This Gendered Scandal

During my fall study break instead of trying to prepare for my midterms I instead turned to Netflix and watch 2 full seasons of Scandal. Scandal is a show that takes a deeper look into the lives of the Republican Party running the U.S. government.  Throughout the show we learn about the lives of each of the main players and the secrets that each of them is keeping.  After starting this show, besides realizing that I want to be Olivia Pope, I have paid particular attention to the relationship between Cyrus and James, the main gay couple on the show.  While Scandal does their best to portray a non-gendered couple, they fall victim to some of the gendered stereotypes.  

When I first began the show I found it very impressive that they would make Cyrus, the President’s chief of staff, a gay character.  It was a bold and impressive move considering they are representing the Republican Party.  James, Cyrus’s husband, works as one of the major news reporters stationed in the White House.  While at first I was amazed that a modern show was taking such big steps to portray a strong gay couple, it was not too long before you start to notice how the couple is portrayed as gendered.  

In the clip below we see James and Cyrus have an argument about having a baby.  It is clear that James is supposed to be more of the “wife” stereotype in this relationship as he begs for a baby.  He claims how he quit his job so that he could stay home and take care of his husband.  Cyrus however, plays more of the “husband” stereotype in this relationship by claiming his job is too much to handle (taking care of the president) and he has no time for a baby.  At the end of the clip James yells “I can’t believe I fell in love with a Republican.” This line is supposed to make the audience laugh thinking that Cyrus won’t have a baby because he’s part of a particular party but the real reason is because he is gendered to act like the more dominant partner in the relationship.

This type of portrayal could have a negative impact on gay teens who are interacting with the media.  These types of gendered stereotype relationships could give young boys who are struggling to come out a false representation of what it means to be gay when they turn to the media for answers.  While there are many positive aspects to having a gay relationship on Scandal it is important to go about portraying these characters as realistic as possible.

references

Bond, Bradley J., Hefner, Veronica, Drogos, Kristin L. (2008) Information-Seeking Practices during the Sexual Development of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Individuals: The Influence and Effects of Coming Out in a Mediated Environment. Sexuality and Culture,13, pp. 32-50. doi:10.1007/s12119-008-9041-y

Ivory, Adrienne Holz, Ivory, James D., Gibson, Rhonda. Gendered Relationships on Television: Portrayals of Same Sex and Heterosexual Couples. Mass Communication and Society, 12, 170-192. Doi:10.1080/15205430802169607