In this episode of New Girl, it is Schmidts 29th birthday and he celebrates every birthday with his “frenemy” Benjamin. Schmidt and Benjamin spend the episode discussing who is living the better life and making it a big competition. This is a stereotype of a masculine trait, competitiveness. Benjamin also tells Schmidt he is going to hook up with Jesse and treats Jesse like an object. This is a stereotype of men thinking they can use any woman. To Schmidts birthday party, Nick brings a date named Julia. Julia breaks female stereotypes by being a lawyer which is an assertive and competitive job. She also breaks feminine stereotypes by punching Benjamin at the end of the episode because he wouldn’t stop hitting on Jesse. This shows she is strong and not a nurturing and “motherly” women. You can also tell Julia breaks stereotypes by the way she dresses compared to Jesse. Jesse wears bright colors and fancy dresses and sweaters making her come off as more cheery and welcoming whereas Julia wears dark business clothes showing more dominance and masculine traits. When Julia punches Benjamin, all the boys are shocked and amazed she did that. The reaction of everyone shows they haven’t seen that happened before and it broke stereotypes and that is why they were all confused. This episode does a good job of showing stereotypes and how they break them.
Shared by: chloe vandenhouten
Image Credit: New Girl, Season one- episode ten