Running head: GENDER REPRESENTATIONS INGREY’S ANATOMY GENDER REPRESENTATIONS INGREY’S ANATOMY Name of the student Name of the university Author note
1 GENDER REPRESENTATIONS INGREY’S ANATOMY Introduction Gender representation in television and films has always been a matter of serious concern especially since the time women began to object to misrepresentation. Examples of women especially being misrepresented in television and films are abounding. The paper aims to present the representation of different genders in the popular television showGrey’s Anatomy.The discussion will include the representation of not only masculine and feminine gender but also transgender if there are any in the chosen show. The essay will first briefly summarize the television show and then integrate the gender representation analysis. In doing so, the essay will incorporate the various characteristics of male and female genders and associate these with the show’s characters. Discussion The television show first aired on the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) channel on March 27, 2005(Imdb.com, 2018). A medical drama, the show became immensely popular and ran through fifteen seasons with the last season being aired in 2018 on 27 September. The lead character in the show is Dr. Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo) and supported by Dr. Derek Shepherd (played by Patrick Dempsey)(Imdb.com, 2018). Revolving around the lives of interns, physicians and residents, the show brings out the intrinsic personal and professional relationships and emotions. The story is set in an imaginary hospital in Seattle named Seattle Grace Hospital (Seasons 1 to 9) or Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital (later seasons). Other important characters of the show include Izzie Stevens (played by Katherine Heigl), Denny Duquette (played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and Dr. Fin Dandridge (played by Chris
2 GENDER REPRESENTATIONS INGREY’S ANATOMY O’Donnell)(Imdb.com, 2018). The following section shall explore the representation of genders through these diverse characters in the show. It is first important to note that the creator of the show herself is a woman – Shonda Rhimes – so there would be no doubt that the show would not have any strong female character (Imdb.com, 2018). However, it is not necessary to have a strong female-oriented show to be created by a female only but this show is different because Shonda is not only a female but also a strong black female. In one of her interviews, she was heard stating that she wanted to make a show that she herself would want to watch(Oprah.com, 2018). In addition, she states that she wanted it to be a show that would make the audience feels that people like them are also there in the show. In terms of representing different genders,Grey’s Anatomyachieves new heights as opposed to many of its contemporaries. Prior to dissecting the masculinity and femininity of the lead characters as mentioned above, it is important to list out the characteristics that are usually associated with men and women. The traditional male traits include rough and tumble, high-status job, athletic, supports family financially, active, powerful, unemotional, confident and rational amongst others. as opposed to it, females are supposed to be sweet, tender, pretty, supportive, sensitive, low-status job, supports family emotionally, emotional, dependent, irrational and so on. In the television show, the lead characters have shattered most of these traditional traits. Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey has been portrayed as a strong independent woman, who joins as an intern at the hospital to support her family. She does not have the traditional feminine traits such as being irrational, tender and dependent. However, she does have traits such as pretty face, sweet and a low-status job of an intern. She is sensitive, patient and emotional.
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