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In Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys by Sarah E. Worth, Elaine Benes, the character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Seinfeld (1989-98), is described as “…the only one with a degree from a highly selective college, [….] the only one that works in a field that would require such an education, [….] the only who has a steady job through the whole series, [….] and has plenty of self-determination” (Worth 28-29). All of these traits and accomplishments of Elaine would make her a non-stereotypical woman portrayed in television in the 1990s. For example, Elaine does not need a man or to stay with a man for support, yet picks her values and beliefs first, like in “The Couch” (6.5). Also, in “The Soup Nazi” (7.6), she isn’t afraid of doing whatever she wants and doesn’t follow the rules for the line at the soup place. Lastly, in “The Deal” (2.9) Elaine agrees to a sexual relationship with Jerry, no emotions involved that could lead to more than sex, or something that could ruin their friendship, which she even comes up with the rules. Even though Worth believes that Elaine is one of the female sitcom characters that does not fit or portray a stereotypical female, she still highlights some of those stereotypes by not doing them, and sometimes doing them after she has done something to prove them wrong.
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Elaine is described as "an independent woman in many ways that many other media women are not....she defies the feminine stereotypes [and] is not ultra-thin or obsessed with her weight" (Worth 35). She is seen as a female sitcom character that is all-around independent and an icon for women at the time of the show's run in the late '80s to late '90s. Although this character was seen as a feminist in some lights, she also did shed some light on the stereotypes of women because of her interaction with her male counterparts as "one of the boys."