In the Show “Sons of Anarchy”, shown on FX, a motorcycle gang called the Sons of Anarchy (Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original) or SAMCRO, rule the streets of a fictional town called Charming, just outside of Oakland California. Like in most societies, there is a hierarchy of men in the club from President, Sgt. at Arms, which is the president's right hand man, and then the vice-president. The higher up in the structure you get the more power and respect people will show you. This is not however, exclusive to the men associated with the club. The women who are associated with the club have their own hierarchy ranging from the old lady (wife of a member), to the crow eater (club groupies). With each level, women are given more prominent responsibilities but one fact remains the same for all women that are part of the club. When you join the club, you are here to please the members and do anything to help or protect the club. In the club, patriarchal views of a male dominate biker gang that objectify women as sex objects and use them for the clubs enjoyment and dirty work represent a non-progressive attitude towards women.
When a member of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club gets married, his wife, now old lady becomes not only a part of his family, but of the clubs family. Old ladies are expected to serve the clubs needs whether it comes to cooking, cleaning or other jobs. This plays right into the housewife stereotype because the old lady loses her sense of independence and freedom and now functions only as helper to the club, and as pleasure to her man. The life of an old lady is also a life that provides little fulfillment to her. Every man in the club is in danger at all times and the men sacrifice most of their family time to do various duties for the club. The men often cheat on their wives and abuse them but the old lady is supposed to put up with that try her best to make the man happy. This completely degrades the women in the show and proves that in a male dominated society, women still struggle to find a voice.
Although the life of an old lady is one of sacrifice and submissiveness, the life of a “mama” and a “crow eater” are ones of complete subjections. The roles of these two people are simple; provide the men with a good time by any means necessary. These women are around to simply be sex objects and their agency is completely taken away. In one occurrence, Jax, the main character of the show, needs two dead bodies from a morgue to stage a fake murder but the man who works there will only do it if he gets to sleep with one of the mamas of the club. Jax approaches the girl and doesn't ask her to do this act; he tells her she needs to. She does it only under the condition that she gets to have sex with Jax. The way the show, uses women as pawns in a grander scheme dictated by men, show the lack of a culture are equality that people have worked so hard to get.
In Sons Of Anarchy, not only are the women put into a box of typical stereotypes such as the housewife, sex object, and seductress, the men are also portrayed as pimps and thugs. Men and women are both shown in ways that display a male’s lens of the world that are outdated and make both genders look bad. the fact the this show is based on real life biker gangs in America show that for all the progress that has been made, certain parts of society still lag behind in a progressive movement that tries to break gender stereotypes. Sons of Anarchy is one of my favorite shows that I have ever watched, but the way men and women are portrayed in this show represent how far society still has to go to reach gender equality.
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