February 21st-Fifth Class

During this class, we talked about gender vs. sex. For our assignment, we were asked to pick our favorite TV show and analyze the class and gender messages. My favorite show is Dexter and I noticed A LOT of gender and class messages. I never really noticed them, but I found a lot. Dexter is a blood spatter analysist for the Miami Police Department's forensic team. Like every normal person, he has a hobby that he does in his spare time. But his choice of hobby isn't so normal. He kills guilty criminals. He believes that they don't deserve to live in jail. Like most TV shows, Dexter is portrayed as the masculine, non-emotional husband that brings in all the money. His wife, Rita, is portrayed as the helpless, innocent, stay at home mom. She was abused in her previous marriage, so she is very vulnerable but surprisingly, she gives everybody the benefit of the doubt. One look at her and anyone can tell she is a mother. She is always wearing a floral dress, barely any make up, and her hair is usually undone. It was interesting to see the gender roles and how a lot of TV shows have the same gender messages.