I love Lucy： A Reproduction of the Gender Roles in the 1950s America

The post-war American culture and society were different from that during the war and were characterized by gender inequality. The so-called “GI Bill” （in the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944）， which offered “veterans substantial housing and educational benefits as well as low-interest loans to start up businesses，” reflected as well as caused gender inequality， because only men could get access to particular benefits and majority of the servicemen were male . Women， on the other hand， were disempowered in the society at that time. Due to the return of male soldiers， a massive number of women， who had joined the US labor force during the war， were forced to leave the market or driven to “l(fā)ess well-paid ‘pink-collar’ jobs”. Also， social and cultural forces directed women to stay in the domestic sphere to take care of their families. These societal and cultural norms in post-war America shaped the contents on television shows， which were one of the most popular entertainments among Americans particular households in the 1950s.

I Love Lucy， a strikingly popular American situation comedy， which was aired from 1951 to 1957， reproduces the gender relations in the American society in the 1950s through depictions of endless domestic issues and comedies between two couples. I Love Lucy reveals the unequal gender relation in the 1950s American society， through the portrayal of the unequal power relation between Ricky and Lucy in terms of the repetitive narratives. Throughout the show as a whole， “Lucy is barely in control， constantly attempting to escape domesticity - her ‘situation，’ her job， in the home always trying to get into show business by getting into Ricky’s ‘a(chǎn)ct’” . Lucy crazily tries to step into the show business by disrupting and performing on Ricky’s shows for many times， however Lucy keeps failing whereas Ricky has a stabilized career in the show business. Also， the endless repetitious disequilibrium caused by Lucy can be easily resolved as if Lucy’s problems are not important. A majority of the episodes end with a kiss between Ricky and Lucy without directly solve the conflicts.

Works Cited

Mellencamp， Patricia. \"Situation Comedy， Feminism， and Freud： Discourses of Gracie and Lucy.\"

Walker， Nancy A. \"Review： Not June Cleaver， Women and Gender in Postwar America.\"