Lorelai Gilmore and her daughter Rory have a slightly unrealistic relationship for most of the show - not all mothers and daughters get along that well - but I feel that Lorelai depicts the 'ideal' single mom.
Unlike some of the media mothers who recieve an enormous ammount of money that assists them in raising their children, Lorelai works her way to the top of the totem pole. She starts off as the maid of a hotel that she will spend the majority of her Rory's early years working at. She's able to save up enough to buy a house and becomes the manager of that very hotel she had been cleaning in the beginning. This is a much more realistic (although not always attainable) goal for single mothers today who don't recieve the majority of someone's money in their will. Gilmore Girls does a good job of showing the organizing that Juffer talks about in Single Mother. Although she does receive help from her extremely rich parents with Rory's schooling, she still insists on being self sufficient with her home and her bills.
Another thing we talked about in class was the support of a community. Lorelai and Rory have exactly that. Stars Hollow is a very small town and they have all known - and helped raise - Rory since birth. With their help, Lorelai is able to balance being a mom and also being able to have relationships (there are a few men on the show that become steady boyfriends).
Overall, Loralei is a self sufficient, independant woman who, with the help of her community, has figured out the juggling act of being a single mom. I think Jane Juffer would be proud.
I was surprised no one talked about Gilmore Girls in class. You're right in saying that it depicts probably most accurately (for a TV series anyways) what single mothers go through and how they actually live life. I commented on Lauren's blog about this, too, but Loreli also rejects a lot of help from others because she learned early on she couldn't rely entirely on others. Her parents nearly disowned her when they found out she was pregnant with Rory and ultimately, her relationship with Christopher didn't last and he left Rory to be raised solely by her mom. Juffer doesn't talk about circumstances in which single parents might be dissuaded from being helped, which is kind of a bummer, since that's more apparent than most think.
ReplyDeleteGilmore girls, Gossip Girls, Mean Girls... wow, the girls have it i guess. Wonderful!
ReplyDelete