Where The Girls Are

The portrayal of women in the media has gone through a shift in the past 50 years. A shift incited by the feminist movement of the 1970’s in which women rebelled against their assigned role as the subordinate housewife. The media could no longer ignore the rising presence of feminism. As a response, it infused feminist ideals with traditional values to showcase an unrealistic standard for women. A standard, which Douglas argues in Where the Girls Are, that caused the “cultural identity crisis” many women faced (Douglas 1994). Women were told that they could have it all. They can be independent working women while being obedient housewives. While this depiction is optimistic and assumes women can have the best of both worlds, it fails to recognize
Drawing from Douglas’s piece and other sources, this paper will analyze the marriage dynamics between Dre and Bow Johnson and whether those dynamics influence what they expect of their children. The episode, 40 Acres and a Vote, is about how Dre assists his son (Andre) in his campaign to become class president. The episode also includes a side story line of Bow’s concern for her daughter’s (Zoe) plans after high school. The unity between Bow and Dre is quite apparent. They are both are employed (Bow being a surgeon and Dre being an advertising executive) and split up the family responsibilities in this episode in the following manner: Dre focusing on Andre’s campaign and Bow focusing on Zoe’s college essay. They divide and conquer to ensure the harmony of the household. An important thing to note is that Bow is of mixed race (her ethnic makeup was not explicitly stated presumably she is white, African American, and Samoan) while Dre is African American. The marriage outside of one’s racial group is a common trend among professional African American men, contributing to the marital squeeze that affects professional black women (Franklin