So tonight I found myself
watching an episode of Family Guy and laughing at it's dumb humor, and the
character that got the loudest laugh form me was Quagmire. For those of you who
don't know Quagmire's character, he is the most stereotypical male I think
there is on TV. He sleeps with literally everything that moves and has never
been in a long-term relationship. He is only focused on the physical features a
woman possesses and rarely views women as people. Women are essentially sex
toys, sex toys that he can brag about to his boys at the bar. Below is a quick montage of
Quagmire clips from the series, as well as a picture with some of his quotes,
so you can bring yourself up to speed on this guy.
So in
the episode I was watching, I would post a link to the exact episode but
according to this new thing called "copyright" I'm not allowed to
(Anywho, it was season 8 episode 10 and the title is "Big Man on
Hippocampus"), Peter loses his memory and doesn't remember who his wife,
Lois, or family. This eventually leads to Peter and Lois taking a break in
their marriage and gives Quagmire the opportunity to swoop in and sleep with
Lois. I should also mention that Quagmire's dream is to sleep with Lois. Quagmire makes his move late in the episode to sleep
with Lois and it got me thinking about Ward's (1995) article, Talking About Sex: Common Themes About
Sexuality in the Prime-Time Television Programs Children and Adolescents View
Most, and the findings about the common themes for male sexuality.
Quagmire fits the male sexual role that Ward outlined to a "T." As
you may recall from the reading, the 4 main sexual roles for males are valuing
women for their appearance, sex is a defining act of masculinity, men will do
deviant things to bed women, and men are the initiators.
Quagmire
goes after Lois because she is beautiful. If Lois weren’t easy on the eyes then
she wouldn't be a target for Quagmire's sexual missile. Quagmire is also
seen as the ultimate man's man because of all the women he beds. In this
episode he sees Lois without her husband (he lost his memory) and feels the way
to be the man in her life is to sleep with her. Being a man is correlated with
a sexual conquer. Quagmire is also known for his deviant ways of getting women
to bed. Throughout the show he uses all types of deviant things to bed women,
like using roofies, getting them drunk, or taking advantage of their weak
emotional state. In this episode he pounces on Lois's weak emotional state and
invites her over for dinner to get her drunk. Two deviant things if you ask me.
So we have 3 of the 4 sexual roles for Quagmire in this episode, but have no
fear, the man does hit for the cycle! For those who don't know what the
"cycle" is, it is a baseball term that is described here. He is also the initiator with Lois as he is
the one who first pulls her onto the bed. And Quagmire goes 4 for 4! Spoiler
Alert! Lois doesn't end up sleeping with him. Sorry if I ruined that for you.
While
Quagmire's character is very over the top, I do feel that there could be some
problems with how stereotypical he is. The Family Guy audience is largely male
and Quagmire is portrayed as the ultimate male because of the amount of women
he takes to bed. It doesn't help that he is a complete asshole and yet he still
gets the women. This type of character reinforces to the predominately male
audience of what it means to be the ultimate man. Although his character is
funny, he degrades both men and women with his actions and never sees any
consequences from them.
A very interesting and insightful post. Family Guy is full of potentially offensive subject matter and stereotype reinforcing characters. I would tend to agree with you that leading the pack is Quagmire, the quintessential embodiment of Ward's male sexual roles, as you mention.
ReplyDeleteUpon further contemplating the sexual roles of characters from Family Guy, I found myself somewhat befuddled when it came to Meg. Meg's character is unlike that of any other character in the show. Her character serves as both a literal and metaphorical punching bag for all the other characters in the program.
Here is a link to a compilation of instances in which this is more than obvious.
http://youtu.be/r8DzmXqzVjw
Meg's role is clearly submissive in nature, dominated by every other character, however, aside from that, she generally fails to exemplify any of the usual female stereotypes discussed in our various readings.
She's not attractive. Other characters portray her as repulsive, an eyesore to society, often times going out their way to criticize or ridicule her in some way.
Although technically female, she is often criticized or chastised for trying to identify with that group. Often mistaken for a man and unacknowledged as a woman, her identity is degraded to the point that she assumes subhuman qualities.
She doesn't have to deal with objectification, double standards, or resisting sexual advances from male characters because nobody expresses any sexual interest in her. Consequently, issues concerning courting strategies, commitment ideals, and sexual consequences are subverted entirely.
Meg's character is an enigmatic one, always there to serve as the butt of others' jokes, destined to endure endless torment. It is this unique role that excludes her from the traditional stereotypes inherent of every other character, making her both insignificant and vital at the same time.