Union College Union | Digital Works Honors Theses Student Work 6-2012 The mplicI ations of Female American Ideals Presented in Popular Television and Advertising Siobhan Matty Union College - Schenectady, NY Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses Part of the American Material Culture Commons Recommended Citation Matty, Siobhan, "The mpI lications of Female American Ideals Presented in Popular Television and Advertising" (2012). Honors Theses. 859. https://digitalworks.union.edu/theses/859 This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Work at Union | Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of Union | Digital Works. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. The Implications of Female American Ideals Presented in Popular Television and Advertising By Siobhan Genevieve Matty Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for Graduation In the Department of American Studies UNION COLLEGE March, 2012 Contents Abstract…………………..…………………..…………………..…………………..…….iii-vii Chapter One: Introduction…………………..…………………..…………………..……………………....1-6 Chapter Two: Literature Review…………..…………………..…………………..……..…7-22 Chapter Three: American Beauty …………..…………………..…………………..…..…23-41 Chapter Four: Sexuality, Love, and Relationships ……………..…………………..…..…42-74 Chapter Five: Work, Family, and Parenting ……………..…………………..……………75-98 Chapter Six: Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...99-103 Bibliography………………………………………………………………………..........104-105 ii ABSTRACT Matty, Siobhan Genevieve The Implications of Female American Ideals Presented in Popular Television and Advertising My thesis examines the ways in which media and popular television reinforce stereotypes of femininity. Throughout the chapters, I assess whether or not various outlets of media leave space for improvement. For television series, I have focused on Desperate Housewives and Weeds. The two series incorporate several important aspects of the female American experience and lifestyle.