I believe that one of the reasons comes from the media. There are many different series' called "The Real Housewives of _______". After looking through my TV guide I found out that there are actually SEVEN different shows based out of Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Washington D.C., New Jersey, New York City, Orange County, and Chicago. (Personally I find it frightening that there is a big enough audience for these shows that they have to have seven.) I've never actually seen an episode but I've seen countless previews and they seem to speak for themselves. (Watch one here.) These shows follow a few "housewives'"in a certain city living their "lives". The show makes someone's average life into an over dramatic TV series. These women are all over the latest entertainment gossip and plastered on covers of trashy magazine. Is that what a "real" housewife is?
The average American watches 5 hours of TV and is exposed to countless hours of magazines and the Internet. If this is the image of a "housewife" that people are exposed to, there is a definite chance that they might think that the term housewife is a negative term. The media does not only show real housewives, they show desperate ones too! Now I don't blame these reality TV women for changing our class's view on the word "housewife", but I do think that the media can be held accountable in these situations. If we see the term "housewife" to describe these types of women, I can see how someone might think that "housewife" has a negative connotation.
I agree with your point about how the media has held a significant part. I have seen one of these shows and they are absolutely ridiculous. It goes along with the whole reality tv is not actually reality. I think another show that shows this point is desperate housewives. Desperate Housewives is a very popular show, and I not saying its bad to watch but what does it say about "housewives" in the 21st century? I think you brought up a great point that we did not get to talk about in class!
ReplyDeleteI think when people in class were saying that "housewife" had a negative connotation, the idea that "housewife" has an underlying meaning of cluelessness was suggested. I've never really felt like the word "housewife" carried the connotation of ignorance, but I did feel like it can sometimes suggest submissiveness. It's interesting to me that these Real Housewife shows have totally turned the idea of a housewife as a submissive figure on its head. From the numerous commercials and occasional episodes I've seen from these shows, these women are very outspoken, and often times have a lot of power over their husbands, be it demanding money to buy clothes and accesories, or telling dad to take care of the kids while mom goes out for drinks with her friends. This certainly is not positive image of a housewife to be broadcasting either, but at least women are starting to feel more empowered in their households than they may have felt in the past.
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