Taking The Heat By Deborah A. Harris And Patti Giuffre

Gender in the workplace has been becoming an important topic due to the new developmental change in our economy and the push to have the workplace be diverse and highly educated. But within these changes, there is still in idea that women should not be seen equal to men in the workplace. One of the main reason that this is still occurring in today’s times is due to the influence that media has on the public and their idea of what women’s roles should be. One of the most complex ideas that are being seen in the media, is the role of female bosses in films. In the book, Taking the Heat, by Deborah A. Harris and Patti Giuffre discusses how women are seen when they are place into male dominated field such as a kitchen and how men react to this.

The role of the bitch was describe as being “used as a pejorative aimed at women who are not fitting traditional gender roles” (Taking the Heat, pg. 141) and as a “negative response to women in leadership positions, particularly in male-dominated fields, stem from perceived norm violations” (Taking the Heat, pg. 141). It is also seen as a way to have “a strong personality and being able to push back when men questioned (her) authority” (Taking the Heat, pg. 140). One film that is able to show how our society accepts the norms of gender stereotyping of female leader in the workplace is through the movie, The Proposal in 2009. Within the film, the gender roles of women being in a male dominated role is seen as a negative effect for men. Margaret, the main character who is the top editor at the company, is know for managing with an iron fist and does not allow men to overpower her. This is seen in one of the first scenes of the film when she is firing Bob. Instead of accepting the decision she had made, Bob backlashes at her and insults her in front of her other coworkers. This powerful moment within the film shows us that women should not show emotion but rather lead through a dominate complex and thus has us understand that women must act as a “Bitch” leader to make it in a male dominated