Full disclosure- I’m a Trekkie. I’m a Whedonite. My partner is teaching me to be a Whovian. In a word, I’m nerdy. And in continuing my enjoyment of some of the big nerd franchises, I’ve really been struck by the messages used to reinforce or question perceptions of single mothers.
Our society places a premium on the nuclear family model with patriarchal gender roles as the proper habitat for good citizens. Much of our public policy and economy is structured around the idealized image of competent, assertive male breadwinners and loyal, chaste housewives who remain appendages to others and attain neither economic independence nor fulfillment outside the role of caregiver to their families. Social shaming results no matter the course chosen, with women who stay at home being shamed for not performing economically rewarded work, and those who work shamed for abandoning traditional femininity, accused of warping their children’s development. Anything which could make it easier for women to determine the course of their own sexuality, or pursue career paths outside caregiver, is viewed as highly suspect. Beyond this, our government spends hundreds of millions encouraging marriage, to say nothing of its subsidy to churches which reinforce the necessity of women’s occupation in the home.
These problems are compounded for the single mother- in the case of childbearing out of wedlock, her morality is considered forfeit, and she is to be reminded by culture and policy that she has (willingly or not) violated the rules society has placed on the use of her body. She will be criticized for fostering delinquency if she works outside the home, and criticized for laziness if she doesn’t. Race is obviously a factor here, as these arguments are rhetorically used particularly against Women of Color. Their result is to restrict funding for social programs which help everyone, and reinforce the myth of personal effort as the main determinant of people’s prosperity. Shaming of single mothers is a dangerous weapon used to reinforce conservative notions of women’s proper place, undermine cross racial solidarity, and damage the welfare state.
With this in mind, we should examine how our media reinforces or questions this trend. To that end, I am evaluating three episodes, one each from Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Dr. Who, that prominently feature single mothers (Dr. Beverly Crusher, widowed mother of Wesley, morality is not questioned but is still put in the bind of work vs. domesticity, white; Nikki Wood, teen mother of Robin, very work focused, morality is questioned-also happens to be her generation’s Vampire Slayer, black; Nancy, teen mother of Jamie, who is community focused, but has lost her own child, and is generally marginalized-albeit presented in a nigh exclusively favorable light, white.)
Examples and analysis below the fold
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