Stereotypical Housewife

Stereotypical Housewife

"Modern Family" is a comedy sitcom that portrays three families and how they interact with each other and society today. First we have Jay Pritchett, the father and grandfather, who married a much younger woman, Gloria, with her son Manny. Then there is Jay's gay lawyer son, Mitchell and his partner, Cameron and their adopted daughter Lily. Lastly, we have the Dunphys. Clair is Jay's daughter and is married to Phil and they have three children, Haley, Alex, and Luke. ABC's "Modern Family" sitcom is rampant with stereotypes from the aging father with the trophy wife to the traditional family unit of husband and wife with three kids. For this particular analysis essay I am going to focus on Claire as the stereotypical housewife.

Clair's stereotypical housewife character is well rounded and complex; if the media is going to use stereotypes to portray characters, then I believe the writers of "Modern Family" have done a good job with this one and hopefully it is having a more positive impact on our culture than other stereotypes would. Clair is a stay-at-home mom with a husband, three kids, a nice house and a quirky extended family. She is a little up-tight and, at times, frazzled and overwhelmed. I see her role on this show as the motivator and planner. I feel her character portrays todays housewife better than other's that are on TV today because "Modern Family" shows the complex nature, diverse duties and relationships that she has without the exaggerated drama you might find on a show like "Desperate Housewives".

In the episode "Good Cop, Bad Cop" (Modern Family, Episode 22) Clair and Phil decide they are going to trade roles and he is going to make sure the girls clean their bathroom before they go shopping and she is going to take Luke and Manny to have fun go carting. Ultimately they find he is not very good at being the bad cop and she is not very good at being a good cop. Although they put a comedic spin on this storyline, making the kids mind and do their chores is a very typical role for a stay-at-home mom or housewife and this particular episode highlighted one of the diverse and complex roles they play.

In continuing this analysis further, let's define the housewife stereotype. Typically the housewife is remembered as being pretty, made up at all times of the day, the cook and maid, consumer, mother, and loyal wife (American Memory of the 1950s housewife, wikispaces.net/stereotypes). When someone thinks of a housewife it brings about feelings of comfort, being cared for, and providing hospitality. For most it may bring a feeling of nostalgia. The unknown author of the paper American Memory of the 1950's housewife interviewed their grandmother and she said "I think one good reason for that nostalgia is that most typical housewives of the 50s