Not Following Stereotypes 

Frank had surgery on his femur and he has to have people take care of him until he recovers. Fiona refuses to take care of him because he annoys her. Women are usually caring and maternal towards people especially people in their own family, but Fiona does not care about Frank.

On the other hand Frank begs for help all the time. Usually men do not ask for help from women, they do their own things. Frank is very needy which is a feminine quality.

When Debbie asks Carl why he is throwing all of his uniforms away he says that he is dropping out of school. Debbie tries to convince him that he needs to stay in school. He then gets very emotional and starts yelling and calls himself a loser. Men do not usually show their true emotions to that high of a degree that is seen as feminine

When Kelly finds out that Carl is dropping out of school, she chases him down at work and makes him go back to school. This is a very confrontational thing to do and is seen as masculine. As Kelly is dragging Carl out to the truck Laurie says “now that is a woman” Usually women are perceived as weak and dainty, not as strong and powerful.

Following Stereotypes

Unlike Fiona, Debbie is the one managing Frank’s medicine and taking care of him. She is making a schedule so that everyone has to help Frank otherwise no one would help him. This is very caring and maternal of her which is a feminine quality.

While Debbie is taking care of Frank he is telling her that Fiona got her good looks from her mom and that because she is pretty now she can do whatever she wants, but “her good looks will only get her so far”. This is very stereotypical to blame success of a woman on how she looks.

Later on when Carl is still mad about not getting into West Point, Kelly tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself and  “man up”. This is a very stereotypical thing to say to a man when they are showing their emotions openly.

Bechdel Test

Kelly and Debbie are yelling at each other in the street about how Kelly has destroyed Carl’s life. Since these are two main characters and they are talking only about Carl this fails the Bechdel test.

Shared by: Meagan Ebertz
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