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elaine breaks a rule in "the Deal"
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In "The Deal" we learned Elaine and Jerry make a deal to be only friends with benefits, yet maintain and adhere to the three rules they come up with. Elaine even comes up with the rules to have no strings attached.
In Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys? Worth sets the scene when Jerry and Elaine talk freely about sex and there is some sexual tension created that viewers don't usually see between Jerry and Elaine. They make sure to "not destroy the friendship (this) but still be able to have sex (that) without having to develop a romantic involvement (the other)" (34).
Elaine breaks the stereotype by coming up with a rule, yet falls back into the stereotype when she does want "this, that, and the other," or more simply, she wants to be friends who are in a committed romantic relationship, which includes sex. She wants it all! This is where we see the stereotypes highlighted, as well as in many other episodes where she is non-stereotypical, but falls under the pressure of being a stereotypical woman.
Worth discusses her want of all three things with Jerry, and other men, and placing a "double-standard when it comes to men" (35). What she really wants and how she is portrayed are totally different, especially when she makes it clear she has no interest in marriage or children, yet tells George that she should be getting married because she has all the qualifications in "The Engagement." For Elaine, it is more about the principle that she could and should get married, rather than the want to get married.
Another stereotype she portrays is being "too much to handle." In "The Bizarro Jerry" her new friends who are total opposites of her regular male counterparts and cannot handle her personality or mannerisms, as well as her "get out!" action. This almost can be argued that men find her too much to handle, which can be a stereotypical trait of women whom men can't handle, like high-maintenance women. This seems like a reflection of our society's view on women and Elaine Benes highlights these stereotypes.
In Elaine Benes: Feminist Icon or Just One of the Boys? Worth sets the scene when Jerry and Elaine talk freely about sex and there is some sexual tension created that viewers don't usually see between Jerry and Elaine. They make sure to "not destroy the friendship (this) but still be able to have sex (that) without having to develop a romantic involvement (the other)" (34).
Elaine breaks the stereotype by coming up with a rule, yet falls back into the stereotype when she does want "this, that, and the other," or more simply, she wants to be friends who are in a committed romantic relationship, which includes sex. She wants it all! This is where we see the stereotypes highlighted, as well as in many other episodes where she is non-stereotypical, but falls under the pressure of being a stereotypical woman.
Worth discusses her want of all three things with Jerry, and other men, and placing a "double-standard when it comes to men" (35). What she really wants and how she is portrayed are totally different, especially when she makes it clear she has no interest in marriage or children, yet tells George that she should be getting married because she has all the qualifications in "The Engagement." For Elaine, it is more about the principle that she could and should get married, rather than the want to get married.
Another stereotype she portrays is being "too much to handle." In "The Bizarro Jerry" her new friends who are total opposites of her regular male counterparts and cannot handle her personality or mannerisms, as well as her "get out!" action. This almost can be argued that men find her too much to handle, which can be a stereotypical trait of women whom men can't handle, like high-maintenance women. This seems like a reflection of our society's view on women and Elaine Benes highlights these stereotypes.