Women = Men

Anne Gibbons
Nov 4 · 3 min read

For many years, women were thought to be housewives or stay-at-home moms. Traditionally, they did not work and were very dependent on their husbands for money. At some point women realized that was not what they wanted in life. When they understood that they too could go to school and be successful, they wanted to do just that. Laws changed and society changed, and women are no longer all that reliant on men. I guess I should say that men and women rely on each other equally. Well, that statement isn’t exactly true. Based on my knowledge of the current femenist movement and the portrayal of women in the media, it is clear to me that there is still a considerable amount of work to be done. After watching an episode of Friends and an episode of New Girl, I came to a realization that women are portrayed in a way that makes them seem strong and independent while also giving viewers the impression that women need support from the men in their life because they can’t emotionally handle a situation alone.

The Pilot episode of Friends begins with Rachel running in to the coffee house in a panic with her wedding dress on. Her old friend Monica helped her out and asked her to stay in her apartment for the night. Rachel accepted this request. As the show proceeds, viewers are provided with numerous examples of Rachel not being able to support herself. She goes shopping with her father’s credit cards. She is quick to apologize to her father for running out on her wedding in fear that he will cut her off. When her dad does cut her off, she realizes she has no money, no job, and nowhere to live. She lives with Monica, and the gang encourages her to get a job and be independent. Taking into account the fact that Rachel does eventually get her life together, I’m not going to say this show completely portrays her as a woman who is solely dependent on men, but why is it the men in her life who have to support her? Her dad and her fiancée gave her money and a home, and after they were out of the picture, Chandler, Joey, and Ross helped her get her life together. Rachel did figure things out and find success, which is productive for the media, but it seems the way she got there was counterproductive in a way.

As for the Pilot episode of New Girl, the show introduces Jessica Day as an emotional wreck going through a break up. She loses her boyfriend, so now she needs to live with three guys to make up for the loss of a male figure? Throughout the show, Nick, Coach, and Schmidt are constantly saving her. They get her off the couch and take her out to meet new guys. They ditch their plans to save her from the date in which she was stood up. When the guys show up at the restaurant, Jess immediately starts crying and is seen again as an emotional wreck. This suggests to viewers that women are incapable of living alone without any big manly support.

While both pieces of media portray women as weak and emotionally unstable, they also provide viewers with examples of what independent, successful women look like. Thus, while pushing us in the cave with this idea that women are worthless, they also pull us out of the cave. In Friends, viewers can see that Phoebe and Monica are very successful and independent women. They live on their own. They have jobs. They don’t constantly rely on anybody. As for Jessica Day, viewers eventually see her turn into what a woman is today. She has a good job and money and doesn’t always depend on the guys she lives with. She is strong willed and stands up for what she believes in. All in all, I’m going to say these are actually great pieces of media, not because they are two of my favorite shows, but because they show women that even though people might make assumptions of their possible lack of independence, it is clear that they can be strong, independent and successful without men.

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