Chelsea Lately

Since August I have watched more of E! than ever before in my life, one of my favorite shows being Chelsea Lately.  If you've never seen the show before, I don't recommend it for the politically correct, but for the college kid who just wants to laugh, it's perfect!  Host Chelsea Handler is probably the most crude woman that has ever graced the planet, but that's what makes the show so great.  Chelsea goes against all feminine characteristics, yet still dresses like a lady.  The show always starts off with "the round table" where Chelsea and a few of her comedic friends talk about celebrity gossip, meanwhile screwing everyone that has done ANYTHING in the past twenty-four hours.  Chelsea shows the opposite of feminism by talking about everyone, meaning that most girls on television are looked at as politically correct and polite women.  But many Chelsea is being what all women actually want to be: belligerently honest.  Maybe we, females, should take a note for Chelsea Handler and start telling the truth.  Or maybe not.

Grey's Anatomy

Since Grey's Anatomy first premiered in 2005 I have been a religious follower.  Like most medical drama's the show has more to do with the characters personal lives then it does actual medicine, but if you ask me, that's what makes it interesting.  Last night's episode, entitled "An Honest Mistake" many signs of femininity and masculinity are show.  The night starts off with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) realizing that he will once again have to operate on a neurological patient that has been in the ICU for weeks now.  The twist is, that the patient is also pregnant.  Luckily, top notch neonatal surgeon  Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) shows up from Los Angeles to save the day.  Interestingly enough, Addison is Derek's divorcee.  The two end up in the same operating room along side Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Derek's current girlfriend.  The mother's vitals begin to drop and it will be too late to save the mother, but the baby on the other hand has a chance at living.  Addison tells Derek to put down the scalpel so that she can deliver the baby via c-section.  Derek puts up a fight, telling Addison that she needs to not tell him what to do and to not touch his patient.  Derek shows masculinity by believing that he is the "alpha male" in the operating room.  Next, Addison tells Meredith to get Derek to stop.  If you ask me this is showing the naive portrayal of what television deems femininity to be, dependent on others.

The Office

This week I watched The Office another one of NBC's greatest new comedies.  I usually never watch The Office, but I'm glad I did.  I watched the episode entitled "Stress Relief" which showed lots of interesting points about masculinity.  First, there is the character of Dwight.  Dwight is overall crazy, he starts by simulating a fire to make everyone aware of what they need to do in case of an actual fire.  This is the typical "man" thing to do, to cause trouble when not needed to prove a point.  Dwight sees no problem with his "game" and continues even after Stanley has had a heart attack.  Later, Dwight kills a mannequin for the organs, instead of helping others he tries to better himself.  Next, we see Stanley, who is told by the doctor that unless he learns to deal with his stress (which is caused by boss Michael Scott) then he is going to die.  Stanley says point in blank that he is simply going to die and cannot stop it.  This is a very masculine thing to do, not try to solve the problem but to simply be okay with it.  We also see masculinity in Jim when he states in a very negative way that "fifty percent of parents end in divorce".  The Office is sure to always add humor to their show.

Gilmore Girls

When I think of feminism I think of Gilmore Girls. Lorelai and Rory Gilmore are best friends and strong, willing women, to me this is what the definition of feminism should be. This week I watched one episode on particular, "That Damn Donna Reed", which has Dean, Rory's boyfriend, describing that a woman should cook and clean. Rory decides that she'll show him and in turn dresses up in a perfect 60's get-up with the pearls and white high heels. Rory cooks dinner for Dean, trying to be what Dean considers "a woman". Dean realizes that he was wrong in his thinking and that being a woman is being anything that the said woman wishes to be. I really think that this eipsode shows feminism in such a fine way because it begins with the typical stereotype of feminism and then switches to what the Gilmore girls define feminism as.