MAPACA

Mid-Atlantic Popular &
American Culture Association

Since its premier in 2007, AMC’s Mad Men has been criticized for its portrayal of interpersonal relationships in the United States in the 1960s and 70s, especially as they relate to gender. One of the most highly debated characters on the show is Betty Draper, wife and eventual ex-wife of the show’s lead man, Donald Draper. Betty begins the series as a sympathetic character if only because she is the living, breathing stereotype of an American woman in the mid-20th century: a stay-at-home mother with two children whose husband works in the city and provides for her while she tends to the demands of suburban home life. By Season 3, however, with her divorce from Don and her obvious decline into irresponsible mothering, Betty becomes “the most hated woman on television.” When analyzed through the lenses of second and third wave feminism, as discussed by Betty Friedan and RadicaLesbians especially, Betty’s regression marks the the dangers of complicity with social systems that squander the importance of interpersonal relations, individuality and self-efficacy. She has “everything” that society tells her she should have and is still unhappy, suffering from the so-called “feminine mystique.” However, rather than move out of her social confinement, Betty falls into a vicious cycle of self-destruction mediated only by the disparagement of those closest to her. As the final season concludes in 2014, it remains to be seen whether Betty Draper will earn back the sympathies of her audience; however, viewers should, in their final thoughts, consider this: is it Betty Draper that we hate? – or is it the system that Betty Draper abides by? As much as Betty Draper may be a villain, she may just as well be a cautionary martyr: a sacrifice to a culture of expectation.