Feature
- Do You Hate Your Partner, Too?
- California Teen Avoids Heavy Sentencing by Passing the Buck
- Wanna Buy Your Teenager a Padded Push-Up Bra?
- Vampires in Texas!
- These Guys Are As Bad As Westboro Baptist Church
- Funny Letters Sent to Women's Magazines
- Women's Ski Jumping: Still Not a 'Real' Sport
- Will the World Be Pro-Choice Soon?
- Are We Getting Too Lazy to Even Divorce?
- Forever 21's Maternity Line: Glamorizing Teen Pregnancy?
Since its debut over four years ago, the AMC series Mad Men has become a pop culture phenomenon — everyone is talking about it. People are even starting to dress in the early 60’s wardrobe of its characters. Designers like Michael Kors, Donatella Versace, Isaac Mizrahi, and Tory Burch have all admitted to being obsessed with the show, and many have even used it as inspiration for their fashion lines. Funny thing is, most designers are more focused on creating a Betty Draper Housewife look than a Peggy Olson working woman one. This July, Mattel debuted Mad Men Barbies, and someone was missing — none other than working-class hero, Peggy Olson. Peggy is the one character on the show that seems to fight the hardest against her female stereotype.
While most everyone agrees that the rampant misogyny on Mad Men is despicable, many also seem to think that we have come a long way since the days of our beloved Mad Men cast. Most American women view Mad Men as a bygone era of sexism, forgetting, or failing to see that we are still fighting many of the same stereotypes today. Women are heaving a sigh of relief that we live in 2010 and not the early 1960’s. Yet, the question is:
Have we really come that far?
Surprisingly, or not so much, Robin Veith, the executive story editor of Mad Men admitted that:
“The truth is that a lot of those moments that seem period and horrible for women come directly from experiences that I and other women writers have had in our lifetimes.”
While the sexism that the female cast on the Mad Men faces may be sensationalized, the truth is that most women have had similar experiences. I know I have. But however, the sexism of today takes on a quieter tone. It may not announce itself as loudly as it did in the 1960’s, but nevertheless it is still there. Even 40 years after the Equal Pay Act passed, women in 2010 are still receiving 20% less than men for performing the same job. But come far, we have.
So while we roll our eyes at the very idea of being treated like the women on Mad Men, and remember that our lives are not as confined as Betty Draper’s, Peggy Olson’s or Joan Harris‘, but bear in mind that sexism is very much alive and kicking in today’s society, and television shows depicting this notion aren’t just a trip down memory lane — they’re a very active reminder that some old habits do die hard.
Do any of you guys watch Mad Men? Do you think it’s a throwback to the days of old, or do you think it’s seriously causing problems in today’s society?
You Might Also Like ...
-
-
15
My friend and I were just discussing Mad Men today, and the whole conversation centred not on the rights of the females in the show but on the outfits. And also how much we wished the men we know could carry off hats Draper-style.
I’m sorry – I wish I could add a thoughtful and intellectual response to your very valid questions, but all I can think right now is “why does Peggy look like a shrunken doll in that picture?” I know the others are on a step but it’s weirding me out.
I’ve never watched it, but my friends (all in academia) who go on and on about mostly talk clothes, drinking whenever one wants, smoking wherever one wants, and how hot the men are in their suits and hats.
I’m wondering if anyone who watches it (outside of those asked to write on it and those looking for easy pop culture dissertation topics) really is looking at any deeper subtexts?
If anything, it makes me feel grateful for what I have now. As a woman in a male-dominated field, I can see how women like Peggy paved the way, and the sort of roadblocks that they had to overcome. It keeps me from whining about how tough I’ve got it (because I really don’t).
However, 99% of the time when I’m watching the show with my fiance, the conversation centers around one of 5 things:
- “OH!!! Don Draper is the sexiest man ever, fictional or otherwise. He can melt panties with the force of his gaze. DID YOU SEE WHAT HE JUST DID?! He’s kind of a jerk for cheating on his wife, but THAT MAN IS A GOD”
- “Christina Hendricks is the hottest woman alive, and Betty is SO overrated.”
- “Peggy is full of awesome.”
- “Pete is a giant bag of dicks and deserves everything that comes to him (except his wife, who is too nice for him)”
- “Why did fedoras/ladies wearing gloves/drinking in the office ever go out of style?”
Nobodies mother had a job,and they would smoke cigarettes while they nursed the new baby,joking about not remembering driving home from the bar was funny,all softdrinks came in bottles,bread was twenty cents,no drive thrus and the hamburgers they brought to the car window were fifteen cents,and all us little guys combed are hair like Elvis.
I’ve never seen mad men; I don’t think I would enjoy it simply because it apparently portrays rampant misogyny, and I think that would just piss me off. I have no problem with other people watching it, though. Just doesn’t seem like something I would like.
Never seen it, not interested.
But seriously? The 80% of the paycheque AGAIN? Do we have to go through this shit with every new writer? Can’t there be a new-writer lesson or something? The studies that come up with such things are not comparing likes. As mentioned even here not too long ago, studies that compare actual young people today in identical situations show no statistically significant wage gap. I’m sick of this myth.
(I’d love to link, but then I’d be sent to mod-hell.)
Has anybody here read Hanna Rosin’s article in the latest issue of The Atlantic? If so, why has no one written about it yet? The first thing I thought of when I saw the title on the cover “The End of Men: How women are taking control of everything,” was “why haven’t I read about this on Zelda Lily already?”
It has some interesting ideas about where things are going and how the position of women is changing (not all the way there yet and she definitely acknowledges that). Everyone should read it:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/the-end-of-men/8135/
This article about how women’s lives are revolving less around home and marriage and more around home was also interesting:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/our-houses-our-selves/8137
There is also a short article about how mens’ roles in the family dynamic are changing:
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/07/are-fathers-necessary/8136
In fact, everybody just subscribe to the Atlantic, it’s a very interesting magazine (I steal my bf’s copy everytime in comes in the mail and read before he knows it arrived).
It is hard for me to believe, considering these “In your face times” that women are really sitting in the back seat filing their nails. Most of the women with whom I’ve worked are incredibly aggressive and make it no secret that they would gladly eat their young should necessity require them to do so. I, myself, have been known to make my male business associate cry, from time to time, particularly if he does something massively stupid. While he sometimes devoutly wishes I would expire, he also knows, that I am 100% dependable, excellent at what I do, and am critical to the success of our business enterprise; not only that, I have his back. Why spend time fretting over misogyny in society? Simply don’t accept such treatment for yourself.
Regading pay equity between men and women:
August 2010 update from the NCPE (National Committee on Pay Equity), a coalition of women’s and civil rights organizations; labor unions; religious, professional, legal, and educational associations, commissions on women, state and local pay equity coalitions and individuals.
“The wage gap exists, in part, because many women and people of color are still segregated into a few low-paying occupations. More than half of all women workers hold sales, clerical and service jobs. Studies show that the more an occupation is dominated by women or people of color, the less it pays. Part of the wage gap results from differences in education, experience or time in the workforce.
But a significant portion cannot be explained by any of those factors; the General Accounting Office’s Oct. 2003 report “Women’s Earnings,” which examined 18 years of data, found a 20 percent earnings gap between women and men that could not be explained, even when accounting for demographic and work-related factors such as occupation, industry, race, marital status and job tenure.
This gap is attributable to discrimination; certain jobs pay less simply because they are held by women and people of color.”
[...] things are much better than they once were. As Ms. Trunk points out in her article, some statics have even shown that young women [...]
I love Mad Men….I think it’s simply a throw back to how things used it be. Besides, I wouldn’t mind being taken care of by a good looking man; I know I’d probably be more intelligent than they are, doesn’t mean I don’t want their money. ;] But my main goal in life it to become a trophy wife. [Yes, I have a college degree, but I still want to be a trophy wife/mother. Is that so horrible?]
[...] validates the study completely)? The attractiveness quotient holds true even if we look at the fictional Mad Men universe, where the smoking Joan Holloway is always passed over in favor of less qualified [...]
[...] can guess what Bic thought it was doing with this ad, namely jumping on the Mad Men bandwagon a little late in the game — but to what end? Is this ad meant to offend people, as a reminder [...]
[...] over the 55 bones to pay for this event could’ve stayed home and rented the first season of Mad Men or listened to Mel Gibson’s drunken rant to Oksana Grigorieva? I mean, heck. The [...]
[...] the risk with these retro shows that rather than highlight everything that was wrong about the era, they make the sexism and racism seem like a ball of laughs. But just from the comments and discussions that have been had about Mad Men over the past few [...]