This document discusses the representation of women in TV drama from the 1960s to present. It touches on the evolution of feminism through the waves and how characters have embodied different eras. Some key topics covered include the portrayal of Miranda from Sex and the City as the most vocal feminist character, Liz Lemon from 30 Rock referring to herself as a third-wave feminist, and the concept of hyper-sexuality in shows like Glee and discussion of aspirational role models for young girls. The document also examines the rise of metrosexuality and ubersexuality in male characters from shows like The O.C. and how their portrayal related to concepts around masculinity.

1. Representation in TV Drama
‘Feminism or Post-
Feminism
that is the
question...or
maybe hyper-
sexuality!’
Hi I’m
Metrosexual...
how about
You?
Lea Michele from Glee in GQ, 2010

2. Pink- Stupid Girls (2006)
Hilary Clinton? Lindsay Lohan?
Which aspirational role models
should young girls look up to?

3. 1st Wave- Women’s Suffrage
2nd Wave- Female Identity
& Representation- 60s/70s
The Suffragettes
Feminism
The symbol of the Roman goddess
Venus is often used to represent the female sex.
3rd Wave- Post Hijacking the female body!
Structuralist & Less
Dominated by Middle
Class White Women
(Early 90s)

4. Highly problematic term...
Highlights problems, contradictions with 2nd Wave
Feminism
Post-Feminism
Liz Lemon, 30 Rock
Miranda Hobbes, Sex and the City
Liberation of Female Sexuality?
Choices for women...

5. See www.jezebel.com
Of the four women characters on SATC, Miranda is the most
vocal about being a feminist. A lawyer who owns her own
apartment, she is cynical and initially was presented as kind
of a misandrist. For a show that was supposed to embody
modern feminism, Miranda was really the only character to
openly profess her feminism and reference the movement in
her dialogue. (In one episode she referred to Samantha as a
"dime-store Camille Paglia" for her views on prostitution as
being a legitimate exchange of power.)
Miranda Hobbes, Sex and the City

6. Liz Lemon, 30 Rock
"New York third-wave
feminist, college-educated,
single-and-pretending-to-be-
happy-about-it, over-
scheduled, undersexed, you
buy any magazine that says
'healthy body image' on the
cover and every two years
you take up knitting for...a
week."
Star, Alex Baldwin as Jack Donaghy...a
convention of what Thompson refers to as
AQT...American Quality Television

7. Case Study: Melinda Clarke
Age 43
The O.C. as Julie Cooper Nikita- 2011
Female Representation 40+
Challenging the STEREOTYPE

8. Hypersexuality
(See http://onpoint.wbur.org/2010/10/26/selling-youth-sexuality
Consider the
symbiotic
relationship
between
selling youth
sexuality via Text
star persona
and
advertising
Diana Agron, Cory Monteith & Lea Michele
from Glee, 2010 (in GQ Magazine)

9. Futurist
Metrosexuality Ubersexuality

10. Symbiotic endorsement
Metropolitan + Heterosexual = Metrosexual
Exclusive, Stylised branding...
‘Metrosexual man, the single young man
with a high disposable income, living or Chris Carmack- The O.C.
working in the city (because that’s where
all the best shops are), is perhaps the most
promising consumer market of the decade.
In the Eighties he was only to be found
inside fashion magazines such as GQ, in
television advertisements for Levi's jeans
or in gay bars. In the Nineties, he’s
everywhere and he’s going
shopping.’ (Mark Simpson, The
Independent, 1994) Salzman helped circulate this idea...

11. Clooney established his star persona appearing in ER
The Rise of the Ubersexual:
...as Salzman herself put it proudly, the ubersexual (unlike the metrosexual) "doesn't invite questions about his sexuality"

12. Hyper-Masculinity: The Sopranos (HBO)
The Gangster... ...seeking counseling!
The Two Faces of Tony Soprano