Duck Dynasty & Gender Roles

Duck Dynasty & Gender Roles

           

            Many of today’s prime television shows are principal influences on the segregation of gender roles in our society. T.V. is one of the most, if not the most, powerful influences in our culture so the messages it sends are and become deeply imbedded in our ideologies. Some of these messages can be good and some can be harmful to our understanding of the world. I would argue that the ways in which specific genders are portrayed in advertisements, news, talk shows, movies and shows today are more harmful than they are beneficial toward gender equality. Although the presence of women in T.V. media has significantly improved over the past 80 years, the division of gender stereotypes is still grossly prominent.

            One T.V. show that demonstrates the typical “macho-man”, “doofy dad” and ultra-feminine, “princess” yet rational mom stereotypes rationale is the new reality series Duck Dynasty. In this show the main characters are a group of men that founded a company that creates duck calls for duck hunting. This group of guys is depicted as typical “redneck”, manly-men with burly beards, camouflage attire, big pick-up trucks, speak in layman’s terms and are constantly competing in some way to be the most “macho” man. The show also illustrates them as the “doofy dad” in several episodes where the mom must explain why their daughters are going to a school dance, etc. In one episode in particular, the group decides to celebrate opening day of duck season with a men-only, primal camping trip. They each to assert their manliness by competing who can go the longest without showering and who can rough-it the longest outside. The guys who decide to do the “sissy”, “womanly” thing and enjoy the accommodations of a camper are criticized for being weak and un-manly and miss out on the morning hunt.

            The women in this show are beautiful and far more “civilized” than the men. They are often seen cooking, cleaning, shopping, wearing lots of make-up and fancy clothes and are depicted as prissy. In the same episode described earlier, the wives persuade the men to shower by withholding sex, save the day by making dinner when the “incompetent” men fail to pack accordingly and are submissive to sexual suggestions by the men. In a later episode, two of the women attempt to demonstrate their equality by going hunting like their husbands, but end up failing. The entire episode is centered around their “typical female” mistakes of wearing perfume, incorrectly using doe urine, wearing make-up and having their hair done, chatting too much and not having enough patience to enjoy their silent outdoor setting. While watching this episode with my boyfriend, I pointed out how these stereotypes were being portrayed. In response, he agreed with the show in that the majority of women are incompetent to outdoor activities such as hunting and are better suited in the more docile tasks represented in the show. The discussion obviously didn’t end there…

            It is shows like Duck Dynasty that teach and reinforce negative gender stereotypes to the American public. My boyfriend is a prime example of the effects of this media logic and how ingrained they can be. If the genders were reversed in this show there would be a clear narrative infidelity, and that is sad. In order for our society to continue moving towards true gender equality, T.V. media needs too start reflecting more multidimensional gender roles and breaking the stereotypes.