Friends= almost progress

Friends is probably one of the most universally liked shows by my generation. I remember my friends and I would always argue about which Friends character everyone in our group of friends was. I think that is what made Friends so popular- everyone could see similar traits of themselves and their friends in several of the characters. They of course are all so lovable because of all of the shenanigans they get into. In Hana 30th connections' blog about friends, "Gender Representation in Friends- Mr. Daley", Hana surfaces examples that show how every character is a stereotype of their gender. However, Hana is fair in that he/she does give examples of moments when these beloved characters break away from their expected stereotype by showing traits of the other gender. In this blog, I included some of her points and some of my own.

The Ladies.
Monica is the neurotic, cleaning-obsessed, friend that's a chef. This stereotypes women as being innately neurotic and that they should take a house-wife role as cook and cleaner. Monica also used to be overweight when her character was younger. By loosing an incredible amount of weight, this tells girls that they should always be pencil-thin. However, Monica breaks away from the typical woman stereotype because she is opinionated, stubborn, competitive and quite successful in her line of work as a chef. Basically, she is not the demure woman who is afraid to talk back to men. Rachel is the most normal girl of the bunch. She is your typical girl-next-store who is likable, not too intelligent, beautiful, popular, and a waitress who eventually lands her dream job as a buyer at Ralph Lauren. Rachel probably fits into the typical female stereotype the most. She is sweet and loves shopping. She is also not very smart. Her character is non-threatening to men because she is not that successful. She is also quite thin and beautiful. Again, like Monica, she goes against the female stereotype by sticking up for herself when encountered by opposition. She also is not the traditional homemaker and also decided that she wanted to be a single mother. Phoebe is the eccentric masseuse who almost borders on mentally deranged. She is not mentally present the entire run of the show. Phoebe fits the female stereotype by being quite naive, sensitive, and unintelligent. She goes against the stereotype by being openly promiscuous with men and by being carefree about her appearance. Although she is attractive and wears makeup, her clothes are always on the interesting side. She tends to do whatever she wants; she usually does not answer to anyone.

The Boys.
Chandler is the sarcastic, joke-cracking, disgruntled businessman. He fits the male stereotype by being immature and afraid of commitment. He goes against his stereotype by revealing that he is incredibly insecure and sometimes jealous. Ross is nerdy, three-times divorced and a paleontologist. He fits the male stereotype by also being rather immature, insensitive to women, and successful in his career. Ross goes against the stereotype by having a tendency to complain (usually associated with women) and also by crying in one episode. Ross seems to be tuned-in with his feminine side the most out of all of the men. Joey is the struggling actor who loves to eat. He fits his stereotype by fixating mostly on food and women. He is also incredibly immature and childlike. He goes against his stereotype by being one of the more unintelligent characters television has ever seen. He also does not have a very secure line of work.

Overall, I believe the creator of Friends laid a good foundation for our generation to look beyond the expected stereotypes created centuries before.