During class, we discussed the gender roles that are portrayed in media today. We talked a lot about how older Disney princess movies portray women usually as a pretty face who shouldn’t talk that much or usually the damsel in distress. This got me to thinking about shows that I watch and how men and women are portrayed in the episodes. One show that came to mind was The Office.

In the show, most of the employees are treated equally, however, there some instances that show otherwise. For example, there is one point the show where the Scranton branch received a new Regional Manager. Upon his arrival, he created his own little group that would get together and talk in his office. The only issue was he wouldn’t let any women join the group because he though men were better and all he really wanted to do was talk about sports and such. This led to the women and some men in the office viewing him as sexist.

Another issue that is brought up in the show is the many comments made by Michael Scott. For example, his famous catchphrase is “that’s what she said” which is very offensive to some people. He also makes comments at women in the office that can be deemed as sexual, which can be objectifying.

I believe The Office is still an amazing show and will always stand as one of my favorites, however, some of the instances I listed previously can be very demeaning. You never know how these comments may impact someone. When the show first aired, it was a bit more acceptable to stuff like that, but I don’t believe the show would have lasted or received positive feedback if it had been aired today. I found an article explaining why we still support this show today with all of the different movements happening (https://consequenceofsound.net/2018/03/why-we-still-laugh-at-the-office-in-the-metoo-era/). I thought it made some valid points and found it very interesting to read.

I believe media has come a long way with the way different genders are portrayed. Now, it is more common to see an all female cast or see men as the single fathers or being a stay at home parent in shows. We definitely still have a long way to go as there are still some shows using typical gender stereotypes or only one woman in an all male cast.