Gender Roles in "Daria"

by

Sarah Bradley

The average American child watches 27 hours of television a week. (Applebaum, 304) Given this, it is no surprise that television programming has been a force expressing and influencing gender relations of the time. Traditionally television has been a male dominated medium. In the fifties and the sixties the industry consisted of shows like "Father Knows Best" and "Leave it to Beaver". These shows portrayed the typical American family, in which the father earns the money and the mother remains at home to cook and clean. It is only recently that sitcoms and other programming have opened up to include females in positions of authority.

The family cartoon is no exception. The family oriented cartoon has always been crafted in a traditional way. There is a father, who is the dominant male figure in the household and more often than not the main character. There is the mother, whose power in the household, although existent, is often more subtle. And there are the children whom the basis of plot and conflict is centered on. But recently, in programs like "Daria" these gender roles are not only being annulled, but they are being reversed. In the show we do not only see the main character Daria as a girl who defies the normal constraints of women in television. Even the more minor, stereotyped women share qualities of control over the men around them. The men on the show are an entirely different story. Instead of being the strong leading characters, they are often hilariously weak and whiney. They appear comical because we see them as wimpy. The characters who best personify the reversal of traditional male and female roles in the show are Jake Morgandorffer (Daria's father), Kevin, Helen Morgandorffer (Daria's mother), Quinn and of course Daria herself.

Daria=s father, Jake Morgandorffer is not the typical television father. He is less powerful then Helen, both in their relationship in the house and in his occupation. We see his weaknesses in a few episodes, and we also see him trying to uphold his traditional paternal role. He is portrayed as being perpetually stressed about work, secondary in the family hierarchy, and also we sometimes observe him assuming traditionally female roles in the household. In the episode "Arts and Crass" Jake loses an important job, he therefor has more free time, so he assumes the typically female role of doing the cooking for the household. This humiliates his character, because he is not providing for his family in the way it is expected of men. It is also in this episode which we see an instance where Jake tries to argue with what his wife is saying, and he ends up with a bowl of penne ala pesto being dumped on his head. This sort of physical humor degrades his character and we can see that his opinion is not to be respected. These two examples illustrate his role in the family, but Jake is also portrayed as weak in other ways.

Jake also reverses the typical gender roles because he lets his sensitive, weak side emerge more often then a typical male. This melodramatic expression of his sensitive side makes his character ridiculous, especially when compared to the less emotional females. In the episode "Daria Hunter", we see Jake and Mr. DeMartino get drunk and trade tragic memories of their childhood. This exposes a weak side to his character, one that we don't see in the women's characters. We also see a somewhat neurotic representation of Jake's character in the episode "The Teachings of Don Jake." In this episode Jake is under so much stress he needs a relaxing vacation so his family decides to go camping. On the trip we hear him babbling about his tough father, his financial troubles, etc., and the entry-level job he took. This contrasts greatly with his wife who disguises all her problems and appears extremely tough, and has a powerful job. His weak character, when compared with his wife's unusually tough role, is comparable to the character that the wife in television had filled previously.

Another traditional role that is reversed in "Daria," is the idea of the well-rounded, high school, football star. Instead we have Kevin. Kevin's squeaky voice, his football uniform, and his incredibly unintelligent comments make him the stereotypical "dumb jock." Although Kevin has the appearance of being tough because of this stereotype, we are shown through the quality of his voice that this isn't true. Its quality is reminiscent of a boy whose voice is changing, when it squeaks and cracks once in a while. This flaw and the way that he is always chasing Brittany around, both serve to immaculate him. There is one episode where we see Kevin become extremely emotional and it is in "Misery Chick" when his hero the football player dies. However his hysteria at this incident is similar to the excessive hysteria that is usually shown as characteristic of women. This succeeds in flipping the typical roles of men and the women in the television show.

Kevin not only shows emotional weakness at points, but also physical weakness. For a quarterback, and a jock Kevin is extremely skinny. One episode that shows his physical weakness, as well as female prowess is "The Daria Hunter". In this episode the class takes a trip to a paintball course. Kevin's girlfriend Brittany turns out to be a brilliant war strategist, while Kevin has a horrible experience and is beaten by his girlfriend, who shoots him. In response to being shot he says, "Ouch, these paintball thingies hurt," this statement is an obvious parallel to an exclamation made by Daria earlier in the show. This paralleling of comments suggests that Kevin is effeminate and weak because he is compared to Daria, who physically, is probably the weakest character. We lose respect for Kevin because he does not even fulfill the dumb jock stereotype, nor does he impress us with the sensitivity of his character. Kevin's role as the high school all-star is ridiculed and he becomes a parody of himself, showing his weaknesses.

Daria's mother, Helen Morgandorffer is also a character who shows the power of women over men. She is a strong businesswoman, who is the voice of power in the household as well. She is portrayed as a high-strung, high-tech, well-connected yuppie. There is hardly a scene where we see her without her cell phone, or planner, or where she is not doing anything. She is the provider for the family, a role that is traditionally reserved for men in television. It is also very rare to see her performing any household chores. When on the phone with teachers, she does not listen, and often tells them to call her husband. These are a few examples of how even the extremely stereotyped figure of the powerful female, still defies the normal gender roles. Helen does not disregard all things motherly and she does attempt to put an effort into spending time with her children, but it is a very forced effort. For example, in one show she and Quinn enter a mother/daughter beauty pageant together, and in another she takes her vacation time in order to go camping with her family.

Helen personifies the successful businesswoman who has sacrificed her family life for the sake of her career. There are very few instances when we actually see her break down and show her feminine side. One is in the episode "Pinch Sitter" when she is making a list of her priorities for the time-management consultant: "1. Spend more time with my family, 2. Break through the firm=s glass ceiling, 3. Beat the pants off Carly Fishbeck in the library board election, 4. Put the spice back in my marriage." Here we see an example of where Helen shows that through her tough shell she is still a woman. This is important because it gives her a powerful status as an accomplished person, but that she still maintains her credibility as a woman. She breaks through traditional television role because she is both a high powered lawyer and a mother, albeit not a great one. She is also a verbal character and dominates the role of power in the household.

Quinn is a different type of character entirely. She is Daria's younger, more popular sister. She occupies her time as the vice president of the fashion club, with dating, making her hair bouncy and trying to keep the fact that Daria is her sister a secret from her friends. She is the polar opposite of Daria and it is in this way that she makes an interesting addition to the group of powerful women in the show. This is because despite her one-dimensional, stereotyped character, Quinn gets what she wants all the time. She manages through her looks and her flirtatiousness to win over people and get them to like her, even if is superficial friendship. As Daria says about her, "She's well liked among classmates of both sexes. And yet, strangely, she turns my stomach." ("Pinch Sitter"). I think that most viewers react this way about Quinn because it is so obvious that she is a fake. However, despite her fakeness, people do whatever she says anyway.

It is from this manipulative behavior that Quinn derives her power as a female character. Quinn has no qualms about using boys to get what she wants. In "Pinch Sitter" we see her determining whom she dates around what she can get from them:

Skylar: Wow, what's this! Long term plans, September break up with Skylar, October go out with Taylor?

Quinn: His parents have ski house!

The most interesting thing about Quinn is that she is so self centered that even though she is comical and viewers are not supposed to like her, she is an extremely powerful girl. She has her entourage of Joey, Jeffie, and Jamie who fawn over her and who, by sharing nearly the same name, lose their identity as strong males. She doesn't care about anyone but herself and in that way she becomes independent and capable of using others to get what she wants.

"Daria" is a show based around a strong female character who, unlike many other cartoon characters, has a strong sense of identity. Daria is an unpopular teenager at Lawndale High School. Unlike other cartoon females, for example Judy Jetson or Wilma Flintstone, she is not the stereotype of what a perfect girl or woman should be. What Daria is, however, is an intelligent, witty teenager, who really does not care that she is unpopular, and does not feel pressured to live up to the social expectations of a high school girl. As an article in Salon Magazine said, ABecause she's neither a bubbly babe nor a hopeless geek (this is not "Welcome to the Dollhouse II"), Daria simply doesn't register on the teen radar. She's practically invisible. And she kind of likes it that way. (Millman). Daria reverses the typical gender roles as the voice through which the lessons of the show are told, and by providing the majority of the biting one-liners that show the absurdity of the other characters, two things that are traditionally roles that men serve.

Recently in sitcoms, more women have begun developing the type of role that Daria has. Shows like Murphy Brown, Roseanne, and Ellen are all shows that center around strong, main female characters. Women have begun to break the rules by becoming more vocal in their criticism of society, and Daria is a prime example of this. Often "Daria" makes interesting observations about what it is like to be a teenager, she contrasts sharply with the other characters in the show, who tend not to think at all. For example in the episode "Misery Chick" people keep asking her for advice when they are feeling bad because they say she is "good at that stuff". Jane points out something about Daria, which explains a lot about her character:

When they say, "You're always unhappy Daria," what they mean is, "You think Daria, I can tell because you don't smile. Now this guy died and it makes me think and that hurts my little head and makes me stop smiling. So tell me how you cope with thinking all the time Daria until I can get back to my normal vegetable state."

This portrays Daria as one of the only characters who truly thinks on the show. It contrasts her not only with men but with women who are confined in the strict roles society has given them.

As Roseanne Arnold said in an interview a few years ago, "It's still dangerous to be a woman who makes fun of men, or a woman who is funny, does any social criticism, or a woman who has a brain, or a woman who has anything to say" (Rowe, 52). This is Daria's role in the show, not only to make commentary on gender, but to make general social commentary and commentary about what it is like growing up an unpopular teenager. It is a dangerous ground to tread, especially when trying to appeal to the same audience that it is ridiculing. Daria avoids this problem by making her observations as sarcastic comments on what other characters say. For example, in one of the first episodes, "Esteemers," she quips, "I don=t have low self-esteem. I just have low esteem for everyone else." This is her attitude throughout the show. Unlike the typical cartoon woman, she is not pretty or popular, and she does not feel the need to be. It is in this way that the character defies the normal boundaries for a female character, and make interesting and stinging observations about life in the nineties.

Here we see three different characters; each of them is a strong woman in her own way. In Daria=s case she manages, despite her unpopularity, to win the affection and respect of the viewers, because of her insight into people, and her commentary on society. Daria is fearless, in part because she is unpopular, so that she feels she has nothing to lose. Helen on the other hand is driven by her desire to gain respect among her co-workers. This is interesting because the generation that she was from was extremely driven to breakdown barriers for women. In this way Helen is the stereotyped woman from her generation. However, we see without a doubt that she does have ultimate control in the family, especially over her husband. Quinn is a parody of the extremely popular, cute, ditzy, high school girl. But we also see Quinn using this stereotype to make herself happy. She always gets what she wants, whether it is a trip to Chez Pierre, or a boyfriend with a ski house.

The roles of gender in television have been changing. There is more of an opportunity for women to be outspoken, and to make social commentary without being chastised for it. The way in which the roles are reversed is mostly by the hiding or expressing of emotion. The women of Daria, very rarely show what they are really thinking, or feeling. They all maintain a façade of complete control, even when they are upset or stressed. The men of Daria, however, seem to be overly emotional, and they express their feelings all the time. In this way typical gender lines are crossed and women can be identified as someone other than the typical housewife, and men can be seen as sensitive and vulnerable.

The truth is that women have assumed stronger, more controlling roles over men in television over the last few years. Daria is an interesting example of one of these shows, which is based primarily on a female lead. But it is also one of the few cartoons that has lived up to the satirical prowess of sitcoms dominated by women. As an article in Salon Magazine says: "And, as usual on the teen-testosterone-pandering joke the network has become, the real woman is the cartoon and the cartoon is the real woman." (Millman)