In analyzing the media and television especially, it is important to remember that life on television differs greatly from real life as people experience it. In real life, things are rarely as complicated, or as simple as they may seem on television. Inside the box, women hold traditionally feminine jobs, work is an environment where anything goes, and working people are virtually nonexistent. Television presents an idealized, sexist workplace and does not truly reflect how the majority of society works.
On the popular television show Friends, the three female characters all hold jobs that are obviously gender specific. Rachel is an employee at Ralph Lauren, a fashion company - surprise, surprise. Monica is a chef at a restaurant and Phoebe is a modern day hippie masseuse. In contrast, their male counterparts Ross, Chandler, and Joey are paleontologists, businessmen, and actors respectively. Are there no women who are actresses or high profile executives? Can it be ignored that some of the world's greatest chefs and fashion designers are men? Friends has often been praised for creating female characters who are independent and self supporting, but the donors of these accolades ignore the simple fact that the writers of Friends firmly keep women in their place by not giving the show's ladies more groundbreaking employment. .
The Simpsons is a prime example of the shocking attitude towards work on television. Homer Simpson, the protagonist, is a man for whom the very idea of work is exhausting. Ironically, his definition of work is stretching out on his desk chair, propping his feet up on his desk, and enjoying a good snooze. The city policemen are also similarly depicted, guzzling coffee and donuts at an alarming rate. This is an insult to all policemen, or anyone who holds down a job. As Jerry Seinfeld states, "Frankly, I don't believe that people think of their office as a workplace anyways.