Women, by default based on their gender have
typically been assumed to occupy the caretaking and nurturing role within the
family setting consequently enabling men to hold the almighty breadwinning
position. A family hierarchy of this nature has been established throughout history
continuously reinforcing the idea that androgynous tasks which have the
potential to be performed by any person are tethered to, and inherent of a
specific gender. “Gender roles are the product of the interactions between individuals
and their environments, and they give individuals cues about what sort of
behavior is believed to be appropriate for what sex (Blackstone, 2003).” Television
has had to ability to perpetuate the idea that a male figure should naturally
situate themselves as the head of the household. However, with the increasing
number of women entering professional positions, Modern Dads an A&E television reality series invites viewers to
experience the lifestyle of an atypical representation of a conventional family
structure. Modern Dads presents a
gendered role reversal depicting the daily lives of four stay at home dads fulfilling
the maternal duties of play dates, child care, and grocery shopping while their
wives and girlfriends are hard at work tending to their highly paid occupations
in order to support their families. It’s evident throughout the series that the
women are fully capable of taking on a male dominant role of supporting a
family by presenting themselves in a professional fashion. Whereas consequently,
the comedy lies within the men’s’ inability to grasp the concept of functional
and organized child care resulting in a lot of dude to dude collaboration
between the dads about the best way to baby proof a house or throw a princess birthday
party.
Although the show challenges dominant gender
roles, it does so in a way that also challenges the viewer to determine who is truly
the butt of the joke; enabling various interpretations to be derived from the
context. For example, Rick dubbed as the ‘veteran’ dad, attempts to show Nate (the
new dad) how to child proof a house stating that “It’s not rocket science”.
This lesson consisted of utilizing duck-tape to cover electrical outlets, foam
pool noodles wrapped around the sharp edges of furniture, all followed by the
advice that more toys scattered around the house will distract the children
from anything dangerous (A&E). This could potentially be read as evidence
leading to the interpretation that men are not capable of taking into
consideration the dangers that common house hold items can pose to children indicating
that they are not cut out for the child care position that women are accustomed
to holding. This interpretation therefore frames men as inadequate nurturers
insinuating that women should fulfill this role.
Contrary to this interpretation, another
scene depicts Sean (the stepdad) attempting to construct a wooden prop in the
backyard. When his skills of being a handy man reveal to be less than desirable,
Rachel takes over and constructs the wooden prop in an efficient and effective
manner (A&E). This scene indicates that women have the ability to do
constructive labor that would typically be expectant of a man. The clip
provides further evidence that within the household she holds the position of
power, not only financially but also when it comes to taking care of manual
labor, enabling the audience to interpret Sean as less of a man being
overplayed by the abilities of his girlfriend. Additionally, another episode features
Sean’s attempt to ‘sound proof’ the couple’s bedroom. The purpose for this endeavor
(which consisted of buying upwards of fifteen mattress pads that he planned to
line the bedroom walls with) was because Sean was becoming increasingly antsy
that the couple could only engage in their sexual escapades while the children
were asleep. This excerpt of the episodes plays off of the stereotype that men
think about sex every other second, feeding into the inadequacy of his
parenting skills placing his needs before his children.
So what exactly should the viewer derive
from these skewed and transparent gender roles being exhibited throughout the
show? It effectively grasps the interpretation that women have the ability to be
the breadwinner within the household; yet even though this is considered a positive
point for the advancement of women in the workforce this idea is kicked down a
peg by harnessing the dysfunctional home life that is positioned as inevitable
if children are to be raised by a stay at home dad as opposed to a stay at home
mom. According to Mitovich, editor at TVLine.com “This trend seems to
perpetuate the dusty stereotype — and lazy joke — that the women of the
household are expected to hold things together and properly parent kids, while
the fathers are hapless man-children, all thumbs when it comes to folding
Huggies and lax at exacting discipline.” Regardless of the evidence of inadequacy
that can be derived from the ideologically abnormal gender roles within these
households, Modern Dads in a quirky,
comical, and fun-loving way portrays the men as immature and dumbfounded when
it comes to child care; but most importantly they get the job done. At the end
of the day, after betting on baby wrestling and being manipulated by their
children everyone is happy and content with their positions in the household
proving that fathers enjoy spending time with their children and can be emotionally
connected as much as any mother can regardless of what conventional gender
roles assume.
Works Cited
Blackstone, M. Amy. (2003). Gender Roles
in Society [Abstract]. Human Ecology: An
Encyclopedia of Children, Families, Communities, and Environment, 335-338.
Harris, Will. (2013, Aug 22). Daddy Dreariest: Modern Dads plays to
Insulting Stereotypes. Retrieved from: http://www.nbcnews.com/entertainment/daddy-dreariest-modern-dads-plays-insulting-stereotypes-6C10962828.
