The following video is a short segment taken from a reality television show based in Orange County, California. Alexis (the wife of Jim) accuses Mel (a new acquaintance) of flirting with her husband and cautions Mel to keep her distance. The discussion becomes heated and is eventually dismissed by Jim for its inappropriateness.
This situation is reflective of the Malagasy community’s gendered ground rules for performance. According to Keenan, women in the Malagasy community tend to utilize direct and often unpleasant methods of speech that are considered socially damaging; similar to Alexis’s confrontational accusations thrown at Mel. Her decision to confront Mel during a friendly get-together also exemplifies her disregard for the social appropriateness of the situation. The same public displays of behavior are common among Malagasy women but shied away from by men. While Jim seemed to understand that his wife was correct in her discomfort with Mel’s behavior (exemplified by his later acknowledgement that tequila “makes people irrational”), he intervenes during the argument and removes his wife from the situation. By pulling Alexis aside and defusing her anger, Jim is maintaining good communication and the “ideal” style of speech through his “wisdom” and subtle methods of performance.
On a personal note, I felt that this scenario exemplified the gendered speech concepts discussed is Keenan’s article in a context relevant to the United States. While watching this video it was hard not to view Jim’s behavior as more desirable/wiser than that of the women. However, I know that cultural gender norms influence the roles of men and women and their behavior is not solely attributable some kind of biological predisposition.
Video:
I agree that in this situation it wasn't the time nor place to confront the other woman. In a different setting, the confrontation would have been appropriate handled in a different way. In the article, I think it shows men as cowards for allowing the women to confront a situation for the men. It also give women a rebellious reputation because they are not afraid to confront others in situations.
ReplyDeleteI think its intersting to note the paradox here. In American culture femininty is connected with being demure, quiet, keeping your opinions to yourself, and staying passive instead of being confrontational. However we also have this alternative feminine idenity; the bitch. It is still connected mainly with women but it is seen as undesirable. The bitch is seen as opinionated,confrontational, and many times unreasonable.(Notice how you could actually be describing the typical man here hehe) What is strange to me is how this is so undesirable in a real person yet characters with these kind of TV personalities seem to be extreamly popular. Why do we like to see women portryed in such a negative light?
ReplyDeleteI think that choosing any of the Real Housewives is a perfect example of how women, especially these reality stars tend to be extremely confrontational and direct while the men tend to sit back and watch it unfold. It also was a great way to show how similar this is to the Malagasy community’s gendered roles. Based off of the clip, timing was not a thought in Alexis’ mind and just wanted to tell Mel how she really felt regardless of the environment and surroundings at the get-together. It was obvious that Jim was uncomfortable and was trying to end the spectacle altogether by removing Alexis from the conversation to also avoid something larger from happening. As we discussed in class that a Malagasy woman’s gendered roles and expectations differ from that of an American woman’s, this example definitely proves false. In fact, almost every woman on these types of shows always show more emotion and anger than the men, which makes for more drama and a heightened popularity/fan base.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great clip that showed an example the way the Malagasy community's gendered norms for communication in an American setting. When Alexis accused Mel of being "all over her husband" and Mel trying to explain herself, there were no social graces or specific tactful types of speech used. They were inappropriately arguing back and fourth at a friend's house during a party in which others saw this going on. When Alexis's husband dragged her out of the party at the end, we could see the male avoiding the confrontation and letting the situation go. I think this was a great clip to show the norms that Keenan was talking about in a popular relevant television show.
ReplyDeleteI really liked this blog post not only because I love the show real housewives of Orange County but also because I think it is interesting how men and women can be so similar even though they are from completely different parts of the world (OC and the Malagasy community). I think that maybe this does show how men and women are not only subject to cultural norms but also it may be evidence of a biological aspect playing into the ways men and women act in situations of conflict.
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