FINAL DRAFT:

Producer Michael Cherry almost admits that he wants the show to represent old stereotypes of women as he is “taking soap operas back to its roots.” Despite being produced in the 21st Century Desperate Housewives still uses tired old stereotypes.


Desperate Housewives (2004), a recent television comedy drama series received 4.86 million viewers (week ending 13th February 2005) and became the biggest US hit in the UK since the launch of US import ER back in 1994. It is about the secret lives of five women who live in the suburbs of America on Wisteria Lane. Although Desperate Housewives is made in the 21st Century the audience would expect 21st century representations of women, for example, successful and career driven individuals who are independent of men. However, it can be argued that Desperate Housewives portrays stereotypical roles of women who range from the perfect mother to the trophy wife. Therefore it is another example of misrepresented women and even though it is produced in the 21st Century, tired old stereotypes are still used.

Firstly, the title Desperate Housewives itself is loaded with negative connotations. This has caused controversy in the USA as President of the PTC (Parents Television Council), Brent Bozell, criticises the series’ likely effect on American morality: "Desperate Housewives really should have an even more obvious title, like Cynical Suburban Sluts.”(2004) Eventually, PTC got their supporters to send letters and emails to the show’s sponsors requesting they withdraw their advertising from the show, companies including Kellogg’s, Pizza Hut and KFC. Tyson Foods issued a statement that the show was “not consistent with our core values”. However, the show was such a hit that ABC had little difficulty replacing lost advertisers, prices leapt from $160,00 to $300,00 for 30 seconds (Guthrie 2004).[1] This was obviously because advertisers know the successful series receive high audience ratings. However, this was not the only controversy caused by the series in America. The main theme of ‘sex’ enraged family values campaigners. Jessica Anderson of Concerned Women for America describes the show as “treating infidelity as comedy and sex as gratuitous” (2005) she continues that women “are allowing themselves to be ‘attacked’ by the toxic immorality Desperate Housewives glorifies.”[2]

Edie represents women as passive because she succeeds by using her body. Edie’s character continues to cause controversy with the now infamous opening of ABC’s Monday Night Football. The scripted introduction was of Edie wearing just a towel flirting with Terrell Owens (Philadelphia Eagles) in an empty locker room. Edie asks Owens to forgo the game and Owen does not respond until she drops her towel and Owen replies with a big smile on his face: “Ah hell, the team’s going to have to win this one without me.”[3] Edie then jumps into his arms showing that women are used as sex objects because here, Edie is in Owens arms naked suggesting he is now in possession and control of her whilst she is naked, here the female is portrayed as inferior to the male. This angered 112 viewers out of an audience of 10 million (Kitman 2004)[4] saying it was an exaggeration. However, the damage was done and The National Football League (NFL) instantly made a statement distancing them from what had happened. The Philadelphia Eagles also released a statement saying they regret airing it; ABC also apologised to its viewers saying its promotion was "inappropriate and unsuitable for our Monday Night Football audience" (Flint 2004).[5] Similarly, Edie is also portrayed as passive in Desperate Housewives, for example, in her attempt to seduce Carlos, she very slowly takes her clothes off and is left standing in her underwear, he then takes her into his arms, suggesting that she is vulnerable without clothes on. Whilst she is undressing herself, the camera moves slowly down her whole body, using a medium shot, in order to reveal all of her body on screen. Also, the fact that she is in just her underwear shows that women are sexually objectified in Desperate Housewives, as this is not the first time one of the women are shown in their underwear,

Feminist Germaine Greer writes: "every woman knows that regardless of her other achievements, she is a failure if she is not beautiful." [6]. Desperate Housewives suggests that not much has changed since Mulvey’s seminal article about the 'male gaze' where men do the looking and women are to be looked at. The 'male gaze' usually focuses on Gabrielle as she is seen as the sexiest character. Gabrielle can be linked to Octopussy from the film Octopussy (1983) because both characters are glamorous, seductive, mysterious, live a life of luxury and manipulative (Gabrielle: “You’re a woman. Manipulate him. That’s what we do.”)
Gabrielle is almost always dressed in tight fitting clothes and high heels. Her make up consists of heavy eye make up and dark red lipstick to show that the make-up is used to simulate sexual arousal. She also dresses to fulfil the male fantasy as she once dressed up in a kinky nurses outfit that consisted of a nurses hat, white bra and skirt and red suspenders. Clearly, the purpose here is to attract the opposite sex which she does successfully. Gabrielle takes advantage of her good looks and her irresistible model figure when John tries to get out of the situation of having sex with her but cannot seem to resist when she undoes her blouse. Again, she uses her looks in order to succeed, as does Carlos for business purposes: "If he wants to grab your arse, you let him." Carlos says this with a snigger after Gabrielle complains to him that a businessman whom he makes a lot of money from is constantly trying to "grab her arse". Again, this supports Laura Mulvey's theory that women are represented as 'objects' and passive because Gabrielle’s “arse” is used to succeed as opposed to her brain. During Season one of Desperate Housewives Gabrielle seems uninterested in her husband and finds satisfaction with her seventeen-year-old gardener. This supports the 'male gaze' because teenagers might watch this programme and envy John because they would want to be in his position, as she did once tell him that all her teenage fantasies had come true. Gabrielle is represented as extremely hopeless because she is having sex with someone who is not even legal. Overall, this represents women as sexually frustrated and in need of constant attention. In one clip she tries to act maternal when John hurts his finger and she slowly and seductively kisses it better, the finger can be seen as a phallic symbol representing the lack of sexual action/attention Gabrielle is receiving from her husband, Carlos. Furthermore, Gabrielle can also be linked to the femme fatale (French for “fatal/deadly woman”) who tries to achieve her hidden purpose by using feminine qualities such as beauty, charm, and sexual allure[7]. She may also be (or imply to be) a victim, caught in a situation from which she cannot escape, for example in The Lady from Shanghai (a 1948 film noir)[8]. In this film the protagonist is similar to Gabrielle who also sees herself as a victim when her attempts to belittle Carlos fail.

In the 1970s “women were more frequently shown as weak, ineffectual, victimised… women's interactions were very often concerned with romance” (Gunter, 1995).[9] Susan represents an overused and more vulnerable characterisation of women. Susan, one of the leading characters of the show, is predominantly presented as a mother. Her main attempt is to seduce one of her neighbours, Mike. However, in her quest to do this she is constantly in battle with Edie who is always in her way and making petty remarks to humiliate her. Their relationship could be compared to that of Krystle and Alexis from Dynasty (1981-1989). These are Blake Carrington’s current and former wives. Like Edie, Alexis tries to undermine Krystle at every opportunity. Also, like Edie and Susan they have had many verbal confrontations and they got so bad that they were one of the first to use the word ‘bitch’ on television.[10] Similarly, Edie verbally confronts Susan when she finds out Susan has been using Edie’s fiancé (also Susan’s ex husband) to pretend they are married in order to allow Susan to get married. This represents women as hypocritical because Edie is dating Susan’s ex husband then Susan goes behind Edie’s back to pretend she is married to her ex husband and realises there is still something between them and they start having sex behind Edie’s back, again, women are seen fighting over male attention. Susan is also portrayed as having relationship disasters and this is almost always her main storyline which reinforces the stereotype of how women were perceived in the 1970s. Susan is a perfect example to support this quote and shows that Desperate Housewives reinforces this stereotype. Susan is shown as weak because the majority of the time she ends up in tears after a relationship crisis, this is a typical representation of women to be tearful and victimised: "men exhibited less emotional distress than women and traditionally solved their own problems, while women were more likely to deal with the problems of others or to need help in dealing with their own." [11] This is the very case of Susan and her fellow ‘desperate housewives’ representing women as insecure because they are unable to deal with rejection from the male.

Narrator Mary-Alice represents women as vengeful. Even though Mary-Alice is not alive she still seems to reflect bitterness towards men, for example, in an episode where Edie’s fiancé tried to run from her and crashed his car Mary-Alice hostilely reacts with: “it never occurred to him that God could be a woman,” suggesting that all women have some sort of revenge they want towards men. Women in Desperate Housewives are represented as rivals for male attention which can also be seen through Edie. The competition for male attention leads to lack of trust, argues Matthew Gilbert (2004) [12]. This could be because, like Alex from Fatal Attraction (1987), the rest of the women feel intimidated by Edie especially as she dated Susan’s ex-husband and more recently Gabrielle’s ex husband Carlos. This can be supported by authors Sherianne Shuler, M. Chad McBride and Erika L. Kirby who use the communication theory to explore the intimacy between the female characters and describe the Desperate Housewives women as “more reminiscent of the bitchiness of Mean Girls than the celebratory intimacy of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends.” [13] Instead, Desperate Housewives contradicts the values of successful, independent women which are portrayed in Sex and the City. The ladies of Wisteria Lane portrays women as being unkind to each other for the competition of male attention and the male is portrayed as a prize which results in the women competing for him resulting in malice from the women. This can also be linked to that of Dynasty (1981-1989) which is famous for women being aggressive over men. Edie is similar to the character Alexis who comes across as vindictive and constantly trying to aggravate Krystle, this is like Edie and Susan’s relationship.

Also apparent in Desperate Housewives is male to-be-looked-at-ness as the result of female desire and disappointment. Brian Singleton argues “Hegemonic heterosexual masculinity is determined in the gaze of the women; and while the ladies living on Wisteria Lane are continually disappointed in the men, they nevertheless persist in their desire of heterosexual masculinity only to perpetuate the fantasy promised by the spectacle of the male body.”[14] Both Gabrielle and Susan can support this as Gabrielle is unhappy with her relationship so she seeks pleasure from continually and secretly looking through the window at her topless gardener. Thus portraying housewives as being isolated within their homes because Gabrielle finds her only option is someone under age and also because whenever her and the gardener are having sex or sneakily kissing it is always in her house as opposed to somewhere else. This suggests that she finds it difficult getting away from her house because Carlos will question where she has been because if she is a housewife so she should be looking after their home. Similarly, Susan finds a doctor attractive and in order to fulfil her pleasure she pretends there is something wrong with her so that she can go to the hospital to see him whilst he is checking on her health. Again, this portrays women as needing constant doses of male attractiveness. This is insulting to women rather than a sign of equality because they are seen as incomplete without a man.

Another portrayal of women in Desperate Housewives is the perfect/typical housewife. Gunter reveals “marriage, parenthood and domesticity were shown on television to be more important for women than men” and that “married housewives” were “the main female role shown” (1995).[15] Sadly, Desperate Housewives still carries the stereotypical views of women from more than ten years ago. The most obvious examples of this are Bree and Lynette. Bree is an obsessive and compulsive housewife who is punished for being too perfect and is determined to rescue her marriage. Again, this represents women as not having independence if a man is not present in their lives and also supports Gunter’s 1970 study that women were shown to be “married housewives”. Which supports Sally Brady’s point that women really have not come far in equality and diversity[16]. Bree is described as “preppy-lovely...Her life was neat, her china polished, her designer ensembles perfectly pressed."[17] This description of Bree shows that she is like how every housewife wants to be portrayed, stress free. However, this perfect lifestyle seems too perfect and is done to mirror how a ‘real housewife’ should be and disguises the real problems she faces. She tries to be the best mother by using ridiculous punishments on her children which result in their rebelling against her obsessive longing to be the perfect housewife. Whilst at home Bree is constantly cleaning or cooking perfect home made meals for the family. This striving to be the ‘perfect mother’ is apparent in many Indian films, in particular Mother India (1957), where the protagonist Radha wants to be the idealistic mother to her children. Portraying women as because being brought up and taught how to fend for their husband and children is a very old fashioned view of a woman. Mother India holds traditional and patriarchal values which we do not expect to see in a modern programme like Desperate Housewives. Therefore, Desperate Housewives continues to promote sexist ideologies to the audience by representing women as homemakers; “Female characters were unlikely to work, especially not if they were wives or mothers.” (Gunter’s 1970’s study)[18] Bree’s appearance also reflects upon the objectifying way women are presented as her hair is always immaculate which is done to look good for her husband and if women do not do this they will not make the ‘perfect housewife’.

Lynette “represents the wider debate of the pressures placed on women in contemporary society- she regrets leaving her high-powered career to look after her children”.[19] Lynette feels obliged to leave her job because her ‘real job’ is to raise her family. Lynette attempts to be the ideal mother to her four children but cannot be consistent as a housewife which leads to her stealing her children’s ADD pills, representing the ‘modern mother/housewife’ as struggling to balance family and career which is why she no longer works. However, when Lynette used to work it used to be in the same place as her husband, who did not like the fact that she was always more successful than him. This frustrated him: “I’m not gonna hide behind my wife’s skirt!” This shows that he was ashamed of the fact that Lynette was better than him at the same job and he found it unbearable because she is a woman which is why he was embarrassed and refused to fade into the background because as a man he feels he should be more successful than his wife. Here, her husband could mirror what is going on in society, as he cannot accept it when she is shown as more successful than him, which is the reason she cannot succeed and is portrayed as struggling to keep a balance. This can be seen as hegemonic because the media is male dominated, who, along with the male audience, may feel threatened of Lynette being portrayed as successful which is why she is presented as suffering. The suggestion being that it is impossible to be a good mother and a successful career woman, thus the underlying message is that woman should stay at home. Unlike Bree, Lynette is always dressed in baggy clothes, looks tired, her hair is always a mess and she wears little, if any, make-up. Again, this shows the struggle of the ‘modern housewife’ which is what Lynette is representing as opposed to the ‘traditional housewife’ who is represented by Bree. Sharp states “reality TV shows subvert the television rule that women should never express dissatisfaction with housewifery and motherhood. What Desperate Housewives exposes, she argues, is what these shows desperately try to keep hidden, namely our cultures deep ambivalence and contradictory attitudes towards housewifery and the homemaker.”[20]

Overall, It seems that at a time when women are meant to be more empowered and liberated, Marc Cherry portrays women as more ‘desperate’ than ever through Desperate Housewives and that Desperate Housewives is ‘just another example of…cultural sexism’.[21] Cherry reinforces the old stereotypes of women, suggesting that the show is the result of hegemony because the male dominated media is injecting old stereotypes of women back into society. It could also be suggested that Desperate Housewives is a male backlash against feminism which is why men are happy in thinking women cannot cope with having a career and being a mother at the same time, this is emphasised through Lynette.


[1] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), pp. 6,7
[2] Ibid
[3] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 7
[4] Ibid
[5] Ibid

[6] David Gauntlett, (2002), page 77
[7] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femme_fatale
[8] Ibid
[9] David Gauntlett, (2002), p. 43
[10] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_(TV_series)
[11] Kenneth MacKinnon, (2003), p. 66
[12] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 13
[13] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 13
[14] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 12
[15] David Gauntlett, (2002), page 43
[16] Sally Brady, (April 2005), page 54
[17] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9242816/
[18] David Gauntlett, (2002), page 43
[19] Sally Brady, (April 2005), page 54

[20] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 12
[21] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, (2006), page 14

First draft- please note-i did not proof read this which is probably why it goes on a bit and is over the word limit (3831)

The Representation of Women in Desperate Housewives

Desperate Housewives (2004) recent television comedy drama series received 4.86 million viewers (week ending 13th February 2005) became an instant breakthrough since the launch of a US import ER back in 1994. It is about the secret lives of five women who live in the suburbs of America on Wisteria Lane. It can be argued that Desperate Housewives portrays objectifying roles of women who range from the perfect mother to the trophy wife.

Firstly, the title itself is loaded with negative connotations. This has caused controversy in the USA as President of the PTC (Parents Television Council), Brent Bozell, criticises the series on American morality; "Desperate Housewives really should have an even more obvious title, like Cynical Suburban Sluts.”(2004) Eventually, PTC got their supporters to send letters and emails to the show’s sponsors requesting they withdraw their advertising from the show, companies including Kellogg’s, Pizza Hut and KFC. Tyson Foods issued the following statement that the show was “not consistent with our core values”. However, the show was such a hit that ABC had little difficulty replacing lost advertisers, prices leapt from $160,00 to $300,00 for 30 seconds (Guthrie 2004).[1] This was obviously because advertisers know the successful series receive high viewings. However, this was not the last controversial issue brought upon in America. The main theme of ‘sex’ enraged family values campaigners. Jessica Anderson of Concerned Women for America describes the show as “treating infidelity as comedy and sex as gratuitous” (2005) she continues that women “are allowing themselves to be ‘attacked’ by the toxic immorality Desperate Housewives glorifies.”[2] Here, Jessica Anderson portrays the housewives as “immoral” which is totally the opposite of the stereotype ‘housewife’ holds. She also portrays the women of America as passive because she states the women in the series influence them.

The genre of Desperate Housewives also represents the equality of women. Cherry says he is “taking soap opera back to its roots…like the old days of women sitting around the kitchen table with a cup of coffee listening to the radio”.[3] Here it seems as if Cherry is almost admitting that Desperate Housewives represents women from the ‘roots’ connoting stereotypical ideologies of women. His description of the housewives sitting around is made to sound ‘cosy’ almost as if it is how women should stay. In the UK Desperate Housewives is marketed as a ‘comedy drama’ which shows that the ‘comical’ element could be to mock the stereotypes of women shown in the programme. As creator and executive producer of the show Marc Cherry says, “The audience is really thirsting for something new” (2004).[4] However, Sally Brady argues, “audiences are also invited to recall the melodrama genre of the 1940s and 1950s…leading us perhaps to question how far we have really come in creating a society of equality and diversity.”[5] This also questions whether Desperate Housewives is ‘just another example of feminist backlash and cultural sexism’.[6]

The narrative reflects on the representation of women in Desperate Housewives. The narrative revolves around the suicide of Mary-Alice. The storyline is firmly recognised in the first episode: “Why did she do it?”[7] Automatically this suggests that she had hidden struggles as a housewife. Mary-Alice is the “ghostly sporadic”[8] narrator and as Matt Feeney wrote in Slate at the end of season one he finds the narration “like listening to someone who is either really dull-witted or thinks you’re really dull-witted” (2005).[9] This portrays housewives (as Mary-Alice was a former housewife) as secluded from non-housewives because from the quote it is evident that she comes across as not on the same level as non-housewives. Mary-Alice also represents women as forever wanting revenge because even though Mary-Alice is not alive she still seems to correspond rile towards the male. This is evident because in an episode where Edie’s fiancé tried to run from her and crashed his car Mary-Alice hostilely reacted with; “it never occurred to him that God could be a woman.” Suggesting that all women have some sort of revenge they want towards men.

Firstly, one of the representations in Desperate Housewives represents women as an 'image'. Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'male gaze' can support this where men do the looking and women are to be looked at. The 'male gaze' pervades over Gabrielle as she is seen as the 'sexiest' character. Gabrielle can be linked to Octopussy from the film Octopussy (1983) because both characters are glamorous, seductive, mysterious, live a life of luxury and manipulative (Gabrielle: “You’re a woman. Manipulate him. That’s what we do.”)
Gabrielle is almost always dressed in tight fitting clothes, usually dresses and high heels. Also, her make up consists of heavy eye make up and dark red lipstick to show that she is aroused. She also dresses to fulfil the male fantasy as she once dressed up in a kinky nurses outfit that consisted of a nurses hat, white bra and skirt and red suspenders. This is obviously to attract the opposite sex which she does successfully. During Season one of Desperate Housewives Gabrielle gets bored of her husband and finds satisfaction with her seventeen-year-old gardener. This supports the 'male gaze' because teenagers would watch this programme and envy John because they would want to be in his position, as she did once tell him that all her teenage fantasies had come true. This can be supported by the fact that half of channel 4’s audience are men. This represents Gabrielle as extremely 'desperate' because she is having sex with someone who is not even legal. Overall, this represents women as sexually frustrated and in need of constant attention. In one clip she tries to act maternal when John hurts his finger and she slowly and seductively kisses it better. Here the finger can be seen as a phallic symbol representing the lack of sexual action/attention Gabrielle is receiving from her husband, Carlos. Greer quotes: "every woman knows that regardless of her other achievements, she is a failure if she is not beautiful." [10] Gabrielle takes advantage of her good looks and her irresistible model figure when John tries to get out of the situation of having sex with her but cannot seem to resist when she undoes her blouse. Here, she uses her looks to get what she wants, as does Carlos for business purposes: "If he wants to grab your arse, you let him." Carlos says this with a snigger after Gabrielle complains to him that a businessman whom he makes a lot of money from is constantly trying to "grab her arse". Again, this supports Laura Mulvey's theory that women are represented as 'objects' and passive.

Similarly, Edie Britt is also a character that can be seen as a ‘spectacle’. Edie is constantly trying to seduce men, in order to do this she wear very revealing outfits such as cleavage revealing tops and short skirts/dresses. The most obvious example of Edie being shown as a ‘spectacle’ is when she is washing her car wearing hot pants and a shirt with only a few buttons done revealing most of her stomach and cleavage. This is the idealistic view men have of women washing cars as it contains a lot of bending over. Again, this supports Mulvey’s theory that women are to be looked at. A similar example of this objective view of women can also be seen in the video of the song ‘My neck my back’ by Khia. This video is of women in bikinis washing and licking a truck whilst also cleaning themselves with the sponge across their breasts and being sprayed with water by firemen. This is done to seduce the male audience. Moreover, Edie is a blonde and fits into the stereotype of a blonde which is sex obsessed. Here her character could be linked to Alex from Fatal Attraction (1987) who is single, in her mid thirties and obsessive just like Edie. Edie can also be linked to Samantha from Sex and the City whom again is blonde, single and the most sexual out of the bunch, just like Edie. When Samantha meets a nun she is horrified; “So you haven’t had sex? Never had sex?” This portrays women as not being able to live without sex. This can link with Edie because when she is dating Carlos he wants a baby and thinks she does too, though all she really wants is sex and so pretends that she is not taking the pill. This portrays Edie as a manipulative woman. This characteristic of Edie leads to lack of trust as the Desperate Housewives women “don’t trust one another”, argues Matthew Gilbert (2004) [11]. This could be because like Alex, the rest of the women feel intimidated by Edie especially as she dated Susan’s ex husband and more recently Gabrielle’s ex husband Carlos. This can be supported by Authors Sherianne Shuler, M. Chad McBride and Erika L. Kirby who use the communication theory to explore the intimacy between the female characters and describe the Desperate Housewives women as “more reminiscent of the bitchiness of Mean Girls than the celebratory intimacy of Carrie Bradshaw and her friends.” [12] This portrays women as being ‘mean’ to each other for the competition of male attention. This supports the point that women are portrayed as not being independent without a man in their lives and that they constantly need a man and that if a man is involved he becomes a prize which results in the women being competitors and then ends in “bitchiness”. This ‘bitchiness’ can also be linked to that of Dynasty (1981-1989) which is very famous for ‘cat fights’ usually over men. Edie is similar to the character Alexis who comes across as bitchy and constantly trying to aggravate Krystle, this is like Edie and Susan’s relationship. When Edie is about to get married and her fiancé is driving away all she cares about is her reputation; “I have told every woman in this town that we are getting married!” This shows that she has been showing off the fact that she was going to get married and is now scared about what will follow if her wedding does not go as planned.

Also, Edie’s character continues to cause controversy with the now infamous opening of ABC’s Monday Night Football. The scripted introduction was of Edie wearing just a towel flirting with Terrell Owens (Philadelphia Eagles) in an empty locker room. Edie asks Owens to forgo the game and Owen does not respond until she drops her towel and Owen replies with a big smile on his face; “Ah hell, the team’s going to have to win this one without me.”[13] Edie then jumps into his arms. This represents women as passive because she succeeded using her body. It also represents that women are used as sex objects because here, Edie is in Owens arms naked suggesting he is now in possession and control of her whilst she is naked. Here the female is portrayed as inferior to the male. This angered 112 viewers out of an audience of 10 million (Kitman 2004)[14] saying it was an exaggeration. However, the damage was done and The National Football League (NFL) instantly made a statement distancing them from what had happened. The Philadelphia Eagles also released a statement saying they regret airing it; ABC also apologised to its viewers saying its promotion was "inappropriate and unsuitable for our Monday Night Football audience" (Flint 2004).[15]

Furthermore, also apparent in Desperate Housewives is male to-be-looked-at-ness which is the result of female desire and disappointment. Brian Singleton argues “Hegemonic heterosexual masculinity is determined in the gaze of the women; and while the ladies living on Wisteria Lane are continually disappointed in the men, they nevertheless persist in their desire of heterosexual masculinity only to perpetuate the fantasy promised by the spectacle of the male body.”[16] Both Gabrielle and Susan can support this. Gabrielle is unhappy with her relationship so she seeks pleasure from continuously and secretly looking through the window at her topless gardener. This portrays ‘housewives’ as being isolated within their homes because Gabrielle finds her only option is someone under age and also because whenever her and the gardener are having sex or sneakily kissing it is always in her house as opposed to somewhere else. This portrays that she finds it difficult getting away from her house because Carlos will question where she has been because if she is a “housewife” so she should be looking after their home. Similarly, Susan finds a doctor attractive and in order to fulfil her pleasure she pretends there is something wrong with her so that she can go to the hospital to see him whilst he is checking on her health. Again, this portrays women as needing constant ‘hits’ of male attractiveness.

Furthermore, Susan represents an overused and more vulnerable characterisation of women. Susan, one of the leading characters of the show, is predominantly presented as a mother. She is presented as vulnerable and a klutz, or some would say this is just “another absurdly overacted scene”[17]. Her main attempt is to seduce one of her neighbours, Mike. However, in her quest to do this she is constantly in battle with Edie who is always in her way and making ‘petty digs’ to humiliate her. Their relationship could be compared to that of Krystle and Alexis from Dynasty (1981-1989). These are Blake Carrington’s current and former wives and their rivalry becomes a hit for the melodrama. Like Edie, Alex tries to undermine Krystle at every opportunity. Also like Edie and Susan they have had many verbal confrontations and they got so bad that they were one of the first to use the word ‘bitch’ on television.[18] Similarly, Edie verbally confronts Susan when she finds out Susan has been using Edie’s fiancé, who is also Susan’s ex husband to pretend they are married in order to allow Susan to get married. This represents women as backstabbing because firstly Edie is backstabbing Susan for dating her ex husband and then Susan goes behind Edie’s back to pretend she is married to her ex husband and realises there is still something between them and they start having sex behind Edie’s back. This supports the point that women are shown to be bitchy mostly due to trying to win over a man. Susan is also portrayed as having relationship disasters and this is almost always her main storyline. This supports the stereotype of how women were perceived in the 1970’s when “women were more frequently shown as weak, ineffectual, victimised… women's interactions were very often concerned with romance” (Gunter, 1995).[19] Because Susan is a perfect example to support this quote it shows that Desperate Housewives does not help to subvert this stereotype. Susan is shown as weak because the majority of the time she ends up in tears after a relationship crisis, this is a typical representation of women to be tearful and victimised; "men exhibited less emotional distress than women and traditionally solved their own problems, while women were more likely to deal with the problems of others or to need help in dealing with their own." [20] This is the very case of Susan and her fellow ‘desperate housewives.
Moreover, another objectifying representation of women portrayed in Desperate Housewives is the “Perfect/Typical Housewife”. Gunter reveals “marriage, parenthood and domesticity were shown on television to be more important for women than men” and that “married housewives” were “the main female role shown” (1995).[21] However, this study is from the 1970’s and proves that Desperate Housewives still carries the objectifying stereotypical views of women from more than thirty years ago. The most obvious examples of this are Bree and Lynette. Bree is an obsessive and compulsive housewife who is punished for being too perfect and is determined to rescue her marriage. Again, this represents women as not having self-independence if a man is not present in their lives and also supports Gunter’s 1970 study that women were shown to be “married housewives”. Which supports Sally Brady’s point that women really have not come far in equality and diversity. Bree is described as “preppy-lovely...Her life was neat, her china polished, her designer ensembles perfectly pressed."[22] This description of Bree shows that she is like how every ‘housewife’ wants to be portrayed, stress free. However, this perfect lifestyle seems to perfect and is done to mirror how a ‘real housewife’ should be and contradicts the real problems she faces. She tries to be the best mother by using ridiculous punishments towards her children which result in them rebelling against her obsessive longing to be the perfect housewife. Whilst at home Bree is constantly cleaning or cooking perfect home made meals for the family. This thrive to be the ‘perfect mother’ is apparent in many Indian films, especially Again this represents women as uneducated because she is not shown working and suggests she does not have a career because she has been bought up and taught how to fend for her husband and children which is a very old fashioned view of a woman. Therefore, Desperate Housewives continues to produce sexist ideologies towards the audience by representing ‘women as homemakers’; “Female characters were unlikely to work, especially not if they were wives or mothers.” (Gunter’s 1970’s study)[23] Bree’s appearance also reflects upon the objectifying way women are presented as her hair is always immaculate. This shows that women are to look good for their husband and if not they do not make the ‘perfect housewife’ which Bree reflects. In fact Bree is so perfect that when Susan is preparing to meet her potential in laws she asks Bree to cook the ‘perfect’ meal to impress her fiancés parents by making Susan look like she will make a ‘good’ wife for their son which is why Susan wants to make such a good impression about the food. Again this portrays women as having to tend for their husband. This role of women constantly possessing the kitchen and cleaning was a typical responsibility seen from women in the 70's, especially in adverts. This supports the fact that this is still how society view women, in particular ‘housewives’. Overall, Bree illustrates what is more contemporarily referred to as ‘wifey material’. This is basically a woman who could be a potential wife and has not got a bad reputation and can cook and clean. This is an objectifying and overused word in society because it represents women as having to prepare for their marriages and learning how to accomplish being ‘wifey material’ because they know most men want this.

Lynette “represents the wider debate of the pressures placed on women in contemporary society- she regrets leaving her high-powered career to look after her children”.[24] This portrays that Lynette feels obliged to leave her job because her ‘real job’ is to look after her children. Lynette attempts to be the ideal mother to her four children but cannot keep up the speed as a housewife and so steals her children’s ADD pills. This supports the fact that “Even as they languish in their retrograde cul-de-sac, the women of Wisteria Lane resonate with the history of the last 50 years — feminism, the sexual revolution, the struggle to balance family and career.”[25] This is the representation of the ‘modern mother/housewife’ which Lynette supports this because she struggled to balance family and career which is why she no longer works. However, when Lynette used to work it used to be in the same place as her husband who could not take the fact that she was always more successful than him. This frustrated him; “I’m not gonna hide behind my wife’s skirt!” This shows that he was ashamed of the fact that Lynette was better than him at the same job and he found it unbearable because she is a woman which is why he was embarrassed and refused to fade into the background. This portrays that it is not normal for women to be successful at work. Unlike Bree, Lynette is always dressed in baggy clothes, looks ‘drained’ and tired, her hair is always a mess and she wears little, if any, make-up. Again this shows the struggle of the ‘modern housewife’ which is what Lynette is representing as opposed to the ‘traditional housewife’ who is represented by Bree.

This opposing housewife battle is also apparent in reality television programme Wife Swap (2003). This is where two families usually from totally different social classes and lifestyles swap wives. This is done to compare which wife is best suited as a housewife, which indirectly is a test to see which housewife is doing her job properly as a housewife. The husband never swaps which suggests that the women are to satisfy the men depending on their ability to look after him and his kids, if any. Again this represents women almost as servants towards their husbands. In Wife Swap there is almost always a working mum and a ‘housewife’, the ‘housewife’ being more successful in doing her job appropriately, consisting of tending to her husband and kids by cooking and cleaning after them and keeping the house in order. This show portrays an objectifying representation of women because the show indirectly criticises women and questions as to whether or not she is a good wife or not. This causes controversy because in contemporary society the word ‘wife’ can be interpreted in many ways. In the case of Wife Swap it is either a ‘housewife’ or simply just a wife because she is married and has the title. When one wife swaps with the opposite and returns to her house which she usually tends to she returns in disgust; "She did no cleaning, the place was disgusting and my family was fed up of microwave meals". This portrays that in some households wives are still stereotypically expected to cook and clean for the family. This is also the case of Bree in Desperate Housewives. This contradicts Gunter’s argument that "gender roles on television became increasingly equal and non -stereotyped."[26] According to Sally Brady this is evident from various shows on Channel 4 which concern appearance (10 Years Younger and How to Look Good Naked), coping with children (Brat Camp), health (You are What You Eat) and relationships (Perfect Match). Sally Brady states “Women are still perceived by programme makers as the primary daytime TV audience…just as they were in the 1950s”.[27] This is exactly what the main issues are in Desperate Housewives which also airs on Channel 4, questioning whether it is Channel 4 who has moved on or not? Sharon Sharp states “reality TV shows subvert the television rule that women should never express dissatisfaction with housewifery and motherhood. What Desperate Housewives exposes, she argues, is what these shows desperately try to keep hidden, namely our cultures deep ambivalence and contradictory attitudes towards housewifery and the homemaker.”[28]

It seems that at a time when women are meant to be more empowered and liberated Marc Cherry portrays women as more ‘desperate’ than ever in through Desperate Housewives.


[1] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), pp. 6,7
[2] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), p.6
[3] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 12
[4] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 2
[5] Sally Brady, “lives of quiet (and not so quiet) desperation”, in Media Magazine, (April 2005), page 53
[6] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 14
[7] Sally Brady, “lives of quiet (and not so quiet) desperation”, in Media Magazine, (April 2005), page 54

[8] Ibid
[9] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 19
[10] David Gauntlett, Media Gender and Identity, an Introduction, (Routledge, 2002), page 77
[11] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 13
[12] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 13
[13] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 7
[14] Ibid
[15] Ibid

[16] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 12
[17] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 19
[18] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynasty_(TV_series)
[19] David Gauntlett, Media Gender and Identity, an Introduction, (Routledge, 2002), p. 43
[20] Kenneth MacKinnon, Representing men: maleness and masculinity in the media, (Arnold, a member of the Hodder Headline group 2003), p. 66
[21] David Gauntlett, Media Gender and Identity, an Introduction, (Routledge, 2002), page 43
[22] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9242816/
[23] David Gauntlett, Media Gender and Identity, an Introduction, (Routledge, 2002), page 43
[24] Sally Brady, “lives of quiet (and not so quiet) desperation”, in Media Magazine, (April 2005), page 54

[25] Catherine Orenstein, “Housewife Wars, The cultural conversation behind the hedges of Wisteria Lane, in Ms. Magazine, (Spring 2005)
[26] David Gauntlett, Media Gender and Identity, an Introduction, (Routledge, 2002), page 58

[27] Sally Brady, “lives of quiet (and not so quiet) desperation”, in Media Magazine, (April 2005), page 54
[28] Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, Reading Desperate Housewives: Beyond the White Picket Fence, (I.B. Tauris, 2006), page 12

First Paragraph

Firstly, one of the representations in Desperate Housewives represents women as an 'image'. Laura Mulvey's theory of the 'male gaze' can support this where men do the looking and women are to be looked at. The 'male gaze' pervades over Gabrielle as she is seen as the 'sexiest' character. Gabrielle is almost always dressed in tight fitting clothes, usually dresses and high heels. Also, her make up consists of heavy eye make up and dark red lipstick to show that she is aroused. She also dresses to fulfil the male fantasy as she once dressed up in a kinky nurses outfit which consisted of a nurses hat, white bra and skirt and red suspenders. This is obviously to attract the opposite sex which she does successfully. During Season one of Desperate Housewives Gabrielle gets bored of her husband and finds satisfaction with her seventeen-year-old gardener. This supports the 'male gaze' because teenagers would watch this programme and envy John because they would want to be in his position, as she did once tell him that all her teenage fantasies had come true. This represents Gabrielle as extremely 'desperate' because she is having sex with someone who is not even legal. Overall, this represents women as sexually frustrated and in need of constant attention. In one clip she tries to act maternal when John hurts his finger and she slowly and seductively kisses it better. Here the finger can be seen as a phallic symbol representing the lack of action/attention Gabrielle is receiving from her husband, Carlos. Greer quotes: "every woman knows that regardless of her other achievements, she is a failure if she is not beautiful." Gabrielle takes advantage of her good looks and her irresistible model figure when John tries to get out of the situation of having sex with her but cannot seem to resist when she undoes her blouse. Here, she uses her looks to get what she wants, as does Carlos for business purposes: "If he wants to grab your arse, you let him." Carlos says this with a snigger after Gabrielle complains to him that a businessman whom he makes a lot of money from is constantly trying to "grab her arse". Again, this supports Laura Mulvey's theory that women are represented as 'objects' and passive.


secpnd paragraph...
Edie is also a character who can be seen as a 'spectacle'. Edie=promiscuous is constantly trying to seduce men, in order to do this she wears very revealing tops which show a lot of cleavage, for example when she was washing her car she wore short shorts and a shirt with only a few buttons done which meant most of her stomach was on show and a lot of cleavange . can be seen as 'man-devouring monster; because she tries it with everyone, like Gabi once did with Tom (season 2)( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7xsptPexJ0&feature=related ). This is the idealistic view men have of women washing cars, for example in the song 'My neck my back' by Khia(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4PtXKPH04 )and one of Jessica Simpson's video too. This is for the obvious reason that the woman is doing a lot of bending over. Also, Edie is a blonde and fits into the stereotype of a blonde= obsessed with sex. This could be linked to Fatal Attraction, Alex=blonde, single and obsessive(bunny boiler). Another link is that the rest of the women feel intimidated by Edie, like Alex. Edie goes with Susan's ex and Gabrielle's ex. She could also be seen as similar to Samantha from 'Sex and the City' who is also blonde, single and the most sexual out of all of them, when she meets a nun she is horrified: "So you haven't had sex? Never had sex?...have you ever masturbated?"

Essay plan:

Representation of women in Desperate Housewives.

My hypothesis: Is DH just another example of feminist backlash and cultural sexism?

Here is what my paragraphs will be about, not in proper order yet:

Genre:

DH fuses the generic conventions of comedy and drama to convey the paradoxical relationship of feminism and patriarchy, and how this impacts upon the experience of modern American womanhood in the new millenium.

Mulvey and the male gaze

Gabrielle is always dressed wearing sexy outfits, this links to the 'male gaze' because she is shown as the sexiest out of all of them. “the controlling male gaze”, presenting “woman as image” (or ‘spectacle’) and man as “bearer of the look”. Men do the looking; women are there to be looked at. Gabrielle is an example of this because she uses her looks to get what she wants. An example of this is when she seduces young boys, for example John ( .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VICGlYcJrBE&feature=related ). This representation is completely DESPERATE!the finger that she kisses/sucks in this clip is a phallic symbol (penis). This could be seen as supporting the male gaze because young boys would probably lovee to be in Johns position. A quote from Greer which supports this: "every woman knows that regardless of her other achievments, she is a failur if she is not beautiful." >>used to be a model. Carlos uses Gabi for business purposes "If he wants to grab your arse, you let him."http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WOwlk4kzZw&feature=related

Edie is also a character who can be seen as a 'spectacle'. Edie is constantly trying to seduce men, in order to do this she wears very revealing tops which show a lot of cleavage, for example when she was washing her car she wore short shorts and a shirt with only a few buttons done which meant most of her stomach was on show and a lot of cleavange ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7xsptPexJ0&feature=related ). This is the idealistic view men have of women washing cars, for example in the song 'My neck my back' by Khia(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fd4PtXKPH04 )and one of Jessica Simpson's video too. This is for the obvious reason that the woman is doing a lot of bending over. Also, Edie is a blonde and fits into the stereotype of a blonde= obsessed with sex. This could be linked to Fatal Attraction, Alex=blonde, single and obsessive(bunny boiler). Another link is that the rest of the women feel intimidated by Edie, like Alex. Edie goes with Susan's ex and Gabrielle's ex. She could also be seen as similar to Samantha from 'Sex and the City' who is also blonde, single and the most sexual out of all of them, when she meets a nun she is horrified: "So you haven't had sex? Never had sex?...have you ever masturbated?"

However, this 'to-be-looked-at-ness' is also present towards men in DH. Brian Singleton develops such a notion to argue that male to-be-looked-at-ness is caught in perpetual cycle of female desire and disappointent. Hegemonic hetrosexual masculinity only to perpetuate the fantasy promised by the spectacle of the male body.

The 'Typical Housewife' (links with representation of women in the past)

The most obvious character who is the 'typical housewife' is Bree she is an obsessive compulsive housewife. She "She was preppy-lovely, if a bit of an ice queen...Her life was neat, her china polished, her designer ensembles perfectly pressed."( http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9242816/ ) She tries to be the best mother by using rediculous punishments on her children. She thinks it teaches them good lessons. When at home she is always cleaning, or cooking perfect home made meals for her family. She is constantly taking food around to other peoples houses in baskets (such an old fashioned view of a woman). Her hair is always immaculate. She puts on a brave front infront of everyone, she even tries to hide her daughters pregnancy by pretending she is pregnant to people at home and hiding Danielle so people wont know that the baby is really hers when they return home= does not want a bad reputation.( http://www.boxxet.com/Desperate_Housewives/Video_Desperate_Housewives_4x05_part_2_BREE.19ov9u.d ). Bree is a stereotypical woman . This kitchen/cleaning role was a typical role seen from women since the 70's, especially in adverts. Susan even goes to Bree to ask her to cook a meal when Susan's boyfriend is bringing his parents around because she wants to set the 'perfect' impression and Bree of course is 'perfect'.

Lynette also fits into this stereotype. “Even as they languish in their retrograde cul-de-sac, the women of Wisteria Lane resonate with the history of the last 50 years — feminism, the sexual revolution, the struggle to balance family and career.”( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYhmiAnr6f8&feature=related )She is at home and looks after the kids. Though she did work before her youngest child came along. She works in the same place as her husband and he cannot take it because she is better than him at the job and in general she is more successful and thinks of the better ideas, this frustrates him "I'm not gonna hide behind my wifes skirt."= ashamed, should be bigger and better, be a man! She is seen always in chaos at home, drained ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLXDZ15uNt8&NR=1). Similarly to Bree she does the cooking and cleaning in the house like a proper housewife should. Lynettes clothes are always baggy and she does not look like she has taken ages to get ready unlike Bree who comes across as the perfect 'wifey material'=cooks, cleans and fit. a little about 'wifey material'...http://www.ajc.com/lving/content/custom/blogs/dating/entries/2004/11/30/wifey_material.html

I will link this to 'Wife Swap' which is always a test to see which housewife is best suited, the man never swaps = the wife is being tested to see if she does her job properly or not as a 'housewife' or not. Always two opposites, one working mum and the other is a housewife. I will talk about how this is an objectifying representation because the message is basically 2'is she a good wife or not?' And at this time in society it is hard to define the word 'wife' because some people might still relate it to housewife=looking after the house, kids and husband-making food, whereas some see it as just husband and wife. This is always what the arguements are about in Wife Swap.

Penny Blyth runs two beauty salons and for her, life is all about image. She doesn't do menial jobs such as cooking or cleaning and her non-stop life style leaves little time to spend with her son Harvey. Penny Roberts is far too busy to worry about appearance, with 5 cats, 3 kids, a husband, dog, rabbit and a goldfish to look after and who strongly believes a mother's role is to stay at home with the kids.What happens when they Wife Swap?

"She did no cleaning, the place was disgusting and my family was fed up of microwave meals"-as if it was her responsibility.

media, gender and identity, an introduction.

"gender roles on television became increasingly equal and non -stereotyped." pg 58
"women usually got to be love interests and helpers." pg 64
"the 1992-1993 study found that only 3 per cent of women were represented as housewives as their main occupation." pg 58

Sharon Sharp leads with her study of televisions latest fixation with the housewive and domesticity. The reality TV shows subvert the television rule that women should never express dissatisfaction with housewifery and motherhood. What DH exposes, she argues, is what these shows desperately try to keep hidden, namely our cultures deep ambivalence and contradictory attitudes towards housewifery and the homemaker.

Love

Susan in particular best fits into this paragraph. She is represented as not being able to live without a man. This shows them as not independent without a man and that they are vital in their lives otherwise its chaos.( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKDyH6EUBa4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbfGGOkDFZM) can compare Susan to.

feminism, femininty and popular culture:

"romantic love is pathological, she argued:it is love corrupted by the unequal relationship between the sexes and is used to reproduce patriachy...first, love becomes a woman's vacation, diverting her energies from other pursuits. second, a woman's sense of identity and self-esteem depends on a man's valuation of her as worthy of being loved. third, because romantic love makes women economically dependent on men, it is not about mutual vulnerability but female vulnerability, leaving women open to abuse" Shulamith Firestone thought this pg 73

"the romantic narrative also deals with a basic conflict that Modleski claims faces all women-women's goal in life is meant to be getting a husband, but they must not let it appear to be a goal which is consciously or calculatedly pursued." pg 76

Desperate Housewives Issues and Debates:

housewife roles, feminist attack was because of this. At a time when women are allegedly more empowered, more liberated than at any other time in our history, we seem as DESPERATE as ever.

Sex is the familiar battleground and it was not long before DH enraged family values compaigners. Jessica Anderson of Concerned Women for America describes the show as 'treating infidelity as comedy and sex as gratuitous" (2005). She adds that women are 'allowing themselves to be "attacked" by the toxic immorality DH glorifies'.

President of the PTC (Parents Television Council), Brent Bozell, condemns further the assault of the series on American morality; "DH really should have an even more obvious title, like Cynical Suburban Sluts. It's juts the lastes in a long series of shows that aims to pulverize the cartoonish 1950s black-and-white stereotype of 'Leave It To Beaver', creating in its ancient wake a catty, snarky, amoral cesspool" (2004).

the PTC ralied tens of thousands of its supporters to target the show's sponsors with letters and emails requesting they withdraw their advertising from the show. Companies including Kellogs, Yum! Brands (corporation behind Pizza Hut, KFC and Taco Bell), Lowe's Home Improvement and Tyson Foods kowtowed to the pressure; Tyson, issuing the following statement, said the show was 'not consistent with our core values' . But ABC had little difficulty in replacing lost advertisers. other companies quickly lined up to buy the recently vacated spots and prices leapt from $160,000 to $300,000 for 30 secs (Guthrie 2004). This shows that it is still a popular programme and advertisers are deperate to advertise during the programme because they know a lot of people watch it.

the controversy continues with the now infamous opening on ABC's 'Monday Night Football'. The scripted intro featured Edie Britt in a towel flirting with Philadelphia Eagles receiver Terrell Owens in an emprty locker room. Asking Owens to forgo the game, Edie gets no response until she drops her towel. with a huge smile on his face, Owen says; 'Ah hell, the team's going to have to win this one without me.' Edie leaps into his arms, This made viewers angryand 112 viewers among an audience of 10 million saying it was an exaggeration(Kitman 2004). The damage was done. and The National Football League (NFL) immediately issued a statement distancing themselves from the stunt; the Philadelphia Eagles released a statement saying they wished it had never been aired; and ABC apologised to its viewers saying its promotion was "inappropriate and unsuitable for our 'Monday Night Football' audience" (Flint 2004).