Desperate Housewives a show on the ABC network in the USA is definitely a woman centric
show and has been running for the past six seasons with a seventh season in the pipe line. This show critically is seen to be a portrayal of the gender roles that women play in todays society and their relations with the men of their house and how mindsets change and it can get sour at times.
This is a show which therefore acts as a perfect representation of gender roles among women. This is very important as it gives women a new alternative of how they would want to be and who they can consider as their role models. Rather then having just one model to follow, through its entire journey, Desperate Housewives has given a varying view of gender roles in todays day and age.
All the wives in the show are basically stay at home mothers but they are seen to all be having their own lives and aspirations and their obligations to their families. While Bree wants to be a housewife and spends her time teaching others to be good cooks and wives, but Gabby was a model and has a hard time being bogged down and fights it out. This is in stark contrast to Lynette which was a business woman but now is caught in the throws of married life which comes to a head in the sixth season where she finds herself struggle to cope up with the loss of her child and her strained relation with her husband.
Furthermore it can also be seen as a kind of representation of the sexual liberation of women which was not seen in other television programs.
Hence one can easily however argue that this is a portrayal of the greater stereotypes in society which plagues the human population today. This is one thing portrayed to a great effect in the latest season of this show where they bring in Robin the ex-stripper onto Wisteria lane and exploring a possibility of a possible Lesbian relationship between the newest entrants Robin and Katherine.