Teller's Sons Of Anarchy

Today, television shows have become such an integral part of our lives that we often times binge watch season episodes of our favorite shows on Netflix for hours at a time; and even forbid ourselves from missing our favorite shows by paying extra costs for DVR features for anytime we may not be able to watch them in live time. Unfortunately, television series and seasons of our favorite shows have become so glamorized and important in our lives that we tend to overlook the sexism laid upon characters that are often subtly presented, yet sometimes acerbically insulting to both men and women.
Sons of Anarchy is a well-known show that airs on FX Networks, has an all-star cast, a deep, heartfelt story line that chronicles the rough life of the …show more content…
For example, Gemma is seen as the queen bee of the “Old Ladies” and is also Jax Teller’s overbearing, controlling mother. In the series, she is seen as a cutthroat woman who will do any and everything it takes to keep SAMCRO together and to hold some type of power within the club. Gemma is typically portrayed as an irrational, emotional, power-hungry, back-stabber who uses her position to get what she wants – which is complete control over her son and what goes on within SAMCRO. This is an example of hostile sexism because Gemma is seen as an opponent to the men within SAMCRO who feel as if only they have what it takes to successfully run and manage SAMCRO. Gemma feels as if she has the right to control the men and SAMCRO because she is the mother of Jax, the clubs leader. In addition, Gemma also goes against one of the main tenets of the backlash theory-prescriptive norms for woman, or the idea of how a woman should be such as being kind, warm, communal, selfless, and accommodating by choosing to be irrational, power-crazed, controlling, and sometimes spiteful. In other words, Gemma is in violation of proscriptive stereotypes, how men and women should not be. In contrast, the men of SAMCRO are “ordained” to be leaders and are the only ones who are …show more content…
SAMCRO confirms this notion when they attempt to change the purpose of their club from illegal, gang activity towards a more “legitimate” direction, establishing and running a local establishment for prostitution, in which they benefit financially off of the female prostitutes and reap a sense of control from the power they can exhort on them. This is also a clear example of hostile sexism because it legitimizes the violence against women who dare challenge the male supremacy of the men who sexually exploit them or those who blemish male honor or leadership. Again, women are not capable of being anything more than prostitutes, drug addicts, or “Old Ladies.” Such an idea can be linked to one of the tenets of precarious manhood, the idea that manhood is seen as an unjustified state requiring continual proof and validation, and if manhood is elusive and tenuous, any challenges to one’s manhood may provoke anxiety and gender-identity threats. For example, since Gemma, a woman, is continuously trying to take control of SAMCRO, the men may feel as if they need to prove their manly competence, as a result of feeling like Gemma is threatening their manhood. In order to show a sense of manliness, the men decide to engage in the prostitute business in order to demonstrate their manhood and the