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Sex in Sitcoms: Unravelling the Discourses on Sex in Friends

F. Dhaenens

, S. Van Bauwel

Ghent University, Communication Sciences, Gent, Belgium

Ghent University, Gent, Belgium

The sitcom, a genre whose conventions are generally determined by a“comic impetus”(Mills 2009: 5) and essentially a prime-time family genre, has dealt

with sex and sexuality. Levine (2007) points out how sexually suggestive humour and sexual themes such as homosexuality and promiscuity were present

in 1970s American television sitcoms such as M*A*S*H (1972–1983), Happy Days (1974–1984), Soap (1977–1981) or Three’s Company (1977–1984).

The fascination for sex and sexuality in sitcoms did not fade. To this day, it is considered a key characteristic of many sitcoms –especially those labelled as

sexcoms (e.g., Ally McBeal (1997–2002) and Sex and the City (1998–2004)– as many of the conversations and episode themes deal with sex. However,

since sitcoms are predominantly commercial and family-friendly products, they tend to suggest or insinuate sex instead of explicitly depicting sex. Scholars

have produced contradictory readings of how sitcoms represent sex and sexuality. Some argue that sitcoms adhere to a conservative societal view, by

articulating sex to marriage and monogamy and by emphasizing heterosexual scripts. They argue that this could be partly explained by the prevalence

of masculinized representations of sex which resonates with the observation that both heterosexuality and masculinity are represented as the norm in

sitcoms. Others point out the genre dynamics of exaggerating and extrapolating traditional views on sex in order to mock and parody them or underscore

the ability of audiences to read the shows against the grain and uncover queer desires even though the main characters are represented as heterosexual.

Joanne Morreale (2003) reminds us of sitcom’s ambiguity regarding social change, which is underscored in the genre’s integration of multiple contradictory

discourses to attract as many audiences as possible. However, Mills warns that too often the interpretation of the multiple discourses ignores or downplays

the genre’s use of humour. Agreeing that the genre’s comic impetus needs to be taken into account, this paper aims to map and interpret the multiple

discourses on sex that circulate within a single sitcom, namely the ‘classic’sitcom Friends which ran from 1994 to 2004. Even though the last episode aired

more than twenty years ago, the long-lasting popular sitcom is still profiting from ongoing international distribution and broadcasting (e.g., Blu-Ray and

DVD sale, re-runs) and merchandise (e.g., coffee mugs, t-shirts) and is considered a landmark television show and a point-of-reference for many. For the six

central characters –three white heterosexual women and three white heterosexual men in their twenties and thirties – sex is an essential part of life. We

aim to focus on how the series tackles sex practices, activities and desires, rather than taking a broad approach to sexuality or sexual identity. We inquire

how Friends represents sex practices, to what discourses these practices are articulated and what these articulations signify.

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“I Lost 20 Kilos for Your Love”: Reflections of Post-Feminism in the Construction of “New Femininities” in Turkey’s Popular Culture

F. Sayan-Cengiz

Istanbul Bilgi University, Media, Istanbul, Turkey

This paper looks into the reflections of neoliberal post-feminist subjectivities in Turkey’s popular culture through a discourse analysis of 15 Turkish chick-lit

novels published in 2010’s. The relation between post-feminism and neoliberal construction of the female subject in popular culture has been extensively

discussed through analyses of “chick-lit” novels which have been proliferating not only in Western publishing but on a global scale since the 1990’s. These

studies have critically analysed the popular themes ofWestern chick-lit, such as sexual freedom, consumerism, career, and body image in the lives of urban,

educated, young women (Whelehan, 2000; Gill & Herdieckerhoff, 2006). The main line of argumentation in these studies maintains that chick-lit novels

reflect an interplay of post-feminist and neoliberal sensibilities such as “individual choice” and “individual responsibility for disciplining the female body”,

as opposed to the notions of collective struggle for women’s empowerment and gender equality. This paper attempts an investigation of the chick-lit genre

in the context of Turkey, a country which has been witnessing the surge of “neo-conservatism”conjoining with a neoliberal and consumerist rationality in

the last decade (Acar & Altunok, 2013). In this context, feminist movement’s ongoing struggle for gender equality both at political and social levels has

come under attack.The same era has also witnessed the rising popularity of chick-lit novels, not only addressing but also written by young, urban, educated

women. Through a discourse analysis of Turkish chick-lit novels which have earned places in the national bestseller lists in the last six years, this paper

inquires how these novels are situated with regard to the context of rising neo-conservatism, consumerism and neoliberal rationality in Turkey. The prelim‑

inary findings suggest that these novels speak to the globally popular themes of the genre, such as seeking pleasure through consumption and obsession

with body image. However, unlike their Western counterparts, Turkish chick-lit novels refrain from emphasizing women’s sexual freedom, search for sexual

pleasure and independence from “the family”. In these novels it is possible to follow themes of idealized family ties, and an ultimate search for “the per‑

fect marriage”. They stand in sharp contrast to a history of women’s authorship in Turkey which has questioned the patriarchy and relations of inequality

pervading the institution of marriage in this country. The paper suggests an analysis of the ways in which traditional gender roles are being reproduced

within new storylines of young, urban, educated women navigating possibilities of individual empowerment through pleasures of consumption in contem‑

porary Turkey. References: Acar, Feride and Altunok, Gülbanu (2013). “The ‘Politics of Intimate’at the Intersection of Neo-liberalism and Neo-conservatism

in Contemporary Turkey,”Women’s Studies International Forum, 41(1): 14–23. Gill, Rosalind and Herdieckerhoff, Elena (2006). “Re-writing the Romance:

New Femininities in Chick Lit?” Feminist Media Studies, 6(4): 487–504. Whelehan, Imelda (2000). Popular Culture and the Future of Feminism. London:

TheWomen’s Press.