Presenter(s): Elle Rogers
Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Allison McGuffie
Oral Session 2 O
On the surface, “Friends” is viewed as an All-American, wholesome
television series. Though the love for the series is immeasurable by
original audiences and the newest generation of on-demand viewers like myself, many commentators have said “Friends” upholds masculinist social norms that are unacceptable in our current era marked by gender awareness such as the me too movement. A close analysis of looking relations in a single episode, in fact, reveals that the male gaze, originally defined by Laura Mulvey, maintains control of the show’s depiction of masculinity at the expense of femininity. Drawing on Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity and building on David Gauntlett’s analysis of gender identity in television, this presentation examines exactly how Friends enforces hegemonic masculinity. I ultimately show that problematic norms of masculinity in the episode, “The One with Ross’s Teeth,” are enforced by character depictions, the construction of the gaze, and the utter absence of feminine perspective.