"Work It"

Women have always faced the pressure of society. Over the past several decades women’s prominence and the role they play in the work force has seen tremendous changes. No longer is it completely frowned upon for women to challenge traditional stereotypical roles, such as the role of “stay at home mom”. Now, women have slowly, but surely, wiggled their way into the world of business and have therefore changed the way women everywhere are viewed.

Although women have come a long way from their limited insubordinate roles in comparison to men in society, the fight is far from over. In the recently aired television show “Work It”, a number of interactions and/or portrayals depict the different stigmas still associated with being a woman. For an instance, the main male character is expected to be the primary financial provider for the household, and as a result, little or no importance is attributed to his wife’s career and her importance to the household, in terms of income. Throughout the show, women are also portrayed as sex objects, and are often represented as less intelligent than their male counterparts. Finally, the fact that the women portrayed as successful happen to also be above average in terms of looks and body image contributes to this idea that beauty is a necessity for success, this becomes important especially when considering the fact that, historically, women are held to a high standard when it comes to beauty.

The representations of gender, power, success, and beauty in this particular television program states a lot about the society we live in, and the ways in which we view relationships, success, and males and females in general.

Jaime S.