One of my favorite weekly television shows is abc's hit series, Gray's Anatomy. Normally, I would not notice the gender stereotyping sitting on my couch watching "Mcdreamy" and "McSteamy" as the highlight of my week. However, as I watched the show last week, several gender roles and stereotyping became obvious. Generally, primetime shows display men characters as dominant, aggresive and ultimately successful. All the male characters at Seattle Gray's Hospital are attractive, world renowned surgeons who have frequent sexual relations with their female co-workers. The female characters are depicted as young, beautiful medical interns, who feed on drama and are always concerned with their relationships. In a recent episode, Meredith changes her appearance and personal outlook on life in an attempt to impress her boyfriend, Dr.Shepard's mother. She changes her hair style and her personality to seem more bubbly and outgoing. This raises the issue of why do we as females feel the need to change who we are to fit into the perception of a "true female?" Also, many female characters get emotionally involved with their patients more often then males, which points to the fact that they are not considered as "professional."
Gray's Anatomy is one of my favorite shows due to the constant drama and less then realistic situations characters always find thwmselves in. However, as a result of gender stereotyping, viewers are entertained and subjected to high-drama situtaions, but also gain an unrealistic view into the medical profession.
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