Controversal Relationships

When we think about relationships, most of us, in today's society, typically think and see ourselves in monogamous relationships. Opposed to being in a polygamous relationship, one man in a relationship with several different women, or even in a polyandry relationship. Has anyone ever heard of this? Probably not because it is not very popular. Polyandry, by definition brought to you by Dictionary.com means, "Polygamy in which a woman has more than one husband".

A couple a years ago, a show debuted on TLC called Sister Wives. This reality t.v. show was very controversial due to the fact that the Brown family consisted of a man and his four wives and their sixteen children. The show's objective was to allow viewers to entire their lives and see their polygamous lifestyle in a different light. These relationships are most popular in the Midwest, but there are families that share these polygamous views in various parts of the world in secret because their lifestyle is looked down upon.

Same goes for polyandrous relationships. These relationships are primarily found in secluded villages in the Himalayas. These practices are dying off due to political, social, and religious disagreements.

My question to you is what is the difference between a man having more than one wife and a woman having more than one husband? Do you think it has to do primarily with religious views? Or do you think men are seeing this as an excuse for them to look less manly? I know our own personal beliefs might get in the way of what we think or feel about this issue, but seriously, what is the difference?

Up All Night Thinking About Gender Roles...

The recent trend in newly piloted t.v. shows is gender role reversal. The show, Up All Night, help's support my discovery.

Up All Night is a show which features a married heterosexual couple who are new parents. The mom Reagan, played by Christina Applegate, and father Chris, played by Will Arnett, try to balance their lives by maintaining a stable family environment while also trying to keep their social lives.

Unlike other t.v. shows, Reagan is a producer for a popular television show, while Chris gave up his job to be a stay-at-home dad. Throughout the very first episode, you see the couple constantly struggling with issues such as Reagan needing to work longer hours and Chris therefore needing to stay in with their newborn daughter Amy. In that moment, you see Chris show his disappointment in a more "feminine" spotlight. He tears up, but he knows he signed up for this. See, it wasn't just the fact that Reagan had to stay at work, but also because it was their anniversary and he had made plans. It amazes me because I feel like the issues that stay-at-home mom's face, are being addressed in this episode, and hopefully the rest of the show, and placing men in these scenarios. Although men primarily stay home with their children and women being the primary breadwinners is still not common, I feel as though Up All Night is opening our society's eye's to new possibilities and helping close the door on stereotypical gender norms.

But, one positive and/or negative aspect I see, is the use of popular celebrities. The show also features famous actors such as, Nick Cannon and Maya Rudolph. I feel like this could be positive because if the show continues to show positive gender role reversal, the famous actors and actresses could shed a positive light on many issues and let viewers see that possibly even celebrities have "modern" viewpoints and support shared gender roles. And the negative side could be, the opposite, that if this show, for example, has Reagan failing at keeping an equal balance of family and work and Chris becoming resentful and resigning from being a stay-at-home dad.

Can Women Really Have the Best of Both Worlds?

I began analyzing and composing a long list of a variety of television shows. All of the programs I selected are viewed on major T.V. networks, such as ABC, ABC Family, TBS, NBC, and so on.

I noticed that in the nineteen-nineties up to the present day, women in television are portrayed as either making less than men, but maintain a comfortable home or a successful woman in her career, but in some way sacrificing her personal life to do so. I decided to single out Seinfeld, 30 Rock and Gilmore Girls, because the strong female roles are played by women who work hard and take their careers quite seriously, but their home lives have several flaws.

For instance, Seinfeld's character Elaine, works in the publishing industry and is extremely goal oriented, but throughout the show, Elaine's uptight, whiny personality causes her to have relationship troubles. 30 Rock's, Liz Lemon, a writer for a successful fictional show, is continuously having difficulty balancing her personal life and her professional life. Liz is portrayed as a clumsy woman in her late thirties with day dreams of having a family, but between her male boss pressuring her to succeed and lack of a spouse is an issue. Gilmore Girls is a show about the struggles of a single mom, Lorelei, and her only daughter, Rory, who both face several obstacles, but always grow and push through their troubles. I personally, adore this show and found it hard to analyze because both Lorelei and Rory are extremely strong, independent, and empowered women. Although Lorelei faced criticism for having a teenage pregnancy, not marrying Rory's father, and also having an overall rocky love life through out the shows seven year span, she went to business school and opened her own Inn. As for Rory, she is a beautiful young woman who graduated top of her high school class and graduated from Yale University, but during the show 's final episodes, Rory was proposed to and passed up marrying her boyfriend due to the opportunity to follow President Obama during his Presidential campaign and in hopes of becoming a journalist.

What do you think of today's television shows and media and it's portrayal of women? Do you think women can't have the "best of both worlds"? Or do you think they can?