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Representations of Motherhood and Fatherhood

in Contemporary Advertisements and Sitcoms

Leah Knowles and Colleen Roche WMS 325 Rep.'s of MotherhoodResearch Paper Word Count: 1,4181

17 November 2010 MLA Documentation

1 We previously discussed the possibility of exceeding the allotted word count with the professor and were given permission to do so within reason.

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Our research on the roles of mothers and fathers in contemporary television advertisements and

sitcoms has revealed the rampant portrayal of fathers as inept and mothers as the queens of the private

sphere. Although we are not the only ones to have noticed this trend, many seem to blame feminists for

the perpetual “male-bashing” on contemporary television. On the contrary, we argue that the

representations of both fathers and mothers are negative and anti-feminist. Both media genres present a

pseudo-feminist perspective in the form of male inadequacy, but in reality they continue to limit

women to the domestic realm as wives and mothers. We believe the commercials and shows we

observed misrepresent feminist ideals of egalitarian parenthood and, as a result, perpetuate patriarchal

standards of parenthood.

In general, advertisements have a profound impact on a culture which relies on television as a

fundamental pastime. “For example, Singer, Singer, and Rapaczynski (1984) argued that television has

as much potential to influence the family as does the home environment, parental behavior, and the

socioeconomic milieu of the family” (Bryant, 248). If commercials do influence the formation of

familial culture, it is imperative to examine the messages they are sending. “If all you did was watch

television commercials for minivans, you might think that the traditional All-American family was still

intact... But ads (depending on your perspective) are either selling aspirations or guilt: This is the

family you're supposed to have, supposed to want” (Beam). Furthermore, it is important to analyze and

critique the messages modern advertisements send regarding the roles of parents. What messages do

advertisements portray? “In a perfect world as represented in advertising there are no male primary

care givers; all children have the ideal, gender-appropriate set of original parents” (Hill, 244).

In my analysis of specific contemporary television advertisements, the images of the dim-witted

father and ever-capable mother prevail. The first commercial is selling the iRobot Roomba, a hands-

free vacuum cleaner. The mother/wife character narrates, describing her children as pigs and her

husband as a donkey. This advertisement reduces both fathers and their children to equally barbaric,

destructive forces within the home. The mother, on the other hand, is alone in carrying the house-

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keeping burden (except for the help of her vacuum).

In another advertisement for Pizza Hut, a mother and her two daughters arrive home with the

expectation of dinner made by their father/husband. The daughters groan at the thought of their dad

cooking and their mother seems to feel the same way. When they enter the house, they discover that

Dad has ordered pizza, causing the girls to squeal in delight and his wife to sigh in relief as she tells

him she loves him. In the end, the father jokes to his family, “who says I can't cook?” I believe this

commercial is anti-feminist on a number of levels. First of all, the mother is expected to slave away in

the kitchen actually cooking a meal while the father excuses himself from the responsibility. The

mother is also somehow too naïve to know how to order a pizza. In addition, since Pizza Hut can be

considered fast food and is unhealthy to eat on a regular basis, the father-figure is portrayed as both an

incompetent cook and a poor advocate for the health of his children.

I believe that these advertisements are antithetical to the claims of feminism because while they

portray the female as the more intelligent parent, she is still confined to the same domestic setting. “In

that latter scenario—particularly when it comes to home and hearth—women are the calm, efficient

counterweight to irresponsible men” (Unger, 173). “Some feminists might argue that, for decades,

women on TV looked mindless, and that turnabout is fair play” (Abernethy). While this may be true,

are these commercials which supposedly promote women's rights doing so at the expense of men? “It

reads a little differently if you're a woman who wants her husband to take some or all of the

responsibility for child care or if you are a father who takes caring for his children seriously” (Unger,

164).

These negative representations of parenthood can also be found in contemporary sitcoms.

Similar to commercials, sitcoms have a profound impact on our society’s ideologies. “There is

consistent evidence that television, film and video… have substantial short-term effects on arousal,

thoughts and emotions” (Livingstone, 6). “Americans own more televisions sets than inhabitants of any

other country” (Schor, 3). This pervasiveness suggests how important television is to our culture. Often

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present in many popular sitcoms is the representation of the “typical family.” Incorporated into this

representation of family exists a pseudo-feminist perspective in the form of male incompetence.

“You’ve seen him plenty of times on sitcoms; he’s the dumb, bumbling, idiot dad, who appears useless

at everything but bringing home a paycheck” (Voyer). These sitcoms “feature women who are better

organized and possess better relational skills than their male counterparts” (Abernethy). “Television

scholars have already identified the ways in which particular television texts identified as ‘feminist’

redirect independent, assertive female characters into safely traditional female categories” (Rabinovitz,

9). Everybody Loves Raymond is a popular sitcom that displays this redirection of the female character

from strong to merely domestic, while the father remains inept when it comes to parenting.

During my analysis of the episode “Home From School,” I found evidence that reinforced this

ideal. During this episode, Deborah (the mother character) attempts to get her son Michael to go to

school after playing “hooky” for two days. As Michael resists her efforts, she asks his father Raymond

to go upstairs and get their child out of bed. While Raymond begins parenting their child, Deborah

stands behind him and acts as a coach, telling Raymond what to say. When Michael continues to resist,

Raymond turns to Deborah and explains that he just “can’t do it.” While this scene seems to support

feminist ideals by portraying Deborah as a strong woman, it also works against feminism by

insinuating that the domestic roles are up to the woman to perform. Raymond’s character remains

infantilized and because of this he is exempt from parenting. As the episode progresses, Raymond’s

parents appear. When Raymond’s mother Marie finds out that her grandson has stayed home from

school yet again, she immediately questions Deborah’s parenting. When Deborah begins to refute this

argument and explain to Marie that she had asked Ray to help, Marie perpetuates the patriarchal

standard by insisting that Deborah isn’t parenting correctly, excusing Raymond from parenting and the

domestic sphere. Throughout this series, Deborah is limited to the domestic realm due to her title as

mother. Also present in this sitcom and episode was the “reification of motherhood as the central

element in a women’s identity” (Dow, 195).

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I believe an audience may interpret Deborah’s powerful presence as if egalitarian standards are

accurately represented. Rather than accepting Ray’s inabilities or desire to parent, she forces him to

assist her in getting their son out of bed. However, she still stands behind Ray, telling him what to say.

This works against feminist claims, but can easily be overlooked and viewed as if Raymond and

Deborah’s parental responsibilities are egalitarian. The presence of Marie also works against the

feminist ideal by reinforcing the ideology that the domestic duties and children are a woman’s job.

Throughout this series, Marie is constantly excusing Ray from parenting and household chores while

criticizing Deborah for her poor parenting methods. This “sitcom is basically repetitive; it uses stock

characters and recycles variations on the same plot over and over” (Dow, 49).

Exhibited throughout our research was evidence that the media works in misleading ways when

it presents information to our society. Both advertisements and sitcoms misrepresent feminist ideals.

Even though there were powerful women in these commercials and sitcoms, “that power usually came

through association with a male family member and hardly challenged the power of patriarchy” (Dow,

97). The media includes strong female figures and some semblance of an egalitarian family, but in

commercials and sitcoms these representations continue to limit women to the domestic sphere and

reinforce patriarchal standards. “Family television assumes that feminist goals have been achieved, for

the most part, by women’s access to the public sphere” (Dow, 99). However, while exploring the

presence of females in advertisements and sitcoms we discovered this “access” was misrepresented and

kept a woman’s place confined to the home.

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Works Cited

Abernethy, Michael. “Male Bashing on TV.” Pop Matters 9 Jan. 2003. Web.

Beam, Cris. “The Changing American Family.” American Baby May 2005. Web. 1 Nov. 2010.

Bryant, Jennings. Television and the American Family. 2nd ed. Routledge, 2001. Print.

Donaldson-Evans, Catherine. “Dad's in Charge in New TV Ads.” 11 Jan. 2005. Web. 2 Nov. 2010.

Dow, Bonnie J. Prime-Time Feminism: Television, Media Culture, and the Women's Movement Since

1970. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1996. Print.

Gamble, Cole. “15 Most Sexist Daytime Commercials.” Babble: For a New Generation of Parents.

Web.

Hill, Daniel Delis. Advertising to the American Woman. 1st ed. Ohio State University Press, 2002.

Print.

Livingstone, Sonia. “Do the Media Harm Children?.” Journal of Children and Media 1.1 (2007): 5-14.

Web.

Rabinovitz, Lauren. “Sitcoms and Single Moms: Representations of Feminism on American TV.”

Cinema Journal 29.1 (1989): 3-19. Print.

Schor, Juliet B. Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child and the New Consumer Culture. 1st ed.

Scribner, 2004. Print.

Unger, Donald. Men Can: The Changing Image and Reality of Fatherhood in America. Temple

University Press, 2010. Print.

Voyer, Marc. “Top 10: Worst Male-Bashing Ads.” AskMen.com: Helping, Educating, Entertaining.

Web.