Not So New Girl

Matthew Washco
Nov 3 · 3 min read

In Fox’s pilot episode of New Girl, Jess must move into a new apartment after her boyfriend cheats on her, forcing her to live with three men she doesn’t know. However, rather than having the main character of the show, Jess, be independent, she is forced to rely on the help of the three men she moves in with to function. The show New Girl acts to enforce the gender roles of women needing men in their lives to be a true woman.

Immediately the episode begins to portray Jess as goofy, unserious, and clumsy. She tries to impress her boyfriend by dancing behind a couch cushion, only to knock over a potted plant to create a mess. She is doing all this to try to please him, only to see another woman walk out of his room with an unapologetic look on his face. The boyfriend is left with his new woman, and Jess is left torn without him. Fox chooses to show countless scenes of Jess crying and watching sad movies, all because she no longer has the man in her life. Jess is portrayed with little to no positive traits, and her only positive traits come when she is around her roommates(all men) Coach, Schmitt, and Nick.

Rather than Jess choosing to strike out on her own after being dumped, she immediately moves in with three men, to replace the previous man in her life. Everyone in the house is tasked with taking care of Jess at one point or another during this episode. Coach tries to get her to cheer up by yelling, Schmitt by kindness, and Nick by encouraging her to go for a “rebound”. Living with three men is not enough for a Fox to enforce this reliance on men, but Jess must also find a new man to hookup with to help her recover. Rather than having Jess take time to become a better person and be more accepting of herself, she must immediately find a man. Throughout the episode it becomes apparent that all Jess needs is a man to be happy, and everyone else in the show enforces that.

The idea of a man relying on a woman goes greatly against what we have seen rise in society. Today, more and more women are working and staying single longer so that they can pursue their dreams. This show tells women that this is wrong. Instead of staying single and striving to achieve personal and job based goals, they should find a man. The show is telling the aspiring woman that they are defined by a man, their success comes through their boyfriend or husband. It degrades women to feel as though they are nothing more than something built to belong to a man.

While this show might have been entertaining to the naked eye, when looked at deeper it is actually highly dangerous to society. Women should not feel as though they are defined by men, and should feel comfortable in the workplace and on their own. This show teaches young women that they shouldn’t go into new fields, and shouldn’t strive to break barriers, but simply stay how women have always been. This show also teaches men that they have dominance over women, as women need them to survive. This show acts to keep us in the cave, as gender roles that have existed for countless years are harshly enforced. Although a viewer may think it is simply an entertaining show, it degrades what women through the past 100s of years have worked so hard for, to allow young girls to go into whatever field they want, and be their own person, unbound to a man.

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