Examining Sexism and Racism in the Television Series Father Knows Best

This essay critically examines the themes of sexism and racism present in the 1950s American television series, 'Father Knows Best.' The analysis focuses on how the show, depicting the daily lives of a middle-class family, reflected and reinforced societal norms of the era. The essay highlights instances of sexism, such as the portrayal of the father as the family's primary decision-maker and the limited roles assigned to women, including the valorization of the role of a housewife. It also discusses subtle forms of racism evident in the depiction of non-white characters and the perpetuation of white supremacist ideals. Furthermore, the essay contrasts the show's portrayal of gender and race with contemporary perspectives, acknowledging the progress made in terms of equality while noting the persistence of sexism and racism in modern society and pop culture. The references include scholarly works on gender roles, race, and media representation.

Running head: SEXISM AND RACISM
SEXISM AND RACISM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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In the popular media, the shows meant for entertaining the masses are but a reflection of
what prevails in the society. Whether that is a perpetration of the status quo of the social order or
an attempt to orient people into rethink about the injustice that prevails in the society by subtly
stating the obvious is a matter of subjective analysis and opinion. However, the fact that the
instances of what prevails in the society and its projection in the shows meant for entertaining
people are in itself absolutely devoid of any form of attached value judgement, and that the task
of attaching a value judgement to it is up to the masses (Gumbs, 2016).
For instance, the kind of shows which were aired in the bygone era might not have
seemed problematic back then, and it would have been considered as normal. Those particular
shows of the bygone era tends to evoke a different form of outlook, and more often than not
negative in the contemporary times of today. That is owing to the fact that the society has
changed and the values espoused in the bygone era have in the contemporary times become
redundant and archaic as per the opinions floated at the level of the civil society. In this regard, it
must be said that the most common issue for which the shows of the bygone era are criticized in
the contemporary times, are the blatant display of sexism and racism as a normative affair in
congruence with the expectations of the society (Lott, 2017). In this particular essay, the matter
of concern shall be to discuss about the forms of racism and sexism that was exuded in the
American television series, ‘Father Knows Best’ aired in the 1950s. Having provided an account
of the amount of racism and sexism in it, the discussion shall be focusing upon the how the
situations have changed in the contemporary times, and determine if things have at all changed
or not.
The American television series, ‘Father Knows Best’ was a comedy show which revolved
around the daily lives of a middle class family in working class neighbourhood of the country.

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The main characters of the television series are the man of the house, Jim Anderson, his wife
Margaret and their children, Betty and Buds. Jim worked as an insurance salesman while his
wife was a housewife. The father was the nucleus of the family and everyone looked up to him
for advice and encouragement. The mother was the epitome of the most befitting Victorian lady
who had all the ladylike qualities in her. The father was the one on whom was the responsibility
of providing for the family, and the mother who looked after the family as the support provider,
who did all the household works and also provided emotional support to the members of the
family. The situation in the family was perfectly in tandem with what the traditional system of
gender and sexual division of work was supposed to be at the private realm of the family and
also at the public sphere (Dolin, 2016).
Perhaps the most fascinating and the most evident indication of sexism that can be
derived out of the series is the title itself which tends to convey the only member of the family
who had the key to all solution was the father. In fact, the series had portrayed the father as the
one to whom the children looked up to for the sake of advice, and not the mother. This relegation
of the status of being the head of the family to the father by default and the mother to a
secondary position in the family who had many roles to play but not appreciated shall be highly
criticized a s sexist in today’s world when family is termed as the prime arena for sexism to
thrive (Fitzpatrick, 2015).
Secondly, the dissemination of the message as to what sort of work is appropriate for a
woman in the public and the private sphere; limiting the women from pursuing certain career
goals by the head of the organization; enquiring about the personal affairs of a woman by the
head of the organization and the valorization of the role of a housewife, or a teacher or of
secretarial position to be the most appropriate role of a woman exudes a high degree of sexism.

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Compared to today’s standards when women are taking up managerial posts and venturing out of
the house to compete with men instead of preparing for marriage, the roles played by women in
the series would be considered as sexist. The reduction of women to butt of male jokes are also
reeking of sexism (Kühl, 2016).
With regard to the element of racism in the series it must be said that the hints provided
had been quite subtle and not as blatant as the element of sexism. Portraying of non white
secondary characters as suspicious persons shows thee level of white supremacy inherent in the
series. The grooming of a white lady after Victorian standards also subtly hints at the racist
mindset of the society back then. The Victorian standards were a benchmark for becoming a lady
and was also perpetrated to differentiate the non white women from the white ones (Higgs &
Wilkinson, 2016).
From the 1950s till date, situations have changed a lot as there are laws which promote
equality among the sexes. However, in both the developed world and the third world the sexist
attitude prevails. In America itself, one of the Republican candidates in Trump’s regime had
publicly said that his wife is free to pursue her dreams but he wants his dinner ready by 6 PM
each day (Trepagnier, 2017). Even in pop culture which supposedly wants to liberate women by
making nudity a normal affair, has provided one of the most sexist rap songs which objectify
every inch of woman’s body. This shows that the situations have definitely undergone change
and that the conditions for women have changed for the better but the same sexism which
prevailed in the 1950s is prevalent even today in 2019 goading women into incessant struggle to
make a place for themselves in the world at par with men (Kendi, 2017).

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References
Dolin, T. (2016). Mistress of the House: Women of Property in the Victorian Novel. Routledge.
Fitzpatrick, S. (2015). Separate Spheres: A Closer Look at Ideological Gender Roles in Victorian
England through the Sensation Novel. The Victorian, 3(2).
Gumbs, A. P. (2016). Backwater Blues: The Mississippi Flood of 1927 in the African American
Imagination Ain’t Got No Home: America’s Great Migrations and the Making of an
Interracial Left Writing through Jane Crow: Race and Gender Politics in African
American Literature The Other Blacklist: The African American Literary and Cultural
Left of the 1950s.
Higgs, E., & Wilkinson, A. (2016, April). Women, occupations and work in the Victorian
censuses revisited. In History Workshop Journal (Vol. 81, No. 1, pp. 17-38). Oxford
University Press.
Kendi, I. X. (2017). A History of Race and Racism in America, in 24 Chapters. The New York
Times.
Kühl, S. (2016). The Angel in the House and Fallen Women: Assigning Women their Places in
Victorian Society. University of Oxford, Department for Continuing Education, 171-178.
Lott, M. (2017). The relationship between the “invisibility” of African American women in the
American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s and their portrayal in modern
film. Journal of Black Studies, 48(4), 331-354.
Trepagnier, B. (2017). Silent racism: How well-meaning white people perpetuate the racial
divide. Routledge.

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