There are lots of criticisms which can be made about Modern Family, as a distinctly old fashioned show dressed up in a superficial liberal progressivism. It’s nonetheless been a guilty pleasure of mine and I’ve been rewatching it during this grim coronic winter. There’s one aspect which stood out to me during this time which I’d only vaguely noticed during previous viewing: the remarkably gendered way in which personal interests are portrayed during the show. These are the interests depicted for each of the main characters over the ten seasons of the show I’ve watched:
| Jay | Phil | Cameron | Mitchell | Gloria | Claire |
| Boxing Brazilian Jui-jitsu Reading Astronomy Shooting Fishing Model aeroplanes Dog shows Watching football DIY Woodwork Chess Golfing The club Drinking Films Weightlifting Writing (briefly) | Magic Tight-rope walking Inventing Tumbling Cheerleading Stand up comedy Technology (early adopter) Sports (generically) Cheesy films (with Claire) Science fiction and cosplay Online gaming Hip hop dancing | Clowning Drumming Art projects Carol singing Acting Cooking Hosting concerts Hip hop dancing Gym Cooking | Gym Astronomy Reading | Yoga Cooking Dancing Chess | Drinking Yoga Running Cheesy films |
The family patriarch has an astonishing range of personal interests portrayed over ten seasons, suggesting a lifestyle utterly incongruous with his portrayal as a character whose life has been dominated by running his business. Even if some of these activities are in his past (e.g. boxing and BJJ) while other are depicted as seasonal hobbies (e.g. an annual fishing trip) he still spends an incredible amount of time in self-focused activities distinct from work or his home life. In contrast Gloria and Claire barely have any interests, restricted to self-cultivation (yoga and running) or activities which are shared with their partners (dancing, cheesy films, chess). When Claire takes a high-powered job, she’s depicted as neglecting her family and struggling to retain any work/life balance. In contrast, Phil engages in a wide range of activities despite working throughout the show. The depiction of Cam and Mitchell is more ambiguous and I’m not entirely sure how to read it but there’s a lot going on here about how selfhood intersects with gender and sexuality in the representation of family life.
Mark Carrigan 
3 responses to “The insidious sexism of Modern Family”
lol, glad i’m not the only one who’s noticed this problem in the media.
In season 1, Alex asks what Jaegermeister is, and Phil says “You know how in a fairy tale, there’s always a potion that makes the princess fall asleep and then the guys start kissing her? Well this is like that except you don’t wake up in a castle. You wake up in a frat house, with a bad reputation.”
Yes some of the sexism is a little bit more explicit than the implicit stuff I was writing about here….