Femininity In Friends

For discussion section this week, I decided to complete assignment option A. I watched a an episode of the television series Friends. While watching there weren’t too many stereotypes shown, but I did notice a large general one about femininity by the end of the episode. In this episode, two of the female characters (Rachel and Phoebe) are taking a women’s self- defense class. When they tell one of their friends (Ross), he tells them that they are not entirely in a state of total awareness, “Unagi.” Though it’s not stated explicitly, it seemed as though Ross didn’t believe that his two female friends could defend themselves; that women need men to protect them. He eventually resorted to hiding behind a couch and jumping out at Rachel and Phoebe
However, Rachel and phoebe figure out his plan and manage to attack him to the ground to show him their defensive skills. Even though Ross was taken down, he still wouldn’t admit that Rachel and Phoebe could self defend. While watching this, I laughed yet realized that women were portrayed as somewhat weak, hence the self defense classes, and that men would always be “tougher’ than women. It also seemed as though the idea that “women can defend themselves, just not as well as men can” was communicated through the episode to viewers. While the episode in a way encourages women to take action and the idea “of a strong independent woman,” it also emphasizes male superiority in strength, which unfortunately has been deeply rooted in societal norms.
I also watched an episode of Law and Order. In this specific episode, transgender stereotypes were presented.