to her husband Carlos is labeled as “closing a deal,” implying that he sees her as a display of his wealth, status, and power. Her promiscuous behavior is on display when it is mentioned she “slept with half the Yankee outfield” and it is shown that she is

having an affair with her much younger gardener, John. Her husband remarks that he bought her a $100,000 necklace because she just couldn’t live without it. Not only is Gabrielle the perfect archetype of the gold-digger, she also portrays the stereotype of a “spicy” Latina woman. She is often fiery, passionate, and angry and the musical score changes not-so-subtly to a Latin beat when the scene focuses on her. This is a dangerous stereotype that promotes the view that all beautiful women, particularly models, are shallow and that their only value is in their beauty. When men think of women in this way, they treat them like objects, trophies to be collected rather than people, which leads to the oppression of and mistreatment of women. Lynette is a former corporate working woman who now struggles as a mother of four, depicting the stereotype of the shrew and the disheveled, frazzled, and overwhelmed housewife. It’s remarked that even though she quit her job to make her life with children less stressful, now it is even more hectic. Her children frequently misbehave and she struggles to control them, creating public scenes and often resorting to bribes and threats to persuade them to obey her. She even jumps into a pool to wrangle her kids during a wake. Despite the fact that they never listen to their mother, the children are thrilled and perfectly behaved for their father. She is constantly the one who has to discipline the children while her husband simply brings them home gifts. Lynette is always sloppily dressed and disheveled with her hair askew and stains on her clothing. She is always wearing androgynous, baggy clothing such as oversized button-downed shirts. Despite quitting her job to focus on motherhood and be the perfect woman, she ironically has somehow lost her “femininity” and is never portrayed in a flattering or sexy way. She often regrets her decision to leave the working world and avoids running into a former colleague who remarks that if she were still there, she would still be running the place, when she is so obviously struggling with running her own household. She is often joyless and the “killer of fun” in the

household. This is an ugly depiction of the overworked mother and wife who is always nagging, arguing, and pleading with her husband and children. Bree depicts the stereotype of the uptight bitch and is the paragon of the 1950’s housewife. Her son jokingly comments that she is “running for mayor of Stepford” and it is shown that she is extremely talented in all domestic areas such as cooking, cleaning, and decorating. Her hair is always perfectly coiffed and she wears conservative clothing such as sweater sets and pearls. Despite the fact that she puts in all of these efforts, the narrator points out that “everyone on Wisteria Lane thought of Bree as the perfect mother. Everyone, that, is except her own family.” No matter how much she does for her family, they would much prefer genuine warmth and loving from her rather than a pristine home and gourmet meals. When she asks her son, “I spent three hours cooking this meal. How do you think it makes me feel when you say ‘it’s okay’ in that sullen tone?” he pointedly replies “Who asked you to spend three hours on dinner?” Although her family does not expect her to be the stereotypical housewife, and in fact abhors it, she feels pressure from society to go to great lengths to create the façade of a perfect, unflawed life for her family. Ultimately, her husband asks for a divorce because he “just can’t live in this detergent commercial anymore.” He remarks that the woman he fell in love with was flawed but gleeful and “not this cold, perfect thing” that she has become. This depiction of some women as uptight bitches, cold and unfeeling, is another way the mistreatment of and cruelty to women is justified by slapping on a harsh label, implying that they deserve it. Susan is the stereotypical image of the overwhelmed single mother as well as the neurotic, paranoid single woman desperate for a man. Reminiscent of Lucille Ball, she is always getting herself into sticky situations and her life is constantly a mess. It is remarked frequently throughout the episode how disastrous her cooking skills are and it is revealed that her husband

has left her for her secretary, another extremely cliché scenario. Her younger daughter, Julie, is often her partner in crime, gives her advice and, gets her out of messes, implying that she often has to take care of her mother because she is incapable of taking care of herself. Susan is also desperate to find love and goes to great lengths to impress men, even stuffing wads of hair and popsicle sticks into her drain so her handsome plumber neighbor will come over. In an effort to spy on this man, she even burns down her neighbor’s house. This depiction of women as desperate, incompetent, and in need of a man is one of the many reasons women are still not respected in the workplace and in the home. Women should not be hired because they are easily overwhelmed and cause catastrophe that will then have to be fixed by a more competent male. Not only are the women on the show each stereotypes within themselves, the way they interact with each other is stereotypical as well. The women get together and chat over coffee, gossiping about others and frequently engaging in man bashing. After finding out Susan’s husband cheated on her, the women talk about how typical this behavior is of men. Gabrielle, who herself is having an affair, even remarks, “an erect penis doesn’t have a conscience,” and Lynette retorts, “even the limp ones aren’t that ethical.” The women also engage in catty behavior and are critical of and competitive with other women. They all shun and despise Edie because of her promiscuity and Mary Alice even calls her a “predatory divorcee.” When Mike becomes an object of both Edie and Susan’s affections she states, “Susan had met the enemy and she was a slut… and when it came to men, women don’t fight fair.” The group even competes with each other despite the fact that they are friends. As they pack up Mary Alice’s things after her funeral, Gabrielle gleefully remarks, “Size 8. Hah, she always told me she was a size 6.” The comedic portrayal of this mistreatment of one another gives viewers the sense that this is just a

normal way for women to behave towards one another. Since girl-on-girl bullying is a major problem today, the idea that this is how women should treat each other is extremely unhealthy. Desperate Housewives also depicts a world in which men are in control and women stay at home attending to their wifely duties. Susan is the only housewife who works, but she is a children’s book illustrator who works from home, an artistic and undemanding job, perfect for a woman. While the women stay home, the men work and provide for the household and are the final say in making decisions. Bree blatantly refers to her husband, Rex as “the head of the household”. Susan, racked with guilt after burning down Edie’s house is only consoled when she realizes that Mike is single. The narrator remarks “and just like that, Susan was happy. Life was full of possibilities.” These words signify that the prospect of a man can fix all of her problems and that finding a man is more important to her than the massive damage she has caused. When Lynette’s husband, Tom, comes home after a business trip and wants to have sex but she is too tired he says, “sorry, baby, I have to have you,” and that it’s okay if she just lies there. When Gabrielle declares she doesn’t want to go to a business function with her husband, Carlos, because a client always tries to fondle her, he replies, “I made over $200,000 in business with him last year. If he wants you to grab your ass, let him.” When Gabrielle concedes and says she will go but she will keep her back against the wall her husband sarcastically replies, “See, now this is what a marriage is all about. Compromise.” The women in the show are expected to obey their husbands wishes, take care of the kids, do the chores and the cooking, provide sex when it’s desired, and represent their husbands accomplishments. Perhaps the only accurate depiction the show portrays is the unhappiness these women face despite their obvious wealth. They all experience what Betty Freidan labeled, “the problem that has no name,” and have different ways of coping with it. Although many American women

don’t have great problems or tragedies to be depressed about, they feel a sense of malcontent with their everyday lives. (Friedan 20). Before Mary Alice commits suicide she says, “I spent the day as I spent every other day, quietly polishing the routine of my life until it gleamed with perfection.” The other girls wonder why she killed herself and Gabrielle muses, “What kind of problems could she have had? She was healthy, had a great home, a nice family, her life was our life.” Susan replies that she must have had something else going on in order to kill herself, illuminating the guilt and shame women feel when they are unhappy with their seemingly wonderful lives. One cannot simply be that unhappy, there must be a greater reason for it (Freidan 19). Gabrielle struggles with her own discontent as a housewife and relieves this by carrying on an affair with her young gardener, John. She remarks about Carlos, “he promised to give me everything I ever wanted. Turns out I wanted all the wrong things,” and when John asks her why she is cheating on her husband if she loves him she replies, “because I don’t want to wake up one morning with the sudden urge to blow my brains out.” When a former colleague asks Lynette how she likes being a mother, Mary Alice narrates, “and there it was, the question that Lynette always dreaded. For those who asked it, only one answer was acceptable, so she responded as she always did. She lied.” Women feel obligated to conform to this “cult of domesticity” and feel too guilty to express their feelings and instead claim that being a mother is the most wonderful and fulfilling thing they do. They are too afraid to even ask themselves “is this all?” (Freidan 15). Bree too is deeply troubled because her family does not appreciate the efforts she has made to provide a perfect life for them. When her husband asks for a divorce, she calmly and quietly goes into the bathroom and it is stated, “Bree sobbed quietly in the restroom for five minutes, but her husband never knew. Because when Bree finally emerged, she was perfect.” When she runs into a friend it is revealed, “Bree longed to share the truth about her

husband’s painful betrayal, but sadly for Bree, admitting defeat was not an option.” Many women are miserable with their seemingly happy, perfect, and problem-free lives and they feel guilt at expressing it so they hide their feelings in shame (Friedan 19). As Susan tells her daughter, “Sometimes people pretend to be happy on the outside when they’re totally different on the inside.” This sense of unfulfillment is the “problem that has no name” that many housewives face and perhaps one of the reasons women so readily identify with the characters on the show. Whether or not it is the writer’s intention to lampoon these stereotypes, using them to create comedic value only reinforces them in our society. The characters never diverge from their cookie cutter personas and the viewers continue to associate certain characteristics with a certain kind of woman. Perhaps if the female leads in the show began to buck their own stereotypes, the show would be a more successful portrayal of strong, independent women. Instead, Susan does not realize that she doesn’t need a man to be a happy but instead continues to go to desperate lengths to catch a husband. Gabrielle never stops charming men for their possessions, Lynette attempts to go back to work and balance her home life but fails, Bree never learns to loosen up and ends up alone, and Edie continues to sleep with every man on the block. Yes, the show helps fans understand the unhappiness and unfulfillment that women such as these face, but because they are never shown to overcome this and truly defy the image that others have of them. This creates an unhealthy pattern in our society where women are easily categorized into unhealthy and unattractive stereotypes and are labeled slutty, greedy, incompetent, needy, uptight, bitchy, gossipy, and subservient. Despite the fact that the show is highly entertaining, viewers must take a more critical look at how it affects our perception of gender roles....