Bachelor Project, Mad Men

Female Gender Roles of Mad Men: A Discussion of Peggy Olson, Joan Holloway and Betty Draper, and the Contemporary Career Woman
The rise of America was also the rise of the debate about gender roles and power
relationships in American society. Decade after decade, prominent and educated Americans have
tried capture the essence of the gender issue. However, no one has done this so completely as
Matthew Weiner the creator of AMC's1
much celebrated TV-show, Mad Men. Set at the fictive
advertising agency Sterling Cooper, on Madison Avenue in New York City during the 1960s, Mad
Men takes its audience back to the time of housewives, sexual harassment and hard work. While
Mad Men discusses both male and female gender roles, the female gender role is especially
interesting to investigate because of the female gender's relatively late development. As encountered
by history, the late development was and surprisingly still is due to suppression from male
superiors.2
Mad Men, of course, also establishes this through several of the show's female
characters. The new girl Peggy Olson who after a short period as secretary is promoted junior
copywriter, is one out of a few women on Mad Men who despite of sexism, disparaging behavior
from male coworkers and a strict Catholic background pursues, what to many women at the time
only remained nothing but a dream, a career as a business woman.3
Similar to Peggy, Joan
Holloway, the office manager at Sterling Cooper, also tries to find her way up the male ladder.
Although Joan is determined and her skills priceless to the agency, she never achieves the respect
Peggy successfully settles upon in the episode “In Care of” (S06E13).4
While both Peggy and Joan
have put work before married life, Betty Draper the wife of Mad Men's leading character Don
Draper, is settled in the suburbs with two children and a housekeeper.5
Though she used to work as
a model in Manhattan before she got pregnant with Don.6
Clearly, working while keeping a family
was not desirable to the majority of the women during the 1960s. Largely the circumstances were so
because the man, at this point in history, was viewed as the provider of the family. Contrary, the
1 American Movie Classics
2 Alessandra Stanley. ”Smoking, Drinking, Cheating and Selling:” The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 July, 2007. n.p.
3 Stephanie Newman. Mad Men on the Couch: Analyzing the Minds of the Men and Women of the Hit TV-show. (New York: St. Martin's Griffin,
2012), p. 103.
4 Sloane Crosley and Logan Hill. ”Talking 'Mad Men': The Season Finale.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 24 June, 2013. n.p.
5 Natasha Vargas-Cooper. Mad Men Unbottoned: A Romp Through 1960s America. (New York: Harper Desgin, 2010), ”Characters” (n.p.).
6 ”Shoot.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2007. Television.
1

woman was expected to take care of the house and the children. Working mothers during the 1960s
were a rare phenomenon.7
Did a woman work she was searching for a husband while at work.
Women who had career ambitions were looked at with suspicion.8
Peggy, Joan and Betty might
meet great resistance from male superiors throughout the show, but opposed to contemporary
America female suppression was not questioned during this era. Fortunately, with the rise of
feminism gender equality became debatable.9
Interestingly though, recent research on gender roles
in contemporary America draws an image of the corporate environment which yet is dominated by
the male gender.10
Elite educated young American women who have contributed to research
interviews explain the necessity of valuing single life before marriage, if they want to pursue a
serious business career.11
Simply, the modern American woman views marriage as a barrier against
having career ambitions. Similar, married women with a high job profile explain their dismay about
the impossible task of balancing an ambitious career with a family life.12
Obviously, the modern
woman, mother and wife has far more in common with her female predecessors of the Mad Men era
than what at first might was expected. Even though gender equality has deeper roots in
contemporary America than what appeared to be the case fifty years ago, complete gender equality
still has not seen the dawn of America. Throughout Mad Men, gender roles and power relationships
are both crucial themes. As females of a male dominated era, Peggy, Joan and Betty are exposed to
countless of gender discriminating attacks from the men surrounding them in their daily sphere.
Regardless though of their exposed gender, Peggy, Joan and Betty establish themselves, though in
very different ways, as powerful women. However as also portrayed in Mad Men, no matter how
much power and respect the women achieve from their male superiors they will, as women,
continuously remain suppressed. Contrary to the 1960s stereotypical gender roles, contemporary
7 Newman, p. 89.
8 Newman, p. 88.
9 Anne-Marie Slaughter. ”Why Women Still Can't Have It All.” The Atlantic. The Atlantic, 13 June 2012. n.p.
10 Ibid., n.p.
11 Kate Taylor. ”Sex on Campus: She Can Play That Game, Too.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 July 2013. n.p.
12 Slaughter, n.p.
2

gender roles are far more developed. Yet, old-fashioned female gender issues, such as balancing
family life with an ambitious career, still troubles the modern working woman. Thus, total gender
equality is still a serious issue in contemporary America.
Opposed to the stereotypical image Mad Men depicts of the women of the 1960s, Peggy
stands out from the beginning of the show. Especially this becomes clear to the viewer in the
episode “Ladies Room” (S01E02). As Peggy faces herself in the ladies room mirror she realizes that
she is not like the other girls in the office. Will Dean, the blogger and editor of The Ultimate Guide
to Mad Men: The Guardian Companion to the Slickest Show on Television argues that in this scene
Peggy decides that she is different.13
Though, earlier on in the episode “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
Peggy is already to some extent established as a girl who diverges from the norm. During this
episode, Peggy states after an awkward misunderstanding with Don: “I hope you don't think I'm that
kind of girl.”14
By “that kind of girl”15
Peggy is obviously referring to the other women at the office,
who play around with the male executives. Peggy's statement leaves the viewer with a sparkle of
hope that this girl's future does not only involve obeying the male gender. In a group test for a
lipstick brand, Peggy once again differs from her female coworkers at the agency. Her pitch for the
lipstick advertisement impresses several of the male copywriters, not at least Don who shortly after
her presentation promotes her junior copywriter. Hereby, Peggy is one of the first female
copywriters at Sterling Cooper.16
Stephanie Newman, psychologist and author of Mad Men on the
Couch: Analyzing the Minds of the Men and Women of the Hit TV Show, argues that the major
difference between Peggy and the secretaries at Sterling Cooper is that while Peggy is ambitious
pursuing a career in advertising, the secretaries are ambitious finding a husband.17
Newman
13 Will Dean. The Ultimate Guide to Mad Men: The Guardian Companion to the Slickets Show on Television. (London: Guardian Books, 2010), p.
15.
14 ”Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2007. Television.
15 Ibid.
16 Newman, p. 106.
17 Newman, p. 105.
3

enhances that marriage at this point in history to many women was the only way to economic
security, thus the man was the main provider of the family.18
Women who outearned their husbands
took lesser-paying jobs, while women who chose to keep a family along working were viewed with
disrespect from society.19
Maternity leave was not an option during 1960s America which did not
leave the women with much choice. As a result, many women regardless of their social status
stopped working from the moment they got pregnant.20
However this is not the case of Peggy,
though sexual intercourse with accounts manager Pete Campbell actually makes her pregnant. From
an early stage at Sterling Cooper, Peggy learns how to survive as a woman at the agency. One
episode in particular changes her self-perception; her pregnancy. Pete, who only recently got
married to his wife Trudy, lives happily unaware of Peggy's pregnancy. However there is a good
reason why Peggy behaves this way. Tamar Jeffers McDonald, one of the authors behind Analyzing
Mad Men: Critical Essays on the Televison Series, explains that since Peggy chooses not to
confront Pete with the situation allows her to be dependent on no one but herself.21
As elaborated by
Leslie J. Reagan, one of the contributing authors of Mad Men, Mad World: Sex, Politics, Style and
the 1960s, Peggy throughout season one gains on weight, and though she do know the cause to her
curvy body she chooses to live in denial about her pregnancy.22
As to whether or not it is Peggy's
choice to keep the baby, Reagan argues that due to Peggy's religious background keeping the baby
as a single and working woman will bring too much shame to her family.23
Therefore Reagan claims
Peggy has to give up her baby for adoption.24
As a single mother she might loose her job, and not be
able to provide for her child. In worst case, her child could be removed from home.25
Peggy's denial
of the pregnancy is her only chance of escaping the possible terrifying future of a single mother in
18 Newman, p. 87.
19 Newman, p. 89.
20 Newman, p. 88.
21 Tamar Jeffers McDonald. ”Mad Men and Career Women: The Best of Everything?” Analyzing Mad Men: Critical Essays on the Television Series.
(North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2011), p. 130.
22 Leslie J. Reagan. ”After the Sex, What? A Feminist Reading of Reproductive History in Mad Men.” Mad Men, Mad World: Sex, Politics, Style
and the 1960s. (Durham: Duke University Press Books, 2013), p. 97.
23 Reagan, p. 105.
24 Reagan, p. 97.
25 Ibid., p. 97.
4

1960s America. According to Reagan, this also explains why Peggy repeatedly tells the doctor that a
pregnancy is impossible.26
Apparently, Peggy denies from the beginning that she is expecting a
child, and as expressed by Reagan one way this is done is by ignoring her growing cloth size.
Instead, Peggy dresses as any regular day at the office.27
Don's advice to Peggy about moving
forward, and particularly his comment: “It will chock you how much it never happened”28
also
impact Peggy's attitude about her denial of the pregnancy. The fact that Peggy sacrifices her baby
for her career ambitions has great influence on her character as the show goes along. As claimed by
McDonald, Peggy's fatal decision practically becomes the bottom line of her actions throughout the
remaining seasons of Mad Men.29
Here, McDonald points out that Peggy knows the power of her
denial about the pregnancy, and how to take advantage of it in order to reach her goal.30
Peggy's
denial secures her the job promotion as copywriter, and further on the life of a career woman.
McDonald furthermore argues that Peggy refusing anybody to interfere with her career is not what
only distinguishes her character from the rest of the women on Mad Men, but also the reason why
Peggy as a minority is responsible for her own future because she does not rely on a husband.31
Peggy's will to pursue the life she wants is a brave action. However, only a small number of
young women had the self-esteem to do so. The majority of the women in the 1960s did not have
the courage to break with society's traditional gender roles. Joan, Sterling Cooper's sexy redhead, is
one of them. Joan's inability to achieve the same respect as the one Peggy gets from her male
superiors is according to Newman a significant feature of her character. Opposite of Peggy, Joan's
identity is determined by her female gender which also is her great challenge throughout Mad
Men.32
Newman argues that regardless of Joan's professional attitude and her many years of work
26 Ibid., p. 97.
27 Ibid., p. 97.
28 ”The New Girl.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2008. Television.
29 McDonald, p. 130.
30 Ibid., p. 130.
31 Ibid., p. 130.
32 Newman, p. 100.
5

experience at Sterling Cooper, her male coworkers mainly view her as a waitress who is available to
serve their needs.33
While Peggy does not accept that she cannot be nothing more but a sex object,
Joan do not fight the men's narrow-minded view on the female gender.34
The episode “A Night to
Remember” (S02E08) discusses this feature of Joan's character. She gets the opportunity to review
scripts and spot advertising for clients. But when she is informed by Harry Crane, head of media,
that the position has become permanent Joan is replaced with a rather incompetent man.35
Her grand
chance of standing her ground has finally arrived, however she chooses to ignore the incident and
like Peggy move forward.36
After years of serving the male executives at Sterling Cooper, Joan
believes that a man's needs are a woman's first priority. Newman argues that because Joan has
wrapped her mind around the thought that women are less intelligent than men, she does not have
the strength to stand her ground when she is being replaced with a man.37
On the surface, Joan gives
the impression that she enjoys her position as office manager, yet at times she appears envious at
Peggy's career. Although as pointed out by Dean, she is still proud of what Peggy as a woman has
accomplished at Sterling Cooper.38
Dean argues that when Joan brings her handsome fiance the
doctor Greg Harris into the office, Peggy is suddenly the one who looks at Joan with admiration.39
Greg's perfection however is only temporary. Into the episode “The Mountain King” (S02E12),
Greg rapes Joan at Don's office.40
Dean and fellow bloggers have especially argued over this scene,
whether Greg forcing Joan to sexual intercourse even at this point in American history was
considered rape.41
Joan obviously does not approve of Greg's abusing behavior, yet as in the
incident with Harry she puts up with her fiance's mistreatment of her.42
Dean enhances that
apparently getting married is so important to Joan as a matter of social status that she will rather
33 Ibid., p. 100.
34 Ibid., p. 100.
35 ”A Night to Remember.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2008. Television.
36 Ibid.
37 Newman, p. 101.
38 Dean, p. 151.
39 Ibid., p. 151.
40 ”The Mountain King.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2008. Television.
41 Dean, p. 154.
42 Ibid., p. 154.
6

accept Greg's mistreatment of her than giving up the status of marrying a doctor.43
Dean argues that
Greg raping Joan is the price she has to pay for her many years of sexual experience. Joan being
aware of this fact is perhaps also another reason why Joan does not fight her fiance.44
As a female,
she accepts the role she was born to fit into. This is also the core of her character; she is determined
and knows what she wants. According to Newman though, Joan is at the same time aware of what is
expected from her as a woman.45
Newman continues by explaining that Joan accepts her
circumstances, and by doing so is getting the greatest outcome no matter her situation.46
Clearly,
this distinguishes her from Peggy who does not tolerate gender oriented limitations. In several
ways, Joan is depicted as a modern woman. Yet as pointed out by Dean, her lack of defending not
just herself, but also her gender against male dominance makes Joan appear slightly more
traditional than what she probably considers herself.47
Newman argues that Joan's traditional view on gender roles causes her certain limitations,
however what the author also enhances is Joan still manages to get what she wants out of life.48
From Newman's perspective though, Betty is not capable of doing so. Stuck as a mother and
housewife in the suburbs, Betty's destiny is already laid out in front of her.49
With a lovely home,
two adorable children and a successful husband, not to mention a number of exclusive events,
Betty's life seems idyllic and uncomplicated. Quickly though, the viewer discovers Betty's deeply
dissatisfaction.50
Newman explains that as Don's wife Betty is not expected to have a separate
identity from the one of her husband, nor is she allowed other interests but besides serving her
husband.51
Like a bird in a cage, Betty feels bored and powerless.52
This changes though for a short
43 Ibid., p. 154.
44 Dean, p. 153.
45 Newman, p. 102.
46 Ibid., p. 102.
47 Dean, p. 153.
48 Newman, p. 103.
49 Ibid., p. 103.
50 Diana Davidson. ””A Mother Like You”: Pregnancy, the Maternal, and Nostalgia.” Analyzing Mad Men: Critical Essays on the Television Series.
(North Carolina: McFarland & Company Inc., 2011), p. 136.
51 Newman, p. 92.
52 Dean, p. 52.
7

period, when she in the episode “Shoot” (S01E09) on behalf of one of Don's advertising
competitors, Jim Hobart, is offered to do modeling for a Coca Cola advertisement.53
Flattered by the
offer, Betty consults Don for his approval and luckily gets his acceptance. Women asking for their
husband's permission to work was common during the 1960s. Newman explains being an ambitious
woman often was considered shameful, thus the husband was consulted as in the case of Betty
asking for Don's permission to do modeling.54
Sadly, Betty does not realize that her advertisement
for Coca Cola is Jim's way of persuading Don to his agency.55
However, Don is aware of this and
despite of his supporting words about Betty's modeling career, Dean argues that Don actually does
not approve of her sudden glowing and independent appearance.56
Dean views Don's quotation: “I
would have given anything to have a mother like you”57
as a manifestation of his feelings toward
Betty. By keeping Betty inside the house, Don is able to reconstruct the mother he never himself
had. Herby, Betty is also associated with a bird in a cage which furthermore also is established by
her nickname Birdy.58
When Betty is turned down as a model for the Coca Cola advertisement,
though unaware it is due to her husband's job refusal, she does not confront Don with the truth.
Instead, she enhances the importance of her duty as a housewife, and apologizes for her teenage
girlish behavior.59
Betty obviously too embarrassed to tell Don about the happening, though Jim
Hobart already has brought the news to Don, might be the explanation to why she emphasizes her
duties as mother and housewife as what matter the most to her. Don once again seems supportive,
even though from Dean's perspective he prefers keeping Betty isolated as a mother and housewife.
In order to support his secretive preference, Dean argues that Don reminds Betty of her picture
perfect life.60
In spite of Betty seeming to accept his argument, the viewer later on in the episode
watches her shooting flying pigeons in the garden. Dean explains the scene naturally symbolizes the
54 Newman, p. 89.
55 Dean, p. 52.
56 Ibid., p. 52.
58 Dean, p. 52.
60 Dean, p. 56.
8

locked up bird, Betty, in jealousy shooting all the free birds. If Betty cannot be a free bird, then no
one should.61
Another interesting feature of this episode according to Newman is that Betty is
chosen for the Coca Cola advertisement because of her almost identical Grace Kelly look. Betty
however has more in common with the former film star than her beauty.62
As Betty, Grace Kelly
seemed to have it all, yet this was nothing but a fake image. Beyond her glamorous life, a confined,
mistreated and unhappy Grace Kelly was the reality.63
Episode by episode, Betty accepts Don's
suspicious and devaluing behavior.64
Though in the episode “A Night to Remember” (S02E08),
Betty has had enough of fooling herself. Betty confronts Don with his cheating.65
As expected, Don
denies his affair with comedian Jimmy Barret's wife, Bobby Barriet, yet Betty is insisting. A couple
of days later, Betty calls up Don at the office informing him not to come home.66
For the first time
on the show, Betty refuses to lower her dignity to Don. Finally, she is the one who has the power.
By denying Don access to the house, Dean argues that Betty is doing the one thing she only is able
to get away with because she is the one accusing Don of cheating.67
Betty though does not maintain
her power for very long. In the episode “Meditations in an Emergency” (S02E13), Betty discovers
that she is pregnant and from the perspective of Dean she only accepts Don back into the house due
to her pregnancy.68
Betty might not forgive Don for his mistreatment of her, yet as pointed out by
her doctor an abortion is not an option for a married woman.69
The fact that pregnant Betty stays
with Don despite of his ongoing misbehavior, explains not only a great deal about American society
during the 1960s, but also about the kind of woman Betty is portrayed as in Mad Men. Unable to
break with society's stereotypical gender roles, Betty has according to Newman no other identity but
the wife of a husband.70
61 Dean, p. 52.
62 Newman, p. 90.
63 Leslie Bennetts. ”The Scarlet A.” Elle Magazin. Elle Magazin, 16 December, 2010. n.p.
64 Newman, p. 92.
65 ”A Night to Remember.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2007. Television.
66 Ibid.
67 Dean, p. 123.
68 Dean, p. 160.
69 ”Meditations in an Emergency.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2008. Television.
70 Newman, p. 93.
9

As depicted on Mad Men, Peggy, Joan and Betty suffocate because of their female gender.
Peggy as a single mother and working woman give up her baby for adoption, Joan being nothing
but a sex object to men is raped by her fiance, and Betty being the devoted housewife she is puts up
with her husband's devaluing and humiliating behavior of her. Even though male dominance
restraints the three female characters they, regardless of great difficulties, still manage to overpower
their male superiors. Peggy however accomplish this to a greater extent than Joan and Betty. In the
memorable episode “The Suitcase” (S04E07), Peggy particularly establishes her female superiority.
As she one night is about to leave the office for the day, Don asks her to stay and work on the
Samsonite account.71
Peggy is allowed to leave the office, yet she chooses not to. Instead, Peggy
cancels her dinner reservation with her potential fiance Mark, and her family.72
Arguing that Peggy
stays at work in order to be treated as a counterpart to the men at the agency is not unlikely. Being
the fact that Don, as a man during the 1960s, does not value family before work might be an
explanation to why he in the first place asks Peggy to stay after office hours. As a woman Peggy has
fought to get to where she is, and opposite of her male coworkers she constantly has to prove her
worth to the agency. This might be yet another reason why she abandons on her boyfriend and
family. However, as the night develops Peggy admits to Don that nothing but the agency has much
value to her.73
Don appears as the one demanding Peggy to stay and work, thus superior to Peggy.
Non the less, Peggy is the person who realizes abandoning her own self-image is a greater loss than
breaking up with Mark who does not recognizes her as the ambitious working woman she is.74
Similar to Peggy, Joan struggles to be treated as an equal at the office. Peggy however is not
as limited because of her gender as Joan. The episode “The Summer Man” (S04E08) especially
distinguishes Peggy and Joan's abilities to demand respect from the male gender. Joan is insulted in
71 Will Dean. ”Mad Men: Season Four, Episode Seven.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 20 October, 2010. n.p.
72 ”The Suitcase.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2010. Television.
73 Dean ”Mad Men: Season Four, Episode Seven,” n.p.
74 ”The Suitcase.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2010. Television.
10

the most degrading manner by the freelance artist Joey, who after Joan has expressed her dislike
about his disrespectful attitude devaluing asks her: “What do you do around here besides walking
around like you're trying to get raped?”75
Joan has the authority to fire Joey, but Dean claims she
cannot bring herself to use her superiority.76
Non the less, she has the courage to bring Joey into her
office where she confronts his discriminating attitude towards her.77
Dean furthermore argues that in
the particular incident, Joan is reminded about that no matter her authority she remains as a sex
object to men. Mimi White, one among several authors of Mad Men: Dream Come True TV, argues
that Joan's reality is men will never respect her authority as they will respect Peggy's. Simply
because men does not view Peggy as a sex object.78
Joan is only further degraded when Peggy, who
believes she is doing Joan a favor, fires Joey.79
Peggy who proudly informs Joan that she has fired
Joey is quickly put down by Joan telling her: “All you've done is prove to them that I'm a
meaningless secretary and you're another humorless bitch.”80
That being said, Dean is convinced
Joan did not have the courage to fire Joey herself.81
Furthermore, the blogger enhances that Peggy's
self-image does not, as in the case of Joan, collide by showing superiority.82
Two other authors of
Mad Men: Dream Come True TV, Kim Akass and Janet McCabe, points out that as much as Joan's
sexual femininity is to her benefit, as much is this her ongoing issue constantly preventing her from
male acceptance.83
Someone who also is limited because of her gender, yet still overpowers her dominating man
is Betty. Like Peggy and Joan, Betty is restrained to her female gender role, however to a larger
extent than her fellow females. This is, as in the case of Peggy and Joan, also due to her own self-
75 Will Dean. ”Mad Men: Season Four, Episode Eight.” The Guardian. The Guardian, 27 October, 2010. n.p.
76 Ibid., n.p.
77 ”The Summer Man.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2010. Television.
78 Mimi White. ”Mad Women.” Mad Men: Dream Come True TV. (New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011), p. 152.
79 Dean ”Mad Men: Season Four, Episode Eight,” n.p.
80 ”The Summer Man.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2010. Television.
81 Dean ”Mad Men: Season Four, Episode Eight,” n.p.
82 Dean, p. 102.
83 Kim Akass and Janet McCabe. ”The Best of Everything: The Limits of Being a Working Girl in Mad Men.” Mad Men: Dream Come True TV.
(New York: I. B. Tauris, 2011), p. 183.
11

image. In the episode “The Gypsy and the Hobo” (S03E11), Don reveals his true identity to Betty.84
Though it takes Betty to verbally overpower him in order to get the truth she after all deserves to
hear from him. As argued by Dean, in this scene the viewer experiences a Betty who is not afraid of
breaking with 1960s traditional gender roles.85
Pushing and demanding, she appears as the superior
in the scene.86
Betty chocked, yet relieved to discover the true face of her husband decides, with all
odds against her, divorcing Don.87
During the 1960s, the State of New York regulated divorces.
Unless adultery was proved in court divorce was not possible.88
As a woman, Betty's legal rights are
limited to a minimum, and therefore she is not entitled to much. Though she is a mother, custody of
her children was not a guarantee according to the law of the State of New York. Due to the
historical circumstances, the man had the legal benefits. If the husband wanted to take the children
he was in his legal position to do so.89
Seeking divorce as a woman and mother in the 1960s
defiantly were not an easy task, and furthermore demanded both courage and an economical backup
plan. Betty however is aware of this. Together with Henry Francis, a wealthy top aide Betty has
engaged a romantic relationship with, they travel to Reno where divorce was not illegal.90
Betty
divorcing Don is without doubt one of the bravest and most independent decisions she makes on
Mad Men. While the divorce establishes Betty as a powerful woman who takes matters into her own
hands when necessary, her marriage to Henry non the less destroys the viewer's image of a feminist
Betty. Henry treats Betty as a carrying father figure, someone Don towards the end of his marriage
with Betty was not able to be. Despite of this fact though, Newman argues that Henry is not the
solution to Betty's internal problems.91
The author explains that from the perspective of Betty,
Henry is someone who she believes will change her life to the better, and though that might be the
case for a short amount of time, he nor any other man will ever be the turning point to Betty's
84 ”The Gypsy and the Hobo.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2009. Television.
85 Dean, p. 222.
86 ”The Gypsy and the Hobo.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2009. Television.
87 ”Shut the Door. Have a Seat.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2009. Television.
88 Ibid.
89 Ibid.
90 Dean, p. 235.
91 Newman, p. 94.
12

psychological conflicts.92
Betty's inability to be self-reflecting is what keeps her from acting
independently when she is together with a man. Her identity is determined by a husband, be that
Don or Henry. Newman thus concludes that Betty's traditional view on the female gender is what
restrains her from a life outside of the bird cage.93
Being a female during 1960s America was defiantly not the idyllic position to be in. At least
not to those women who like Peggy, Joan and Betty aimed breaking away from society's
stereotypical gender roles which for countless of generations had dominated the Americans'
domestic life. Obviously, the three female characters symbolize a historical turning point in
American history; around the late 1960s, society's traditional gender orientation was replaced with a
far more modern approach to not just women in general, but also towards working mothers who
were engaged in business organizations. The feminist movement however was not the end of gender
inequality in America. Young female students at elite colleges around in America,94
as well as
ambitious working mothers today still experience great challenges due to the many expectations the
corporate system has towards females with serious career ambitions.95
Gender inequality was only
slightly debated during the Mad Men era. Women were not allowed to question their identities as
mothers and wives, and gender inequality was by the most women not even considered an issue.
Yet, the historical development of America changed this female notion and today in contemporary
America gender roles and inequality are widely discussed across the country. Even though gender
inequality is questioned to a much higher degree than what used to be the case during the 1960s, a
number of professional working mothers still find the questioning difficult because society's general
experience today is that total gender equality has been succeeded. Yet, according to the working
women this is only an illusion. Gender equality has come far since Peggy, Joan and Betty were
92 Newman, p. 94.
93 Ibid., p. 94.
94 Taylor, n.p.
95 Slaughter, n.p.
13

around, non the less ambitious women in contemporary America still suffocate due to their gender.
One woman who refused further ignoring of the situation is the former director of policy planning at
the State Department and former dean of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and
International Affairs, Anne-Marie Slaughter.96
As a serious career woman and the mother of two
teenage boys, Slaughter faced many great difficulties as a mother and a professional during her
occupation in Washington D.C. At this point in her career she realized that there was no such thing
as having it all, and especially not as a woman.97
In the article “Why Women Still Can't Have It
All”, Slaughter not only gives an encounter of her own experience of gender inequality in the
corporate world of America, but also seeks solutions to the many problems professional women all
over America witness everyday.98
For a long time, Slaughter herself held the belief that female gender issues within the
business environment were nothing but a myth.99
Every woman, regardless of work field, were able
to pursue an ambitious career. However the moment when she realized the importance of her
presence to her boys at home in New Jersey, Slaughter faced the power of her maternal instincts.100
Contrary to her previous actions and opinions, she decided it was about time to leave her high level
position for the government, and turn to the ones who needed her the most; her two school boys.101
Slaughter's choice both chocked and caused anxiety among her female counterparts. Throughout her
career, Slaughter has both encouraged and supported fellow women to seek higher job positions.
She was the living proof of female superiority within an environment normally dominated by
singles and suits.102
Slaughter's withdrawal from government to spend time with her neglected
family appeared to many, especially female coworkers, as rather disappointing.103
Even though
96 Slaughter, n.p.
97 Ibid., n.p.
98 Ibid., n.p.
99 Ibid., n.p.
100 Ibid., n.p.
101 Ibid., n.p.
102 Ibid., n.p.
103 Ibid., n.p.
14

Slaughter has exchanged Washington D.C. with her family, her daily schedule still has not lost its
ambitious edge.104
Clearly, Slaughter is still very serious about her career despite she no longer
maintains one of America's top positions. The conclusion of Slaughter's actions must be that the
modern working mother actually has a choice. Holding an important job in the country's capital did
not force Slaughter to give up having a family. However, Slaughter points out her husband's
indispensable help with their two boys while she was absence during the week. Without her
husband's support though, Slaughter perhaps had had to give up having a family. Working for the
government and commuting back and forth every weekend while taking care of two young boys,
practically seems impossible to anyone regardless of gender and historical generation. Opposite of
Slaughter and furthermore the modern working woman, Peggy, Joan and Betty cannot decide for
themselves. Rather, society during the 1960s established the rules of female gender roles. As
already discussed earlier on, Peggy, the daughter of a Catholic family, being a working single
mother is forced to give up her baby for adoption.105
Betty is incapable of pursuing a career as a
model because of her successful husband who is able to provide for her and their children.106
As
well, she is forced by society's rules and expectations to have a baby although her husband
repeatedly cheats on her. A life in the suburbs is her only reality as a mother and wife.107
Though
slightly different from Peggy and Betty, Joan's situation allows her to benefit from her
circumstances. In the episode “Hands and Knees” (S04E10), Joan accidentally gets pregnant with
Roger Sterling while her husband Greg is at basic training in Vietnam.108
She makes an appointment
for an abortion, but at the doctor decides to have the baby anyway. Joan pretends the baby to be
Greg's, though in reality it is Roger's.109
The reason why Joan's pregnancy should be enhanced is
while Peggy, a working woman, is forced by society's expectations to give up her baby for adoption,
104 Ibid., n.p.
105 Davidson, p. 147.
106 Newman, p. 95.
107 Newman, p. 92.
108 ”Hands and Knees.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2011. Television.
109 Ibid.
15

Joan is not. Opposed to Peggy and Joan, Betty is forced to have her baby because of society's
traditional view on the female gender. Of course, Joan has a husband which makes her case about
keeping the baby slightly more acceptable by society. But what also should be noticed is that Joan
just like Peggy also is working, however she is not fostered by a religious family. Greg being at
basic training overseas, thus not around Joan on a daily basis perhaps gives Joan more freedom in
terms of living the life she wants. With help from her mother, Joan is able to keep her job as office
manager at Sterling Cooper Draper Price, the former Sterling Cooper, and at the same time have a
family. Joan does not either, opposite of Peggy, have to fight religious morals about abandoning
family to track down the success of a business woman.110
Slaughter, opposite of Peggy and Joan,
actually has a choice in terms of making her own decisions. Though she does not have to choose
either having a family or keeping a competitive job. Instead she can have a family while working as
a top professional. Yet, as Slaughter also clarifies balancing the two of them together is not really an
option which also became the reason why she permanently moved back home to her family.111
The
impossible task of balancing an ambitious career with a family life is Slaugter's main argument in
the debate about gender inequality in contemporary America.112
Even though the most people during
the 1960s and today have families, male executives, regardless of historical era, clearly does not
give much credit to family values.113
Slaughter furthermore points out that it is also a matter of
having the courage to dream big as a woman. Unfortunately, an ability only few women are capable
of, nor encouraged to do by society.114
American society appears to have a collective notion about
women only are allowed a certain degree of success.115
This notion not only limits contemporary
women's abilities to seek demanding business opportunities, but also glorifies the stereotypical
gender roles as seen on Mad Men. America's contemporary system suits the way people lived
110 Ibid.
111 Slaughter, n.p.
112 Ibid., n.p.
113 Ibid., n.p.
114 Ibid., n.p.
115 Bennetts, n.p.
16

decades ago, not the way the Americans today organize their lives.116
Gender inequality clearly is
still an issue in America, however Slaughter's generation defiantly has far more possibilities to
choose among than Peggy, Joan and Betty had. Today, many women might face great limitations
similar to Slaughter's because prioritizing an ambitious career is important to these women.
Opposed though of Mad Men's three female characters, contemporary women rely on their
husbands' help with child care, cleaning and cooking.117
At the same time, women are not expected
to be housewives when they get pregnant, and working single mothers do exist in contemporary
America. With out doubt, the female gender role has experienced an impressive development since
the 1960s, however as Slaughter explains the current system does not respond to the necessary
needs of career mothers. Therefore the system has to change in order to achieve the requested
gender equality.118
Working mothers however are not the only ones experiencing sacrifices in terms of
combining family life with a serious career. Young women at elite colleges around in America are
exposed to similar dilemmas as their older female counterparts. In a research interview conducted at
Pennsylvania University, many women come forward explaining the reality of ambitious college
women.119
Several women enhance the low risk investment of a hook up opposed to the high
investment of a romantic relationship.120
The women elaborate that college is a competitive time of
their lives where the prospect of a top position at one of America's leading companies is more
important than searching for a potential life partner.121
As expressed by the article's writer, Kate
Taylor, the majority of these women view a possible boyfriend more as a distraction of their life
prospects than as a long life investment to benefit from.122
Independence is one of the women's main
116 Slaughter, n.p.
117 Ibid., n.p.
118 Ibid., n.p.
119 Taylor, n.p.
120 Ibid., n.p.
121 Ibid., n.p.
122 Ibid., n.p.
17

reasons to stay out of a relationship. As a matter of fact, a number of parents apparently even
encourage their daughters to avoid getting too emotionally involved with young men.123
Many of
the women are unable to find a balance between having a great relationship meanwhile pursuing
their future goals as ambitious college students. The outcome though of this unfortunate
development is a whole generation of women in their late 20s and early 30s unmarried and most
likely also unhappy.124
Actually as pointed out by the human resource consultant Susan Patton, the
majority of the women participating in the interview want to land a husband and a family, but due to
their competitive environment they do not feel they are able to make such a risky decision. As in the
case of Slaughter, the young women cannot balance a romantic relationship with their career
ambitions.125
The American system's inability to embrace female values, such as family life, appear
as an already lost battle to the women. Women like Slaughter and the young college women feel
they have to compromise to a greater extent than men, simply because they as women have
motherhood responsibilities. However the result of a female generation giving up family life equals
no reproduction, and thus no generations to lift America into the future.126
Peggy, as an exception of Joan and Betty, shares the same attitude towards marriage and
career as her contemporary female counterparts. Similar to the young college women in the research
interview, Peggy knows the value of prioritizing business before babies, and therefore gives up her
own baby for adoption to pursue the life of a career woman.127
Even though similarities occur
between Peggy and the college women, Peggy's situation is still quit different from the one of the
college women. As a single mother raised by a religious family, Peggy does not have a choice
whether keeping the baby or not. According to Diana Davidson, co-author of Analyzing Mad Men:
Critical Essays on the Television Series, Peggy knows keeping the baby will mean she cannot
123 Ibid., n.p.
124 Ibid., n.p.
125 Ibid., n.p.
126 Slaughter, n.p.
18

continue her career as a copywriter.128
Davidson points out that during the 1960s, women had no
other roles but wife and mother or entering the world of male dominated businesses.129
The college
women might claim that the competitive life of female college students prevents them from
balancing a romantic relationship with their ambitious future prospects, however these women
actually have a choice. If they want to and not at least have a good economy and a supporting
boyfriend or both, they can go to an elite college such as Pennsylvania University while having a
family. Non the less, probably a minority is able to handle such demanding circumstances.
Contemporary women can be mother, wife and college student if they wish so, however just as
during the 1960s American society does not exactly approve nor support such scenario. What the
college women though do have in common with the Mad Men women, especially Joan, is sexual
freedom. Contemporary college women are in the position to enjoy, as much as they like, carefree
sexual intercourse.130
Joan though has to pay the price of her sexual activity, something which the
college women at least not to the same extent have to. Instead the college women at Pennsylvania
University are the ones in control when performing gender superiority in hook ups.131
According to
the studies of Elizabeth A. Armstrong, sociologist at University of Michigan, young college women
perform superiority in hook ups because their busy lives prevent them from prioritizing boyfriends
over casual sex partners.132
Regardless though of Armstrong's claim, a number of women actually
express down sides of the hook up culture at Pennsylvania University. Apparently to young men,
often hook ups equal sexual intercourse regardless of the women's physical condition.133
From the
perspective of the research interview, the hook ups are usually combined with alcohol thus young
men take sexual advantage of drunken college women.134
As well, some of the participating women
in the interview tell they have to be drunk in order to perform sexually with male students.135
After
128 Ibid., p. 149
129 Ibid., p. 149.
130 Slaughter, n.p.
131 Ibid., n.p.
132 Ibid., n.p.
133 Taylor, n.p.
134 Ibid., n.p.
135 Ibid., n.p.
19

all, the young college women do not seem to be the ones who in the end gets to decide whether or
not to have sexual intercourse. Date raping is a common phenomenon at the most colleges around in
America, yet as one woman says in the interview,she really do not consider drunken unconscious
sex rape.136
Though, having sexual intercourse without the counterpart's permission clearly is
termed rape according to modern times.137
Despite the fact that many college women are exposed to
date raping, the majority do not report, nor speak up about what is considered the most violating
female suppression of all times.138
Like Joan being raped by her husband and not reporting the
episode, the college women remain suppressed in silence about their rapes too. The circumstances
might have changed in terms of which gender has the power when discussing hook ups, however
the majority of women during the 1960s performed hook ups in order to find a husband, not to
enjoy bodily pleasures.139
Though, some modern oriented women like Joan did seek nothing but
sexual satisfaction in some male relationships. National female icons such as Marilyn Monroe
celebrated the female sexual liberation. However, Marilyn Monroe's death became the tragic
symbol of male superiority in her many relationships.140
Joan who associates herself with the blond
Hollywood film star, therefore particularly gets upset when Marilyn Monroe is found dead from an
overdose of pills.141
Joan's association with one of the twentieth century's most legendary females,
depicts her as a woman who despite of her seemingly modern approach constantly is suppressed by
male dominance.142
Even though Joan appears to be the most sexual liberated woman on Mad Men,
Peggy also enjoys the sexual benefits of a single woman. In the episode “Seven Twenty Three”
(S03E07), Peggy's modern approach to carefree sex is not to be mistaken when she sleeps with
Sterling Cooper's former head of accounts, Herman Duck Phillips.143
Peggy sleeping with Pete
Campbell in the episode “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes” (S01E01) furthermore establishes Peggy from
136 Ibid., n.p.
137 Ibid., n.p.
138 Ibid, n.p.
139 Newman., p. 105.
141 Ibid., p. 145.
142 Ibid., p. 145.
143 Dean, p. 207.
20

the very beginning as the show's true feminist.144
As the story line develops though, Peggy does not
remain superior in her sexual relationships. During the episode “In Care of” (S06E13), Peggy is
forsaken by her lover, co-owner of the renewed Sterling Cooper, Sterling Cooper & Partners, Ted
Chaough. Peggy's statement to Ted: “Well aren't you lucky: to have decisions”145
clarifies that
despite of Peggy ends up being treated as a counterpart to the male gender in the most situations,
she is non the less left with no choices because her male superiors are the ones who have decisions,
and not women.146
Throughout Mad Men, the female gender is constantly exposed to gender oriented attacks
from male superiors. The three female leading characters of the 1960s inspired TV-show, Peggy,
Joan and Betty especially experience the power of male dominance. Although Peggy is ambitious
and determined about her career as copywriter she still experiences great losses due to her gender.
Being a working and single mother, not to mention the daughter of a Catholic family, Peggy is
forced to give up her baby for adoption.147
During the 1960s, American society did not approve
much of working women. Particularly not independent women, such as Peggy, who aims higher
than working as yet another replaceable secretary. For the most times, women either were mothers
and wives or tough business women.148
Peggy naturally being the latter. Joan's situation however is
slightly different. Able to benefit from her rather unfortunate circumstances, Joan manages to have a
family while continue working as office manager at Sterling Cooper.149
Regardless though of her
achievements, Joan, just like Peggy, pays the price of being a modern oriented woman. Not only is
she talked down to by her male coworker Joey who has absolutely no authority within the office
environment, but Joan is also deeply humiliated when she is raped by her fiance Greg.150
Betty,
144 Dean, p. 13.
145 Crosley and Hill, n.p.
146 ”In Care of.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2013. Television.
147 Reagan, p. 105.
149 Newman, p. 102.
150 ”The Mountain King.” Mad Men. Dir. Matthew Weiner. AMC. 2008. Television.
21

opposite of Joan, is not able to break with 1960s America's stereotypical view on the female gender.
Betty might be the one divorcing Don, thus appearing as the superior of those two. However her
reliability on a husband restraints her from living life as an independent woman.151
Mad Men's three
female leading characters have many differences, but clearly the women share the inability to
overpower male superiors because historically women have always been subject to men. This being
a fact, makes it especially hard for the three women to achieve gender equality because no matter
their authority as mother, wife, office manager and copywriter they will always remain women.
Opposed to contemporary women, Peggy, Joan and Betty live in an era where society's traditional
view of gender roles is expected. Although gender equality in America defiantly has witnessed a
remarkable development since the 1960s, certain female oriented issues are still troubling career
minded women. Especially many of these women enhance the impossible task of balancing a
competitive job with a family life.152
Some elite educated college women are even discouraged by
their parents to form romantic attachments to avoid distractions from their future prospects.153
Modern women obviously experience similar challenges to Peggy, Joan and Betty. However the
issues contemporary women encounter are of a different character than those issues women during
the 1960s faced. Rape however being an exception. Non the less, total gender equality in America
has not been succeeded until the day women does not have to make compromises because of the
gender they were born.
151 Newman p. 93.
152 Slaughter, n.p.
153 Taylor, n.p.
22

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