Praising the Patriarchal

The picture to the left is an image of Alexis and Jim Bellino attending mass. In the image Jim seems to be starting Alexis down to make sure she is acting as he pleases because he is the dominant figure in their traditional patriarchal relationship.

Alexis and Jim Bellino (clip)

The above clip encompasses pretty much everything that is wrong with The Real Housewives of Orange County, and why they are damaging the image of a modern day woman. First of all, Alexis Bellino states that Jim would not want her to have another job, therefore her job is to be the best mom and wife she can be. This is completely demeaning to women because it clearly portrays the male dominance in her relationship because Jim is the decision-maker. Although in the most recent season of The Real Housewives Alexis does start to have her own job in making a dress line, she states that the second it gets in the way of her relationship and marriage (aka the second Jim doesn’t want her to continue on with this job) she will quit and go back to full time housewife. In the most recent episode of The Real Housewives Alexis takes this even further by stating that, “Jim is the man and he is the final decision maker”. This proves that the women on this show truly don’t have an incentive to work for themselves when they could just ride on what their husband is making. But it also shows that even when the women do want to work, it is up to their husband’s discretion.

Jim and Alexis praise the fact that their marriage is a traditional marriage and they continuously relate it to the church and with God. This whole concept is very interesting because in Padgett’s article, he explains that women’s roles in the church and at home is always to submit to the man (23-4). The church sees it this way because women were made second to that of man; Eve was created from Adam. In the episode on Monday June 5, 2011 Alexis relates her subservience to her husband completely to this idea in agreeing to the fact that women were made from man’s bones, so men should be in charge. I completely do not agree with this because don’t think that we are supposed to take everything the Bibles says so literally, but in the patriarchal religious relationships males feed off of this idea.

Not only is this show displaying a patriarchal society, but also it is completely glamorizing the idea of one. These women get to live lives of luxury because they do not work. They are able to use their husband’s money to relax and keep their bodies in shape. This is clearly not the life of your typical housewife because the majority of real world housewives do not have the option of having two nannies for three children. Because of this huge gap between reality and what is being displayed on television this could create a negative connotation for young girls in today’s society. Those who watch this show may get the idea of, why work when I can get everything I want if I just climb the ladder. These women seem to enjoy their lives by having little freedom, so why shouldn’t I want to be like that? If this ends up to be the case, this show will have a terrible affect on society because it will move us backwards after all the hard work that has been enforced in order to have equal marriage rights for women in today’s world.