Nashville's Gender Roles

ABC’s Nashville is a series that emphasizes the importance of women becoming powerful in the work force.  Last week’s episode, which aired on November 13^th, especially represents how young women should not let men take advantage of them.  Nashville is basically a prime- time soap that captures the attention of a younger female to adult demographic.  This is one of the reasons they are emphasizing the importance of showing women fighting for the spotlight and not putting up with the way men abuse their “power”.  Giving the women a more powerful approach to their goals and the way they look at gender roles in this episode shows the audience that they too should stand up for their beliefs, not letting women be inferior to men.  Nashville highlights the gender dynamics by allowing the women becoming the primary breadwinners, having them stand up for their beliefs, and not letting the thought of being a “woman” get in the way of anything they set their mind too.

Women are usually seen as the spouse that stays at home and does the house work.  Nashville represents the women in the workforce that are the primary breadwinners of their families.  This shows the audience that women DO NOT have to rely on men to provide for them.  Rayna James, a main character, is one of the best examples of this gender dynamic.  Her ex-husband, Teddy, “was a stay-at-home dad whose career went bust during the recession, turning their family into a "cash poor" single-income household. While Rayna tours and performs, Teddy takes responsibility over many of the everyday domestic duties” (Emma Gray).  In this episode in particular, Rayna shows that even though her husband now has a career, she is still the primary parent that is always there to support her family-even in the worst of times.  This shows that women are able to provide for their families and they can be successful at what they want to do.  Women are able to not only provide but they are always able to be there for their families- emotionally and financially.  From this, young viewers are able to see women in a very empowering role where they too can aspire to be.  Rayna does a great job at showing that her children are just as, if not more, important than her career that also provides for them all. 

Juliette Barns, another main characters, demonstrates empowerment by not allowing the media to have the power to influence her to do things she had no desire to do just to get airtime.  She was taken advantage of repeatedly and the show did a great job at showing the audience that she no longer was going to let this define who she was or decide her fate.  The way Nashville brought in the gender roles of female singers in the industry shows a greater power for women.  The fact that women would do anything to be in the spotlight, even if it means downgrading themselves, shows how much of a struggle these women face in the work force.  For example, “Young girls have to sit on his lap to get airplay.  Everyone else holds the cards. And you have to play nice and beg.  And if you are pretty, you are asked to do things you don’t want to do. You have to smile and pretend that nothing bothers you” (Juliette).  This quote was describing what young women have to do in order to get attention from the media.  Not only is this wrong, it makes women feel as though they have no other choice but to play along in order to achieve their goal.  Another example of Juliette standing up for her beliefs is when she stands up to press saying “I’m not 17 and desperate any more. Take your hands off me, Mr. Delmont.”  Which lead her to get no airtime.  Just because she did not play along with his little game she would suffer with getting no spotlight in the media.  Juliette then proceeds to make him know his place.  She ends up getting him fired then rehired stating, “If you so much as glance sideways at another girl, I will not only have you fired but I will have him make sure you are permanently removed.”  This statement is truly powerful in the fact that she would NOT let Mr. Delmont get in her way of becoming successful. 

Nashville has all of the traits that allow women to become powerful.  From a fans point of view, I thing that this show is truly amazing in every way.  There is so much drama and real life events that help you relate to the characters.  This show is truly inspirational to all women who watch.  It allows everyone to see women in a different light that embodies tremendous qualities that each woman is able to obtain.  With a little dedication, and fighting for what you want, you can overcome any obstacle you set your mind too.  This show is successful at showing women and young adults to not let anyone take advantage of them based on gender. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/emma-gray/nashville-abc-the-end-of-men-review_b_1955033.html  (Emma Gray)