In what ways are men and women different in episodes of Ally Mcbeal.
In Ally Mcbeal the men and women are very different and these differences mount throughout the series there are defined gender roles in which we the observer can see the common aspects of masculinity that are shown and the common aspects of femininity that are also shown.
We find that in the episode man are not in “touch” with their emotions because the find it hard to show emotion even during a time of grieving. We find evidence of this when Richard Fish’s uncle dies and he is unable to cry, he is showing that perhaps it is less “manly” for a man to be seen crying and indeed this is a common stereotype about men. The only time the audience really see Richard’s emotions is in his court battle to be able to say how much his uncle detested short people at his funeral. He tries to mask his real feelings and barricades them through saying how much his uncle hated short people. I think that because Richard does not cry he is in a way conforming to what society expects from men and also because men are seen as strong and dominant they do not want to look less masculine especially in front of women.
