"Inappropriate Clothing" and A Double Standard

Several students in class did presentations about the different gender typing and gender roles portrayed in fairy tales. Chelsea showed how these male/female roles are depicted on the screen by use of dress, body type, and dialog. The male heroes are overly muscular, as we have all said before, but Chelsea also brought out the point that they are two-dimensional and do not have enough dialog to give them a real personality. The female characters in fairy tale based movies do seem to have more dialog and singing parts. It does seem that we get to "know" the female characters better and know more about their lives than the male characters. I guess you could say that the male figures are in a supporting role. Many times the heroes don't have much personality, they only have to be charming and high-ranking and able to save the princess from whatever bad situation she is in. The female characters have a more fully developed personality and also have a life history that the male characters often lack. However, as Chelsea said, they are depicted as beautiful and helpless, and wearing "inappropriate" clothing. I liked her use of the word "inappropriate" because it is true that the women often wear pretty gowns, even when they are cleaning. Cinderella actually did wear a plain dress and apron when she was cleaning the floors, but she still looked very pretty. As Matt pointed out during his presentation, she was surrounded by beautiful bubbles when she cleaned, rather than dirt or dust. But getting back to the "inappropriate" clothing, I've noticed that women in older tv shows such as "Leave It To Beaver" or "Brady Bunch" worked around their homes in snug dresses, jewelry, and heels. Their hair was always perfect and they never looked like they got dirty while cleaning. Notice in this clip from the opening of "Leave it to Beaver" that the mom is perfectly dressed and has on her make-up and jewelry, even though it must be early in the morning because she is handing out the lunch boxes to the kids before they go to school. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZAR7Q28V9g
So she had to get up, do her hair and make-up, put on a nice dress, and make the kids lunches before they go out the door. She probably cooked breakfast for everyone too. This is, of course, a television program and the actors and actresses would be made to look their best, but it also gives women a false standard to live up to. I wonder how many women try to live up to the standard of looking pretty even while they work or do manual labor? Men certainly don't have such a standard. Men, both then and now, might wear nice suits if they work in an office, but they get to wear strong, sturdy, protective clothing such as bib overalls or jeans and a flannel shirt if they are doing some kind of "dirty work." We also don't expect them to stay clean while they are doing said work. You never see a man out working on his car in his garage, wearing a suit and tie, so why were women expected to wear dresses, (or gowns in the fairy tales) while they were working? It is another double standard! Men aren't expected to wear inappropriate clothing, and women shouldn't be expected to, either! Although this standard has changed somewhat since the 1950's, I think women are still expected to look pretty and clean no matter what they are doing. Many tv moms still look pretty good as they move around their houses. I don't have time for alot of tv, but there are a couple of shows that I saw on Wednesday nights that have tv moms. One is called "Modern Family" and one is called "Cougartown". In both of these, the moms look very pretty and very sexy, even while they are cooking or taking care of the kids in the house. Our fashion has changed--women no longer wear dresses all the time--but I don't think our (double) standards have changed! I think it is time that women in tv and movies get to be happy and have healthy relationships even while wearing comfortable and appropriate clothing.