Popular culture has sought to define the woman's place in the society. Feminism, as an ideal, is one of the major tools that critics have highlighted as a definition of the modern woman. This essay aims at undertaking a critical analysis of the fourth episode of the third season of Desperate Housewife with the aim of pointing out the feminist undertones in the show ( Desperate Housewives , 2006-2007). The study will reveal that the show presents the middle-class woman as an aggressive character who uses the male gender for convenience.
There is evidence that Desperate Housewives is laced with feminist themes in its definition of the middle-class woman (Adriaens, 2009). The female characters, as Wilson observes, seek their identification from the domestic stage where they are tied to the male gender. Susan Mayer, for example, will not rest until she finds a man although she has been in a past relationship which ended in divorce. So is Edie who attempts to take Mike by taking advantage of his mental condition. Gabrielle, on the other hand, is going through a divorce and indulges in an affair with Carlos (Wilson, 2011). This affirms that indeed the woman has been portrayed as only successful if she has a man.
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Goodman (2004) is also of the opinion that the show has characterized the woman as a go-getter as highlighted in the show. Whereas the woman is keen on defining herself as a wife, they are not very eager to stick in one relationship. Several characters are presented transiting from a relationship to another. Gabrielle, for example, does not wait for her divorce to go through before she gets another man. Susan, also, is not around when Mike recovers from a coma because she went on a hike with Ian. This confirms the feminist status of the show where men are treated as replaceable necessities in a woman's definition.
References
ABC Studios and Cherry Productions (producer) (2006-2007). Desperate housewives. United States.
Adriaens, F. (2009). Post feminism in popular culture: A potential for critical resistance. Retrieved from http://politicsandculture.org/2009/11/09/
Goodman, E. (2004, November 19). The truths of “Desperate Housewives.” The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/
Wilson, N. (2011). Pop goes feminism: Thoughts on Coontz’s a strange stirring- Are “housewives” today just as “desperate” as in the era documented by Friedman. The Society Pages. Retrieved from https://thesocietypages.org/girlwpen/2011/02/05/
