Clash of the Gazes. The Feminist Emancipation of Megan Draper in Mad Men (2007–2015)

Abstract

Set in the turbulent 1960s USA, Mad Men focuses on Don Draper, a family man who successfully works in advertising. As gender dynamics are constantly redefined during this period and are central to the TV series, this article examines how Mad Men (2017-2015) problematizes female representation and the male gaze through the character of Megan Draper, Don Draper’s wife. By employing Laura Mulvey’s theory on the male gaze, I propose that the representation of Megan subverts stereotypical gender norms in her marriage and professional life, even if there are limitations in the series’ approach of feminist politics. Further engaging with issues of spectatorship dynamics, I explore how Megan’s emancipation from Don is visualized through a renegotiation of gender politics in 1960s culture and media. More specifically, by drawing intertextual parallels with Vertigo (1958), with reference to the politics of the Pygmalion myth, I examine how Mad Men self- reflexively comments on the representation of women on film as idealized subjects regulated by the gaze.