GENDER & COMMUNICATION

Transcription

1 GENDER & COMMUNICATION PROFESSOR ERIN HOLLENBAUGH FALL 2009 TEXTUAL ANALYSIS: EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND Assignment Project Description: The instructions for the paper allowed us to identify any text within our culture and evaluate the gender stereotypes that are portrayed throughout the chosen text. Within 5 to 7 pages integrate the text concepts and gender concepts taught from the course. Reflections: I wanted to integrate my textual analysis paper in my portfolio because I feel very passionate about the gender stereotypes that are portrayed to society. It s frustrating to see the labels assigned to males and females and it is effortless to observe my opinion throughout my paper. I am very proud of my findings and observations. I believe that this assignment demonstrates my growth and maturity. This was one of my favorite courses from my college career. I enjoy applying the information I learned from this course to the world around me, I feel like it gave me a new and stronger perspective.

2 Textual Analysis 1 Running Head: TEXTUAL ANALYSIS Textual Analysis: Everybody Loves Raymond Allyson Kolbl Gender & Communication Kent State University

3 Textual Analysis 2 INTRODUCTION Since television s first appearance in the early 1950 s, there have been constant images and concepts thrown at society that has ultimately evolved our culture into forming socially acceptable stereotypes. The term family has grown to be such a vague statement that is now left up to your own interpretation. Sitcoms have always played a crucial and determining role for families because they provide a visual stimulation for audiences to conceptualize the appropriate norms and behaviors. The foundation of sitcoms is to present evidence that all families are faced with issues and how to handle them with a comedic twist. Characters often represent underlying gendered stereotypical norms of what is socially acceptable and what is not. Throughout this paper I plan to further discuss the heavy stereotypical masculine norms compared to the male characters of Everybody Loves Raymond, as well as the feminine stereotypical norms portrayed through the female characters. Everybody Loves Raymond is a popular American sitcom that began in 1996 and ran until 2005 ( However, reruns are still currently played on major cable networks. The show consists of Ray and his wife Debra, who live across the street from Ray s parents. The couple has three children together, but they rarely make appearances on the sitcom. Ray s brother, Robert is also a key character who lives at home with his parents and pursues a career as a police man. The parents of Ray and Robert are Marie and Frank, which adds the comedic effect to the show. The sitcom predominantly revolves around Ray s life and the daily interactions within the dysfunctional family.

4 Textual Analysis 3 REINFORCED GENDERED STEREOTYPE OF MASCULINITY The main character Ray is the breadwinner for his family and pursues a career for the local newspaper as a sportswriter. Being the breadwinner of a family is observed as a masculine feature, and our society has engrained to men that their worth is tied to their earnings. Moreover, often men judge themselves and are judged based on their job position (Wood, 2007). Throughout the television sitcom, Ray does little to help or support Debra with the housework and their three children. For men to identify themselves as a masculine man, their ego boundaries are more rigid when compared to feminine ego boundaries. According to Wood (2007) an ego boundary is the concept of defining yourself from everyone and everything else. Masculine and feminine boundaries are different in which; to be female is to highlight on interrelatedness. There are no definite limits to identifying female, typically girls observe their mothers and assume that role in the future. However, masculine ego boundaries are able to give a defining clear cut identity for a male which is; not be female. Men rely heavily on their own thoughts, feelings, and emotions with little concern for others. It is essential for a male to distinguish himself from others so that he can focus on himself. Ray is an excellent example of a male ego boundary because he does not show concern for others and identifies himself through his work and actions rather than through his family members. The male ego boundary represented through Ray, reinforces to society what it means to be masculine. Raymond is essentially known for his remarks and sarcasm that he brings to the show. Ray is always putting humorous manipulations on events throughout the series whether it is a serious issue or insignificant. His witty remarks frustrate others and often

5 Textual Analysis 4 cause emotional damage to his family. Men are often unequipped with the knowledge on how to handle and successfully deal with emotions. Placing humor into the situation allows Ray and other men to not show attachment and/or feelings that could be interpreted as being sentimental, which is ultimately viewed as feminine. I believe that this is a serious issue for many couples, and the media displays it as being acceptable. Male television characters are often viewed as another child of the family because of their behavior. Raymond is portrayed as an irresponsible parent, immature, zero regard for anyone s emotions beside his own, unable to make logical decisions, and completely dependent on Debra. When Ray does attempt to aid to his wife, his father, Frank, reinforces the masculine identity and scolds Ray. It s disappointing that our culture socializes men into so called masculine norms, because it makes marriage difficult when your partner s behavior is more like a twelve year old. More importantly, sitcoms deal with this issue, but fail to show the realities of it. By complementing these real issues with humor, deflates the seriousness and allows it to continue. Additionally, Robert also displays masculine identity features, because audiences know that he has a successful career established. Men are stereotypically held accountable for their family s earnings. The show accelerates this concept by showing the male characters as masculine breadwinners and providers. However, Robert does not have any children or a house of his own. Living at his parent s house illustrates that even though he is a strong man, he is still dependent on his parents. This concept exemplifies the ideology that you can still claim a masculine identity, and not connect with all of the characteristics and beliefs of the identity. There will always be acceptations to the rules, and not every male individual is able to associate with all of the

6 Textual Analysis 5 masculine traits. Moreover, men are now faced to deal with defining their own identity because our culture is changing. There are more women involved in the workforce than before which is causing some males to be stay at home fathers. I believe that men will always have concrete beliefs of the stereotypical masculine identity, but all men are different and have different outlooks on what it means to be masculine in our society. REINFORCED GENDERED STEREOTYPE OF FEMINITY The female characters on Everybody Loves Raymond are portrayed as feminine according to our cultures standards. Debra is a stay at home mom who raises the children, cleans the house, and takes care of day to day activities. Marie is the other female character and she displays the typical mothering personality. The media does an excellent job of creating the image of a women being dependent on a male, while the man is viewed as being independent. Debra is in a supporting role and has lost her identity and family to join and marry Ray. According to Wood (2007) appearance is still crucial to being a female. Women are commonly judged based on how they look, and in order to be desirable a woman must be thing, young, and well dressed. Debra is viewed as a desirable woman because she dresses well and is in great shape. Debra has three children and is still represented on the show as an attractive woman. In reality most women do not fit the mold of these characteristics, our culture has strict standards for beauty and age is not viewed as attractive. It s unfortunate that so many women are not viewed as attractive because of the stereotypical definition of beauty, we have a diverse population and should accommodate accordingly. Furthermore, Debra is faced to deal with Ray s belittling humor throughout the

7 Textual Analysis 6 series. To be considered female Debra and women in society must tolerate it. Wood (2007) describes that being female includes negative treatment from others. Girls are socialized to treat others with a caring manor and show no aggression. This opens the door for women to be victimized in our culture, we over look this issue because men are suppose to hold the power. The focus of our society throughout history has been targeted towards mans accomplishments, which are at women s submission. Women rely heavily on relationships and communication with others, therefore tolerating negative treatment from people slips under the rug. Debra s underlying message conveys that a woman should have her focus on the family, supporting her husband, take care of the house, and be obedient all while being beautiful. Visually seeing Debra and her role in the house conveys to the audience that this is what is acceptable and how women should behave. Marie is at the top of the hierarchy and is viewed as dominate towards Frank, yet Frank has rude remarks and comments that are deplorable to Marie. Marie lets Frank be Frank and he gets away with the behavior without any repercussions. Essentially, Ray and Roberts masculine and feminine role models exemplified traditional norms and customs. However, these roles of masculinity and femininity are evolving into more practical norms. CONCLUSION In summery, I believe that the gendered identities conveyed implicitly and explicitly, support the stereotypes of either being masculine or feminine. Society thrives on reinforcing stereotypes, whether it deals with race, religion, or sex. Our gender identities have remained concrete over the generations, and the world we live in is evolving. If society continues to empower men and objectify women, our culture and

8 Textual Analysis 7 society will fail. The stereotypes need to be broken down, and individuals should not be looked at based on the typical norms, everyone is different and entitled to equality. Julia Wood (2007) believes that our communication plays a vital role in shaping our gender identities and through interactions with others we can educate ourselves on how society defines our roles. By airing sitcoms like Everybody Loves Raymond, we contribute to the stereotypes and highlight that these implicit meanings are acceptable. Stereotypes should not limit or define who somebody is, yet by showing society these messages the vicious cycle continues. I believe that in order for our culture to adapt to a more fitting view points on gender, we need to be educated and have less reinforcement from the media. The media is a huge determining factor for individuals, audiences admire fame and the people who are famous are generally role models. Changing our standpoint on gender identities is not out of the question and eventually it will occur.

9 Textual Analysis 8 References Everybody Loves Raymond. Retrieved December 7, 2009 from Wood, J.T. (2007). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, and culture. Belmont, CA: Thompson Wadsworth Press.