Vixen in the Kitche, Angel in the Attic

Adam-Scott Green
WST 3015
Nina Perez
March 17, 2010

A Mosaic of Women, A New Fabric for Female Representation in Media

The standard stereotype for women is to not take up space, have children, marry, and become domesticated. The women in Brothers and Sisters sustain and challenge oppresive stereotypes of women and motherhood. In fact, the women in this show present a diversity of gender roles and expectations. It shows the world that some women may fit gender stereotypes and still be powerful. Others may choose their place in the world by a defying gendered expectations.

I consider myself a member of the Walker family from Brothers and Sisters. I fell in love with this show because it is a realistic portrayal of American family life.

Episode 1 illsutrates the characterization of my cousins Tommy, Kitty, Sarah, Kevin and Justin, and their parents William and Norah Walker. This episode also illustrates women who exude power, femininity, agency, independence, and intelligence. For example, Norah Walker, the matriarch of the family is a traditional domesticated mother and wife. "Marriage is a great institution, if you like living in institutions" (Ettelbrick 317). She fits traditional gender roles, situated in the stereotypes of institutionalized marriage and family. She spends her time at home worrying and caring about her children and grandchildren. Blinded in love to William Walker, she is also the emotional core of that institution. A traditonal woman- she is illustrated cooking, cleaning, keeping up the house, and staying out of the family business her husband created. Her life is consumed by the institution of family and marriage. She is a stereotypical woman.

On the other hand, her daughter Sarah challenges traditional gender roles. Fusing the identities of mother, wife, and career woman, she is the breadwinner for her family. In the same way, she is imposed with the burden of the "mommy tax." Because she is a mother, "She is not the ideal worker that is free of all ties other than those to her job" (Crittenden 337). Making a decision to spend more time at home with her kids and husband, she quits a prestigous job that her MBA and business savy qualified her for; and pays her "mommy tax" by accepting a more comfortable, probably less lucrative position at the small family business. This shows the challenge corporate mothers face, the mommy tax is the financial and occupational costs she had to pay in the name of her duties as a mother. And yet, she is a woman that responds to ridcule with power, sits in her office with a keen eye for business and loves her children and family.

Her sister, Kitty, further breaks stereotypical gendering. She is a political analysist, working in a male dominated profession; and she is successful at it. Though she is not a mother, she is an alternative caregiver, a sister, a daughter, and an auntie. In this episode, she is unmarried and childless. She even choses a career move over an engagement to her lover. She definitely defies the expectations of women. I love her character the most because she is powerful, independent, and fearless. I keep up with the show and recently Kitty has married a senator, adopted a baby, battled cancer, and chosen to run for political office.

Brothers and Sisters shows women in powerful places within themselves, their homes, and their jobs. As it relates to a feminst discussion of women, this show illustrates the realities of women who fit the stereotypes and women that challenge them. I think feminism is about expanding the stereotypes and representations of women to a more realistic, non-oppressive idea of what a woman can do or be. This show does that, and I tune in to ABC every Sunday night to be entertained.

Crittenden, Ann. "The Mommy Tax. "Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed.New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 337-345.
Ettelbrick, Paula. "Since When Is Marriage a Path to Liberation." Women's Lives: Multicultural Perspectives. 5th Ed.New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 317-320.