More often than not, we see male protagonists in T.V. shows. To see a strong women in media today, usually means she is single, and is looking for love. But the hit show Grey’s Anatomy does not reflect this entirely. With the more than half the cast being female, Grey’s is a breath of fresh air in our society. Sure the show has drama, and a lot of times that drama involves love, but the show itself is centered around capable young doctors all trying to become surgeons. The show never suggests that being a doctor is a man’s job, and a woman belongs at home. Grey’s Anatomy simply shows people working hard everyday to achieve a goal, and lets us sit back and enjoy the journey.
To become a surgeon, all the interns follow around the attendees, help, and hopefully learn. There is hardly ever a moment to themselves.They wake up super early in the morning, and get home really late at night. Probably sleep deprived, these interns just try to get by. But never in the show do we see the women, or anyone in general, being judged for what they look like. It makes sense considering it is a place of work, and they are literally saving lives day in and day out. No one is getting ahead by their looks, men or women. The female characters in this show hardly wear makeup and their hair is usually in a ponytail. Also, there is no opportunity to objectify a woman’s body because they are constantly wearing scrubs. Viewers never see these characters using their bodies to advance. And if they try to, they are shut down, because that stuff does not fly in Seattle Grace Hospital.
In a lot of the shows on television now, when we see women, they are pitted against each other. They hate each other for some dumb reason, and no matter what they will never be friends because women hold grudges. But this isn’t the case in Grey’s Anatomy. The characters of this show are in it together, they are struggling through the same journey. Characters Meredith Grey and Christina Yang become best friends during this journey. They rely on each other for support and the fight all their battles together. They become so inseparable that they are given the nickname the “twisted sisters”. To spice things up though, the writers of Grey’s added a character that in any other show would have been the antagonist. They added Lexi Grey, who just so happens to be Meredith’s half sister who she has never met (it’s a complicated situation). But still these two strong females work things out and become great friends. They don’t compete to be more well liked than the other. They just get their jobs done.
With any good show, of course there is love. Sadly though, the love in this show seems to be male dominated. The first relationship we see is between Meredith and Derek Shepherd, who turns out to be Meredith’s boss. As soon as Meredith finds this out, she tries to end it, but that doesn’t happen because Derek swoons the heck out of her. He is McDreamy after all. When all the dust begins to settle, we then find out Derek is married. So everything goes down, and Meredith and Derek end up back together. Derek is the player and Meredith is the game. If one relationship like this isn’t enough, well then Grey’s adds in Christina and Dr. Burke, who also happens to be Christiana’s boss. When all this is happening, of course people in the show criticize these two characters for trying to get ahead with sex. Although the viewers know it not to be true, Meredith and Christina are still looked down on because of this.
Grey’s Anatomy is something like I’ve never seen before.The lives of these women are not just focused around men, but around careers and aspirations. It makes it feel okay to be strong and smart. It also makes it feel okay if you don’t always have your life together. Based on the show, the only thing you have to do to get your job done is know your stuff. No makeup or cleavage required.
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