Monday, 2.2.2009

Today, I am going to write about Orange County Choppers. In case any of you are not familiar with this show, it is a reality show based on a family who created a business making motorcycles. In the show, the father, Paul Sr., owns and runs the business, and his 2 sons work for him. I chose this show because of the patriarchal family it portrays, meaning the father is the head of the house. It is clear in this show, that the father is the superior, breadwinner of the family, while the mother is barely mentioned. The father is constantly critical of his 2 children, caring for them them with a tough love attitude. During this episode that I watched, the team of workers were interviewing candidates for an open position for a welder/fabricator. It was clear that while women were being interviewed, the team did not take them seriously. This stems from the stereotypes that women are not capable of being a mechanic, because it is a man's job. Also, the team had a visit from a local sponsor, which consisted of four half dressed ladies, prancing around the garage, mumbling about getting a little dirt on their hands.

While watching this show, it was very clear to me the affects this could have on the society. First, the idea of a patriarchal family. Next, the idea that women are perceived as not being capable of doing a "man's" job. However, there is no problem if women want to dance around the garage almost naked, like a sex symbol. Lastly, the men on the team make a joke out of the female applicants.

I usually do not watch this show all that much. My husband is a huge fan, and it is usually just background noise for me. Occasionally, I will look up to see some of the beautiful bikes they create. However, this episode happened to catch my attention when a show about creating motorcycles turned into a show about a garage full of half-dressed girls, acting like complete airheads.