“It is not gender that is destroying our culture…it is our interpretations of culture that have destroyed gender equality.” » - Cambodian Civil GroupBeing male or female is something that has become a limiting factor recently and in past history. Society considers a person based on their gender; male or female, and categorizes the individual according to their sex (Cambridge, 2011). For centuries, women have been associated with certain characteristics such as being weak, domestic, and incapable of taking responsibility. However, men are considered strong and dominant (Keller, 1994: 234). The entertainment industry gives people the image that men are more dominant over women by presenting women as the primary parental figure, housewife, and sex object. Culture has set very defined roles for each gender, and these roles are driven and promoted by the hit television show Desperate Housewives. Desperate Housewives is an American comedy-drama series that focuses on the lives of four women who work beyond domestic struggles and family life, while confronting the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their community of striking and seemingly perfect suburbia. The representation of these women is very patriarchal, as they are all seen as stay-at-home mothers, dependent on their male partners. The suburban community of the show is based on the advancement of men; and women are marginalized and diminished in stereotypical roles, undoubtedly represented through the character of Gabrielle Solis, played by Eva Longoria. Therefore, Gabrielle is a prime example of how Desperate Housewives upholds the hegemonic ideology that women are docile, dependent, domestic beings. "Every woman knows that whatever her other achievements...... middle of paper...... 205-221. Print.Cott, B and S Saxon. “The Influence of Ethnicity, Class, and Context on Judgments About American Women.” Journal of Social Psychology. 142.7 (2002): 481-499. Print.Cuklanz, Lisa M. and Sujata Moorti. "The 'new' television feminism: representations of women and victimization in prime time." Critical Studies in Media Communication, 23.4 (2006) 302-21.Radway, Janice A. 1991 [1987]. Reading the novel: women, Patriarchy and Popular Culture. Reprinted Edition: University of North Carolina Press. “Gender, Race and Class.” Ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 2003. Print.Wolf, Naomi. "The Myth of Feminine Beauty."..