"Housewives or sexy bodies"

"Representations of gender in advertising, which depict women as housewives or sexy bodies alone, reduce them to those categories." Chris Barker, in his book Cultural Studies: Theory and Practice, reflects on the portrayal of females in "popular culture." He analyzes the importance of power in society and who has the authority within that culture. The majority of cultures revolve around a patriarchal society. Therefore, Barker's statement of women's portrayal in media parallels the reality of the patriarchal mindset and attitudes. Women are forced to submit to their husbands within the context of these traditions and become confined to Barker's concept of a woman being either "housewives or sexy bodies." The question becomes is Barker correct? You could find several examples of the media breaking that female mold, but for the most part the account is accurate. The specific example that came to mind when I first read this statement by Barker was the current television show Desperate Housewives. Mark Cherry, the director of the show, creatively combines both of Barker's opposing elements of femininity into a sassy season of witty women. These ladies use their domestic and sexual natures to manipulate the men around them and therefore reverse the possession of power. Each woman represents a different stereotype of the gender. One is a prim and proper housewife, another is a promiscuous middle aged lady, another is a clueless women always between men, another is a spoiled city supermodel, another is a power-hungry business woman, and another is a perky perfectionist. These six women tamper with the distribution of power in a comical way through the lens of the media.

Later in his book, Barker goes on to say that "... feminism is centrally concerned with sex as an organizing principle of social life where gender relations are thoroughly saturated with power." (This quote is taken from his section on feminism describes the struggle of gender and power.) Though this is not a new issue by any means, women have obtained the freedom to speak more openly in regards to equal authoritative distribution. However, before Barker explores the area of feminism and media relations, he presents a fascinating section on the Freudian analysis of sexual maturity and subconscious gender tendencies. As I approached this section of the text, I considered this question: What determines our sexual nature? Freud argues that it is the natural bond between a mother and her child. The first object in a child's life is his or her mother. Therefore, that is the first and strongest attachment a baby makes after leaving the womb. The first step is adapting an identity. Consequently, identities are formed around concepts that are the most familiar to us. In other words, a child identifies with its mother before any other being. The infant's desire for the maternal figure is so strong that the child will grow to obtain that being and the identity that goes along with that person. Barker says that, "the child wants to 'be' the mother and to 'possess' the mother." For instance, a boy child will develop with the fundamentals of the characteristics of the mother. After a period of time, he will realize his place as a man in society. However, he will still yearn for his mother even though it is culturally taboo for the child to desire anything more than child-like affection. Therefore, the boy turns to the father for guidance as he becomes a man. His identity has now transfered to the father even though he still embraces the ideals of a mother's love. Also, the male child realizes that it is the man or nature of the Phallus to possess power. The child is drawn to that desire for power and so follows the example of his father as he matures. However, the sexual maturity process for female children does not shift as much in terms of identity. The girl cannot 'be' her mother nor can she shift her identity to the masculine. Therefore, the female is caught between the parental identities and must find a compromise. A female realizes that she cannot possess the power because of her lack of a Phallus. Therefore, she seeks to regain some power by conceiving a male child through the Phallus of another man. She earns her power through a child - usually a boy. Now this Freudian analysis may seem rather outdated, but these principles are very prominent in other countries and still remain true in our culture's subconscious. Returning to the illustration of the show Desperate Housewives, the women use their sexuality to control their men. Just because they lack a Phallus does not mean they cannot use their sexuality to gain what they want. These housewives use their sexuality to gain the power of the Phallus. Also, these women on Wisteria Lane nurture the children that they have conceived from their husbands. The offspring represent the bond of marriage and their ability to identify with their mother by begetting a child of their own and then becoming the object of their child's love. Basically, they are repeating the cycle.

Though Freud makes a fascinating case, as it is presented in Chris Barker's text, I wonder if our culture does not encourage these behaviors by predisposing the children to set gender characteristics. Let us consider for a moment a couple who is expecting a child. Do they not prepare a child's room a certain way after finding out the sex of the child? If it is a girl, the couple is likely to paint the nursery pink with frilly blankets and a princess border. A boy would never have such a room in this twenty-first century society. His room would be blue with sports or sail boats. Though these ideas may seen extreme, you understand my point. Our society sets certain expectations of gender from an early age. The media just reflects and accentuates on these standards.