Gender Identity and Body Image in Prime-time Television

I have been an avid fan of the show "nip/tuck" since its inception in 2003, mainly because of the twisted story lines and the bizarre plastic surgeries the main characters perform.  In the past few weeks, however, I have begun to analyze some of the issues the show addresses due to the reading of David Gauntlett's "Media, Gender and Identity: An introduction."  There are many issues that could be raised with regards to "nip/tuck," but I would like to focus mainly on lifestyles and identity, and the ideal woman.  In this post, I would also like to focus on the sound design used in the introduction for "nip/tuck" and why it successfully lures in viewers.

Since the introduction is at the beginning of the show, I'll start with that part of the analysis first.  According to Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin in their text "America on Film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies," sound design is one of the axis of cinema that helps the viewer determine what is happening or will happen based on the music and sound effects that are playing.  Although "nip/tuck" does a good job incorporating clever sound design tactics into their episodes, I have always found the introduction, as shown in the clip below, to be quite haunting based on its music score and lyrics.     

As you can see from the above introduction, the music appears to be quite ominous while at the same time almost hypnotic.  It draws you into the show because it seems so mysterious.  The lyrics, which are more part of the literary design of the show, also add to the mystery because they mention how to become this perfect beautiful person, inside and out.   The music and the lyrics together almost make one believe they can become that perfect, beautiful person simply by watching the show.  Although the introduction is only a small part of the series, it is shown at the beginning of every episode drawing the viewer in for five long seasons.  

The next issue I would like to talk about with "nip/tuck" is the issue of lifestyle and identity in the media.  In "Media, Gender and Identity," Gauntlett talks about Michel Foucault's viewpoint on sex and identity saying that sex was the inner truth to the self.  While doing so, Gauntlett claims the media makes these requirements to be fulfilled and happy:

• to understand your own sexuality
• to have sex often
• to seek help for sexual problems
• to have a satisfactory sexual partner - or to get a new one. 

The following clip from last week's episode of "nip/tuck" does and interesting job of proving this theory correct. 

For those of you not familiar with Liz's character, she is an openly gay woman and has been since the show started.  However, this season the producers of the show have decided that Christian Troy, one of the main male characters on the show, should not only have sex with Liz, but also convince her to marry him.  They have taken a character that was quite comfortable with her identity and sexuality and completely turned her into someone else.  This media model apparently works to get ratings and loyal viewers, but it seems to be telling the viewers that it is acceptable to question your identity and lifestyle.  Instead of encouraging gay viewers by telling them their lifestyle is acceptable, the show is basically saying even though you think you are gay, you really secretly attracted to the opposite sex and want the "happy" heterosexual lifestyle everyone else has.  This show has had some crazy plots in the past, but this one is really a stretch.        

The last issue with "nip/tuck" I would like to discuss is the female body image.  Since this is a show about plastic surgery and the crazy world that revolves around it, there will obviously be issues of body image addressed.  In the clip below, Christian Troy explains to his new object of lust, Kimber Henry, how she can become a perfect 10.  

Gauntlett, in "Media, Gender and Identity," said "The empowering notion that individuals can change themselves...can lead a person to feel a sense of failure if they cannot achieve the body of their dreams," (p. 202).  In the above clip, Kimber talks about being a perfect 10, but that she hasn't has many modeling offers lately.  Christian brings her back to reality by pointing out all of her minuscule flaws, making her believe that she won't be successful unless she gets them all fixed.  From the video you can see she if obviously a very attractive woman who shouldn't have any problems finding work as a model.  However, because someone who is obsessed with the perfection of appearance has now presented all of these faults to her, she will always find fault with the way she looks until she fixes the imperfections and will likely continue to not find work for the same reason.  Although this clip is a bit of an over-exaggeration of what the media expects from its models, it does an interesting job of pointing out that body image is a real problem in the media and that the perfect models shown in the magazines weren't necessarily born that way.      

Although "nip/tuck" does not always portray people, especially women, in a positive light, I will continue to watch the show loyally.  However, now that I am more aware of some of the media issues surrounding the show, I will start watching it with more of a critical eye.  

Portrayal of Gender in Daytime Television

For the past several months, I have become very intrigued by a new show to our area called "The Doctors".  It airs at 11:00 a.m. on ABC in Fargo and covers a wide range of medical questions and topics, which plague Americans today.  The show I would like to talk about in this blog post aired in some areas of the country on Monday and was all about the Vagina.  The lone woman panelist kicked the male doctors, who usually grace the panel daily, off the stage and invited in other "highly qualified" females to help talk about the subject to the all female audience.  After watching the show on Monday, I decided it was a worthwhile text to talk about as it presented several issues we have discussed thus far in our analysis of David Gauntlett's text "Media, Gender and Identity: An introduction."  Some of those issues include the ideas of masculinity in crisis, women on television today compared to women on television in the past, and institutional reflexivity regarding sex.      

Before I get to the heart of the discussion, I would like to introduce you to the a brief overview of what was discussed on what is now being dubbed the "vagina show."  The clip below does a great job with that.

As you can see from the above clip, this appears to be a pretty racy episode. In fact a blog was posted on "The Doctors" website explaining the episode would not be aired nor posted on the internet (I guess Fargo didn't get the memo).  This blog post will include less about the content of the show and more about the overall meaning the episode and what it says about our culture today.  

 

Masculinity in crisis is the first concept I would like to address.  Gauntlett says that the male identity is changing based on media portrayals of men.  Men once were shown by the media to be dominant figures and the heads of households.  However, male media roles have been considerably different in the past decade or so, leaving men in limbo as to their role in society today.    

I think the "vagina show" episode of the "The Doctors" demonstrated this concept very well.  Not only did the male co-hosts of the show get excluded from the discussion, much of the content revolved around the idea that women no longer needed men to have a functioning society.  The clip below is an example of this. 

I felt this was very much a "girl power" clip emphasizing the role femininity plays in our culture today.  Since this episode targeted females, I think it needed to show and ultra feminist point of view as to empower their viewers to take the subject seriously.  Anytime human sexuality is talked about on television, there is always a taboo associated with it and the issues are often handled delicately.  Since this was an entire show devoted to the vagina, it becomes even more controversial.  That, I'm guessing, is also the reason this episode was pulled from many markets and is not being shown online.  

Although the topic of the "vagina show" may still not be completely socially acceptable, this episode has shown that we have come a long way in the past 20 or 30 years with recognizing women and their issues.  I can't even imagine a show like this airing in the 1970s or even the 1980s.  In fact Gauntlett found women on television during those decades to be "weak, ineffectual, victimized, supportive, laughable or merely 'token females'" (p. 47).  Although the feminist movement had already taken place, women were still not treated equally in the home, at work or in the media.  The media, especially television, was also very conservative in those days.  Even talking about a woman's sexual body parts on a limited basis warranted the use of media censorship.  The system may still not be perfect, but with shows like "The Doctors" pushing the limits, it is definitely getting better.  

The final issue I would like to address about the "vagina show" is how this episode helped to emphasize how Americans have adopted an institutional reflexivity regarding sex.  According to Gauntlett, sexual institutional reflexivity is "society talking to itself about sexuality" (p. 116).  Gauntlett feels the media has started to focus more on the sexual aspects of a relationship then they did in the past.  As I mentioned above, this episode of "The Doctors" would not have been received well in the past because of its taboo nature.  However, because our society has become more open to sexual expressiveness, this episode was filmed and did air (in some places) whereas it may not have even been considered in the past.  Although this episode focused mainly on women's health and issues dealing with the vagina, there was some talk about sex and pleasing men as seen in the clip below.  

One thing I want to point out from the above clip is how Margaret Cho suggested women try a certain procedure to get her man to propose to her.  It reminded me of some of the headlines seen on a "Cosmopolitan" magazine that make a women think she needs a man to be happy.  In so many ways the "vagina show" helped women realized they can be strong and empowered.  But at the same time, it is still the same old song and dance about getting your man and keeping him happy.  Only when women can overcome the idea that they need a man can they truly become equals in society and in the media.

On a side note, I tried to upload the entire episode of the "vagina show" to YouTube for those of you who wanted to watch it.  However, it was too long and YouTube rejected it.  I do still have it in digital form on my computer so if anyone wants to watch, it I could burn a DVD for you or upload it to your iPod.  Just leave me a comment or talk to me before class.