Stereotypes of Women in Cop Shows

This past week in class we discussed stereotypes. Stereotyping is something that we do on a daily basis. After all, by placing a group of people in set categories makes the way we process information easier. And what keeps us holding on strong to these stereotypes? The media.

I have been paying close attention to some of the shows I spend most of my time watching and noticed just how much stereotyping goes on. For instance, I am a heavy viewer of any type of Law and Order, CSI, Bones and other criminal shows. Obviously you have the typical stereotypes present such as suspects that are Black or Latino dress with their saggy clothing. They both speak with their accents and use street slang. The Latinos especially are shown in with tattoo’s on their face and bodies as though they are gang affiliated. But this dose not tend to bother me so much.

One issue that does catch my attention is the portrayal of women in these criminal shows. Women are always shown as the hard-working type that is so focused on their job that they have no time for their family. And if they do have children these women are single moms who cannot manage to keep her relationship together. For example in the show Bones, the main character, Dr. Brennen aka Bones, plays a very rational women who is extremely successful at what she does. In the beginning episodes she is mainly shown pretty much living and breathing her work. She was involved in few if any relationships. She seemed like the type that was too busy to be involved romantically. On the other hand, we have her co-star, Angela, who was always casually dating and in and out of relationships. She always manages to find the wrong guy or in relationship that end quickly and shown as being promiscuous.

The main portrayal that surrounds these top women detectives is this stereotype of being a single mom. I can recall the blonde women’s name from CSI, but she has a daughter and frequently finds herself struggling to spend quality time with her child. It is as though these shows make it clear that if women spend too much of their time focused in their career and are good at it, it is their own fault if she can’t keep her marriage. Now what does this say about society? That if successful women want a stable marriage they should not or are not capable of holding such demanding jobs while maintaining their love life.

It is funny if you look at the men role in these criminal shows. Most are shown either being divorced or not being married at all. The main difference is that these shows do not make this a big issue in the man’s life as they do in the women’s. This reinforces the back in the day stereotypes of women staying in the home or holding less successful positions so that they can live up to be the caregiver of their family.

-LV