The theme I will be analyzing is stay-at-home husbands vs. women in the workplace using Modern Family and I Love Lucy.
It is a common image in America, the father returns home to his family after a long day at work, only to greet his wife who is in the kitchen preparing dinner. Since America is viewed as progressive and a place of equality, we have attempted to distance ourselves from stereotypes such as this one, allowing women to enter the workplace and men to stay at home instead of “bringing home the bacon.” Although it may seem as if society is increasingly accepting of the role of stay-at-home husbands, there has been no change in displaying the stay-at-home parent on television programs within the last sixty years.
In Modern Family, the dad is shown to be returning home from work while the mom is preparing dinner in the kitchen. Later when everyone is eating breakfast at the table, it is the mom who becomes frustrated with the fact that each person is engaged in their own electronic device. She is seen as having control in the house. The dad backs up his wife when she is upset but does not initiate the "no electronics for a week" rule. The mom snaps and uses a computer to book a flight, showing that women are mentally weaker than men.
In I Love Lucy, there is a challenge between the two couples to see who can last in the others’ environment the longest. Lucy and Ethel go to work in a candy factory and can’t complete the simple task of putting wrappers on the candy. Ricky and Fred attempt to stay home and do “feminine” chores such as cleaning, cooking, and anything else Lucy and Ethel would take care of in the house. The end result is that neither the men nor the women can take the others’ place, and they call of the challenge and apologize to each other.
The media unchangingly portrays women as the stay-at-home parent/wife, cooking, cleaning, etc., while men go to work to earn the family’s income.
