“Modern” Is as Modern Does: Modern Family and the Disruption of Gender Binaries

Abstract

Bruce E. Drushel opens our eyes to the possibility of a growing complexity in the representation of queer characters in media by examining Mitch and Cam from the popular sitcom Modern Family. Even before commercial television series began regularly to feature openly gay and lesbian characters in the 1970s, writers suggested them through character behaviors that were violations of conventional gender norms. The current ABC situation comedy Modern Family distinguishes itself through its willingness to develop characters, most notably the gay male couple Mitch and Cam, that freely depart from these binaries. While a surface-level view of the pair suggests the continuation of at least an approximation of traditional couple gender roles—Mitch as the masculine breadwinner, complete with beard and conventional masculine appearance and background, and Cam as the feminine stay-at-home nurturer and domestic problem-solver—episodes reveal more sophisticated and multidimensional types. Drushel analyzes the gender behaviors of the Mitch and Cam characters, contrasting theirs with those of characters represented as lesbian or gay among both recent and past US television sitcoms. Among the questions Drushel addresses is whether the Mitch and Cam characters are part of a revolution in representations of gender and sexuality, a pioneering example of gender parody, or merely encouraging anomalies.