The Unruly Woman on Television

The Unruly Woman on Television

The main intention of my paper is to investigate the phenomena of unruly women on television - mainly through Roseanne Barr and Lena Dunham. What makes a woman qualify as an unruly woman? What makes these two women specifically qualify as unruly women?

Both women are actresses and writers of their own characters and they both approach the typical sitcom woman in different ways - whether it be wife, mother, or daughter. In order to truly understand why these women make the creative decisions they make in regards to their own portrayal of a woman on a TV show, I will be looking at sources that critique and/or praise the shows (and for what reasons) as well as looking at interviews to get opinions from the women themselves. 

There are many categories that make an unruly woman, but most of all what makes an unruly woman is that she doesn't fit into the categories of what society considers as gender norms that women should adhere to. Much of the criticism around Roseanne Barr and Lena Dunham stems from (1) their characters not adhering to a typical TV representation of a woman and (2) the women themselves not adhering to society's gender norms.

Roseanne pushes the envelope through her character by not playing the stereotypical sitcom mom. Through the character of Roseanne she portrays the exact opposite of a feminine woman; she introduces the unruly woman to the world and uses it as her mode of resistance against mainstream society, which is always so quick to hire “overmedicated, painted-up, capitalist whores claiming to be housewives” (Barr 7). 

Lena Dunham also resists ideals with her character on the show by making her character reflective of herself in real life. What makes "Girls" so different from "Sex and the City" is that Girls is based off of Lena Dunham's real life. The show has a bold sense of reality that Sex and The City never did, in the words of Lena Dunham, Girls addresses that with "post recession and with the rise of social networking, there is a different kind of woman who wants something less aspirational and more reflective of her reality." This is exactly what Girls gives it's audience and in this way, by not following in the steps of the ever so popular Sex and The City, Girls is deviating from the often "glamorously portrayed" norm.

Both women are considered unruly outside of their shows in regards to their appearance. Roseanne, being overweight, exemplifies excessiveness and "taking up space," both things being considered unfeminine. Many critiques of Roseanne's appearance are met with distaste, much like Lena Dunham. On the show, Lena Dunham is met with distaste over her excessive sex scenes in which she has no qualms over showing her body. And outside the show Lena Dunham's appearance has often been described as "disgusting," also in regards to her weight. What makes the appearance of these women so unruly is that they don't comply with society's idea of consumption - that women should consume into what the media is telling them a woman should like. 

Overall the outcome of this paper is to expose how women are looked at when they resist the norms, specifically here in the case of two women writers of their own TV show characters. Should these women continue with what their doing? Could this spark more women writers to do the same? Does more women writers in the TV industry mean better portrayals of women? This topic and these questions will be addressed through many aspects including but not limited to: media, gender, sexuality and feminism.