New Girl: In Stereotypical Fashion

As much as many of us love the show, including myself, it’s important to discuss the ways in which sitcoms like New Girl portray women in quite stereotypical fashion.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m already on my third round of binging the show. But, the more I watch the more I notice--especially when it comes to the representation and portrayal of women.

For starters, there’s Cece, the only woman of color in the main cast of the show. Even more so, she’s very light skinned, lacking the representation of darker-skinned women. And of course, she’s stereotyped at every angle, from her culture to her skin color to her eyes. Moreover, she plays the ‘clueless model,” constantly trying to redeem herself as aware and knowledgeable at every turn, and always questioned because of her career choice.

Then there’s the rest of her “model friends,” stereotyped as dumb and clueless. This goes more into modeling as a career choice for pretty girls who aren’t that ‘smart,” when in reality modeling is a hard job. There is absolutely nothing wrong with choosing a career in modeling, it’s something to be proud of--though it may have its flaws, as with any career.

Jess is somewhat the naive “good girl,” pretending the world is only good and positive and being sure she stays true to her quirky self. Her personality is inflated to portray this girl who refuses to break the rules and is nice to anyone and everyone, almost to a point where it comes back to bite her in the end. She’ll miss red flags in situations that the majority of women in real life would probably never miss, giving people a way to walk all over her. She’s very loud and awkward, making scenes when there’s any sense of discomfort--simply doing things unrealistic to many women.

Overall, the main cast of women in this show alongside the short-term women characters that come in and out seem to be characterized by some ‘flaw’ generalized about women. Being naive, being a model, being quirky etc. In the same sense, there are many women that simply can’t relate to the personalities of characters like Jess, or do relate to the struggle CeCe faces--and are tired of seeing women of color portrayed like this. This goes on for many sitcoms, like The Office, with token women of color, and it may be time we pay a little more attention to it.

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https://www.sbs.com.au/guide/article/2019/09/30/five-reasons-why-new-girl-your-new-fave