"They Ain't No Spring Chickens!": A Cultural Analysis of Representations of Older Women in Everybody Loves Raymond.

This thesis examines how prime time television assigns traditional gender
roles for older women through a case study of the award-winning sitcom
Everybody Loves Raymond, and strives to answer questions raised in regard to
age/gender role representations. This study seeks, as well, to explore the ways in
which the representations of older women on television and media articles about
these television texts construct reality, and the extent to which prime time
television reinforces stereotypical " realities" of older women. Though traditional
effects theory looks at the ways in which individuals are influenced- or imitaterole
models presented in the media, by concentrating on textual and paratextual
analysis this study will concentrate on the subtle ways in which such
constructions are interpreted by those that mediate between the text and the
audience, such as critics and reviewers. Finally, this thesis posits the necessity of
feminist theory in the field of communication when engaging in research that
looks at the intersections of gender with issues of race, class and age.