Thursday, June 4, 2009
Week #3 Eureka Moment
So, I have been "half watching" a reality show called "the Cougar". ("Half watching" means keeping it in the background while I do other things...) The premise of the show is a 40 year old woman looking for a partner. The men on the show are all in their twenties. I gringe each time I turn it on and see the title...trying to portray an older women as a loose, or immoral for being interested in a younger man, This reality show premise was to hype the reverse role expecations on gender and age as being "wrong" or unnatural for an older woman to date a younger man. The life experiences of the people involved was more of an issue than the older woman and younger men scenario. Gender was less of an issue than life experience. The woman was a strong, independent, self sufficient woman not looking for a caretaker but a partner. The stereotypes of a younger guy interested in a physical relationship were also debunked. It was a show that promoted itself on the gender role expectations and yet, they weren't illustrated and even moreso, these new expectations seemed so natural... it was a reality TV show and like all shows, I don't believe that anyone can really consider themselves in love without time and committment to the couple experience, but, it was interesting to see that even thought we want to promote the stereotypes of this gender reversal, it didn't seem to exist.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I heard about that show, but never got to actually see it. The word cougar is used a lot these days. Well I guess I should say I hear it a lot from the people I hang out with. I never understand why people are so concerned with the age of someone you are dating or married too. Age is just a number and many times people portray women with older men because they are gold diggers and a man with an older woman always gives him brownie points with the guys. It’s an interesting topic you bring up here! Exactly it was a reality show and these shows are just on for our entertainment. That is why half the people who go on these shows never last. It’s to make money. I wish I could have seen the show to see how it went. Now I am interested in finding it on TV. Good question is why would they call it a cougar anyway? She’s 40 and the guys are young. It’s a dating show and nothing more.
I seen that show a few times with my mom. I usually laugh the whole time. I think any of those shows where they are fighting for someones love along with 20 other people is crazy. Notice how most of them never work out. Don't get me wrong I watch them because they are entertaining and hilarious. Flavor of Love, Rock of Love, I Love New York and all the others are crazy. Really the show is there for the star to become popular not for love. This "Cougar" may pick one but I am sure the producers are "guiding" her so the most entertaining people stay as long as possible. I totally agree that you can't really be in love unitl you are 1 on 1 with someone.
One thing this class is making aware of (besides all of the gender issues) is how much “good” television I am missing. With working 60-70 hours a week, flying a 150,000 miles a year, taking these classes and still trying to show up as a husband and a dad, the only thing I have time to watch on TV is sports (oops there goes another gender stereotype being propagated!).
The “Cougar” term is something I have heard more and more within the last couple of years and just like most terms regarding females it has a negative connation to it. This also points another significant inequality in gender. If a man gets into a relationship with a much younger woman, terms like “player” and “40 is the new 20”, are bestowed upon the man, while the woman is deemed a “gold-digger”. So no matter whether the woman is much older or much younger, the terms associated with her are negative.
Post a Comment