Not Following Stereotypes

At the beginning of the show, Lip, the oldest brother is making breakfast for his siblings. Usually, the females in the family would prepare the meals.

V and Kevin’s twins are getting bigger so V wants to get rid of their baby items, but Kevin does not. Kevin goes out of his way to hide the things that V is giving away so that he can look through them. Men are usually not represented as people who give sentimental value to things, especially not baby clothes and toys. The mother would typically be the one to put a sentimental value on baby items.

Kelly and Carl are studying to get into West Point. Carl failed the practice exam, and Kelly had to help him study. Usually, men are seen as smart and would not typically be tutored by a woman.

Towards the end of the show, V comes home and Kevin has dinner waiting for her. He wants to try and convince her to have another child. Men are not the ones to cook for their wives, or decide and really push for another kid. V did not want another kid, which is also not following stereotypes.

Following Stereotypes 

Randy and his wife are separated, but he still lives next to her and works in the same building as her. He does this in order to manage her and make sure he knows everything that is going on in her life. His wife also has a mental disorder and if she does not take her medication her disorder takes over and she becomes a person that Randy does not like, so he also makes sure that she takes her meds in order to stay the person that he likes. Men are often the ones controlling relationships and making sure the females are meeting the man’s standards.

Max is one of Fiona’s business partners and when Fiona cannot come up with the money he makes fun of her for not having 25k. Fiona is from the southside with not a lot of money and Max is a very wealthy powerful man. He also coaches Fiona on buying buildings and investing. He is seen as a powerful figure who has control over the entire situation, where Fiona is seen as a clueless woman who has no idea what she is doing.

Bechdel Test

There was one scene where Debbie goes to check on Fiona because she has not heard from her in a few days. They talk about how Fiona is having a rough couple of days and how she needs to go to the hospital because she was in a car accident. This passes the Bechdel test because they are not talking about men.

Shared by: Meagan Ebertz
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