Family Guy Stereotypes

993 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essays about women in advertising

What makes a person feminine? Is it their gender? Their choice in clothing? Their personal traits? In season two, episode eight of Family Guy, Peter, one of the main characters, gets in touch with his feminine side. His portrayal of the typical American woman is quite insulting and frankly inaccurate. The episode only becomes more disrespectful once Peter regains his manhood. Throughout the episode gender inequalities are certainly portrayed. After finishing this episode, one questioned remained, what does femininity mean to the media?
The show starts off with a commercial of two overly sexualized women. Lois, Peter’s wife, reacts to this commercial by saying “of course a man made this.” While Peter responds with “it’s a commercial not a Thanksgiving …show more content…

He says “Why do women have boobs, so you have something to look at while you’re talking to them.” Offended, she went to the head of the company and filed a complaint. During the meeting with the head of the company, Peter says yet another insulting comment, “Women are not people, they are devices built by the Lord Jesus Christ for our entertainment.” Appalled by the comments Peter made, he was sent to an all women’s retreat to receive sexual harassment training and get in touch with his feminine side. After falling from a tree at the retreat and hitting the grown hard, Peter regains consciousness as a whole new person. Peter claims that from this fall, he has felt women’s pain, and from there on out he is going to be a changed man. If you ask me, Peter takes on this extreme stereotype of what …show more content…

I would say that our modern society still holds old views. As it was portrayed in the documentary The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, women weren’t treated fairly even when having the skills needed for a particular job. They were told that they were only good for being married and having babies, they weren’t cut for the job, and the only thing they can really operate is the kitchen. The same rhetoric being used during WW2, is being used today in shows like Family Guy! Although, they may try to make these things comical, it shows that these views really are still out there. Femininity often gets associated with words like beauty and desirableness. In fact, Google uses this sentence to put femininity into context: “She celebrates her femininity by wearing makeup and high heals.” This idea of attractiveness is so essential to our societal views of women that we rarely attribute traits of strength and motivation with women. Can you imagine what that does to their psyches? Personally, I think there needs to be a major reevaluation of what it means to be a woman in our society. As can be seen, in the movie The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, women can accomplish things just as much as men can, if not

Show More
Related

  • Napoleon Dynamite Stereotypes

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    Movies are a new edition in today’s culture. They are a new form of art medium that has arrived in the late 1900s and were a new way to express ideas and viewpoints of the time. A good example of this is the movie The Manchurian Candidate. The movie had a simple plot a man is kidnapped after the Korean war and is hypnotized to work for the communists and take down the U.S. This movie showed the American public’s fear of communism at the time. If a movie like this can easily portray the fears of the American people at the time then it can easily portray stereotypes of gender. There have been thousands of movies where the male protagonist is a rough tough dude but there is one movie that has that stereotype is broken. That movie is none other than Napoleon Dynamite.

    Read More

  • The Significance of Gender Roles in Julia Alvarez's Novel In the Time of the Butterflies

    774 Words  | 2 Pages

    Women are restricted or thought lower than men because of gender roles. They could be adored and treasured as much as they want, but that does not change the fact that they are still limited to only so many options. Women are just as brilliant and capable as men are, however they are not given the opportunity to flaunt these feats. It is because women are also a part of this world, they should be recognized what who they truly are not what they are just expected to be. Humankind must be aware that females can do just about anything a man can do, and they can do more than just spend hours in the kitchen.

    Read More

  • Spongebobs Stereotypes

    1476 Words  | 3 Pages

    Do you ever wonder what type of characteristics of a fictional character you have? Everybody wants to know themselves. Everybody wants to know what other people see in them or what they think when they look at them. The three fictional characters that most represent my personality are Bugs Bunny from Looney Tunes for his seriousness at times and goofiness, Marvin the Martian for his quietness and cleverness, and SpongeBob Squarepants for being so gullible.

    Read More

  • Power, Control and the Cycle of Domestic Violence

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    Masculinity is always associated with power and control, while femininity is associated with passivity and weakness. As Allan Johnson states, this is related to the fact that “male dominance creates power differences between men and women” (248). So because of the fact that men hold positions of power, they seem more superior to women, creating these stereotypes about each gender. The reason this is important is because when there is an idea of someone being better and people believe it, then it actually happens.... ...

    Read More

  • Double Indemnity Gender Roles

    974 Words  | 2 Pages

    Femininity is seen as a set of attributes, behaviors, and rules generally associated with girls and women in the society, it is often perceived as a social construction.

    Read More

  • The Boondocks Stereotypes

    1734 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Boondocks is an animated cartoon series that premiered November 2005 and ended June 2014. The Boondocks is centered on the lives of two young brothers, Huey and Riley. The two brothers move away from their birth city to live with their grandfather in Woodcrest, a predominantly white upper middle class suburb. Huey, the older brother is very politically and socially motivated and is named for Black Panther Party co-founder, Huey Newton. Huey spends most of his time reading and getting involved with political ventures. He despises all stereotypes associated with his black culture. On the contrary, the younger brother Riley understands the stereotypes around him, yet he indulges himself in the gangsta rap and hip-hop

    Read More

  • Is Everyone Really Equal Analysis

    1334 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women are usually targeted because they are seen as the inferior gender in society. They are often displayed as sexual objects in the media, such as in porn and video games. Because of the way women are portrayed in society, they do not have the same opportunities as men. Many people may think that sexism is not an important issue anymore because women are making their way to the top. For instance, Mary Berara, the CEO of General Motors says “There are more women in more senior roles than in 1980 when I started. But from my career perspective, I don 't go into a room and take count. I want to be recognized for my contribution and for what I do” (nymag). Women are pushing themselves to work in higher positions, to prove that they have the same ability as men. Although women are becoming more and more powerful, sexism is still a huge issue today. Women may have higher positions, but they are paid less than men. According to a news article, “In 2012, the median earnings of American women working full time year-round were $37,791. American men earned a median income of $49,398. The gender wage gap has hovered at about 77 cents on the dollar since 2007” (huffington). This proves that sexism is present today since women working in the same jobs as men are paid a lower

    Read More

  • Gender Roles in Society

    379 Words  | 1 Pages

    Women and men are allocated to a gender role and we all must act out the masculine or feminine behavior as arranged by our society and our culture. Femininity is usually associated with traits such as emotionality, cautiousness, collaboration, common sense, and fulfillment.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Of Women In History

    1005 Words  | 3 Pages

    History has shown repeated occurrences of patriarchy. Rome, Greece, America, all have had political positions dominantly held by men. Women’s opinions were silenced from politics and the men created the rules. Rarely would a women have a strong voice in society throughout history. Women being silenced was especially evident in the early 1900’s. These women were treated like objects and turned into housewives who did not speak up unless given permission from her husband. They weren’t allowed to work so they were quiet and contained to themselves. This has developed the stereotype of women being quiet and to themselves. History had shaped women in to quiet maids and that is what ended with the start of the feminist movement. This movement however wasn’t the first evidence of this stereotype being false, back at the dawn of the Wild West of America women had a huge impact on how cities shaped out to be. Men were first moved into these areas to work on expanding America and establishing cities however it was when the women came in when things started happening. Since only men were present they had created a lust for women which the women used to their advantage. By doing so their wealth grew quick and distributed it towards establishing saloons and marketplaces that created bustling Wild West towns. The movies you see of cowboys don’t show this, they depict women as objects that need to be protected and saved, the men were depicted as the heroes of the Wild West. This greater established the stereotype of quiet women who stick to themselves. This type of plot structure was repeated in the film industry backing the stereotype. Protected by the film industry and historical patterns this stereotype was able to grow

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Workplace Essay

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    Since the beginning of time, men and women have been separated. Men would always be the supporters of the family while women would care for their family. With this being true, they would have different jobs set for them. Even now this aspect of society still stands. Even though the women’s movement has happened and we claim that women are equal, we really are not. Sexism in our society is negatively affecting women in the workforce. Women are not represented equally in different jobs, they suffer harassment, a wage gap exists, and discrimination against them still has an effect and has done so since the beginning of history.

    Read More

  • The Abolition Of Women In The 1920's

    383 Words  | 1 Pages

    There have been many changes in the course of history. Dating back, all the way from slavery to the abolition of slavery and other struggles that have since been fought. Back in the 1920s, women were not as privileged as they are today. Decades ago, women had to fight to be heard, fight to have their freedom to vote, fight for job equality and to own property. Once slavery was abolished and slaves were freed, women were still unable to speak freely. Women such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, and many others fought for not only a woman’s right to be seen as an equal to their male counterparts; but also for the rights of others.

    Read More

  • Women in the Workplace

    1106 Words  | 3 Pages

    In American society, the woman has always been viewed in the traditional viewpoint of what role she should play in the home; that she is the homemaker or caretaker. Even when women break from the stereotypical role of "housewife" and join the workforce, they still are not given an equal opportunity at acquiring a job that is seen to be as advancing or of higher recognition, as they would like to have. Men usually already take those positions.

    Read More

  • Portrayal of Women in the Media

    3135 Words  | 7 Pages

    That is why for years to come women will still be seen as motherly, passive and innocent, sexual objects, or they are overlooked or seen as unimportant entities. Whether it’s motherly birds on kids TV shows or scantily clad dancers on Monday Night Football, the portrayal of women has yet to catch up with what real life women are like. There are single women, obese women, and smart women. Women who are single mom’s, lesbians, or don’t have any children at all. Women are able to do the same type of work as men without being manly.

    Read More

  • Sexism In The Workplace

    1615 Words  | 4 Pages

    Think of how women have been fighting these things for decades. According to the Merriam- Webster Dictionary, sexism is defined as discrimination against one sex or attitudes that create stereotypes of gender roles. Men created the social role of a woman, but women were unhappy and decided to fight the limited social acceptions. Throughout history, gender roles have caused a huge uproar and sexism in the workplace has been a significant issue in many ways. Jobs that are or are not meant for women, disrespect and sexual assault, family and maternity leave makes women unworthy of a higher ranking in a business. Learn about the evolution of cultural expectations of women and how they have come a long way since the days of Rosie the Riveter. All though blaming seems extreme, I can tell you that the ones who can help fix the issues we have today are those who are not affected, we need everyone to fight for equality, and people to set examples in order to make every issue with sexism in the

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Of Men And Women

    1067 Words  | 3 Pages

    Men are always involved with tough stuff, such as construction, and other hardworking jobs (List). Men are the financial providers. Women are usually doing the easier stuff such as being a teacher, and nurses (Pocock). He or She is expected to behave in a certain way approved by society. Those expected behaviors depend on socially identified gender. Social pressure greatly influences the degree to which we conform to stereotypes. “During World War I 1914-1918, women are not usually the first to be pick for a job, they are working to replace the men at work in factories and clothing lines” (Striking). Men are supposed to enjoy the outdoor stuff and having the feeling not to do anything. “Men are doctors and do the dirty job, but nothing like housework. In addition, ¬¬they play video games and do sports while women are not supposed to be able do any of those things” (List). People feel that women are weak and not strong enough to take care of the challenging work on the outside. That is why women are supposed to have clean jobs. In addition, they are nurses not doctors, and rumor says that the best women are the ones that stay at home and do not need to go to college or play sports. In addition, women are supposed to marry and have children. In their heart, women want to fight for themselves and feel strong no matter what. Women feel that they can do as much as men can do if they want to

    Read More

More about Family Guy Stereotypes

Open Document