Shonda Rhimes Gender Roles

The world of television has an ever-changing dynamic, fixating on trends that are current and relevant in popular culture. Producers are taking a transgressive approach to their series, by developing storylines that showcase women as the powerful lead, conquering professions that are typically male dominated. Not only do women hold these roles, but there is a racial diversity among the actresses that are chosen to embody these characters. Shonda Rhimes, an African American producer, is well known for her hit series that exonerate feminism. Shonda explains that, “the entire world is skewed from a white male perspective. If you’re a woman they have to say it’s a female-driven comedy. If it’s a comedy with Latino’s in it, it’s a Latino …show more content…
She was raised in a dual-parent household, where both her mother and father worked hard to obtain a career and take care of the children. This supportive environment allowed her to build an outlook where she never believed that being a black woman would be a disadvantage to pursuing her career. This is reflected in the mixture of races, genders, and sexual preferences that are explored in her scripts. Her shows are not fixated on storylines that benefit the white male, but mirror her drive to write plots that would make herself happy above anyone else. It is important to have this perception as a producer, as Shonda understands that she has the ability to reach thousands of viewers with her deep-rooted messages of breaking inequality, eliminating sexism, and abolishing racism for women. Shonda does not write about female’s who are consumed by their desire for a man or sexualized based on her physical appearance, but about women who will stop at nothing to be at the top of their professional …show more content…
Women are deterred by this invisible barrier, which prevents females from gaining senior positions in a workplace environment. Grey’s Anatomy challenges this notion, as currently in their 12th season, as the majority of the attending surgeon positions are filled by African-American, Latina, Asian, and Caucasian women. Their male counterparts never question their authority and their opinions are certainly not held to a lesser value because of their gender. The females are encouraging of one another, and do not tear each other down to further themselves. A crucial moment in this shows history that is reflective of society is when Dr. Miranda Bailey did not give another female doctor the pay she deserved for a promotion. The other female doctors were dismayed, encouraging the woman to demand a higher salary as males do it all the time. When this doctor spoke up for herself, listed her credentials and why she deserved more for her highly skilled work, Dr. Bailey happily granted it to her. As a feminist, Dr. Bailey was trying to teach her that you cannot just idly sit back in the workforce and expect things to be granted to you, you must use your voice and freedom of speech to stand up for what you deserve. This episode was the epitome of transgression, highlighting how historically this would not be a reality for women but Grey’s Anatomy is working to open up a forum

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