Sexism and Racism in The Office

That's what she said.

Gif courtesy of wifflegif.com

This iconic phrase from The Office, although humorous, is perhaps one of the most sexist phrases used in popular culture. The joking nature of the show, and the fact that it is in itself a joke, only perpetuates the degradation of women, because no one takes it as a serious issue. However, the "that's what she said" jokes are only the tip of the ice burg. The show has many sexist themes, usually used to promote laughter. For one example, there are very few women in the "corporate rungs" of Dunder Mifflin. In fact, the character Jan Levinson is the only one mentioned. To make it worse, she ends up abusing her power by having a secret affair with one of her employees. This only furthers the idea that women are incapable of successfully having jobs in the corporate world. Another sexist issue happens right inside the Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch. For starters, women rarely excel to the top at this branch. There was only one women manager and she used her connections to get the job, not her own skill. She was also unable to do her job correctly and even ended up leaving the company to raise a child. All of which only strengthen the sexist stereotypes of women in the workplace. In general, as this video shows, the women in the show are generally oversexualized and never treated with the same level of respect as men.

The video provides many examples of how the receptionist Pam, which plays on another sexist stereotype, for the first several seasons only ever does things to please her fiance, Roy. They lightly touch on the fact that Pam gives up her dreams of being an artist because Roy doesn't want her to. This is an issue many women face today; they often give up what they want in order to be the ideal girlfriend, fiance, wife, mother, etc. This is not just an issue in America, either. According to an article in New.com.au, researchers at AMP and Newspoll found that "Aussie women are more likely to shelve their dreams because of financial concerns" (News.com.au). Although an article by The Cut, part of New York Magazine, challenged this idea a little bit by showing a study where "more than 80% of men [said] they'd always wanted to be a father" whereas "just 70% of women felt the same way" (nymag.com), the fact remains that women are the ones who have to, like Pam, put their dreams and lives on hold for the significant others, and usually never the other way around. Another sexist issue that is raised with the character Pam, which I briefly mentioned above, is how she is the receptionist despite her ability to do so much more. By the end of the series, she has worked her way up to a sales job, however she spent most of her career answering phones and taking notes. Business Insider explored this inequality in the work place and discuss how women are expected to be "happy" about doing the "'office housework,' or low-value tasks like taking notes" (businessinsider.com). 

Sexism is not the only issue The Office uses to gain laughs. There are also many situations perpetuating racist stereotypes. Take the episode where they discuss diversity. The manager of the branch, Michael Scott, tries to teach the office about accepting other cultures but ends up furthering just about every racist stereotype in the book. 

In fact, after one particularly racist comment to an Indian woman, named Kelly, about the stereotypes of Indians owning convenience stores, Michael gets slapped.

Gif courtesy of uproxx.com

In general, there are just many instances of insensitivity and stereotypes are constantly being furthered. One episode after the Scranton branch merged with a branch in Connecticut, they found out one of the new employees was an ex-convict. Everyone's first assumption was the new African American man. Although he had spent some time in prison for fraud, it still perpetuates the stereotypes that African Americans are more likely to go to jail. 

The show also bolsters white privilege. 

Gif courtesy of Buzzfeed

Tim Wise's White Like Me: Race, Racism, and White Privilege in America, which we watched as part of a class assignment, helps explain the idea of what privilege and how some of these racist stereotype formed. To put it best, "And let's face it: there's no denying that white people in the U.S. have had privileges throughout history that people of color simply haven't...And whether we want to acknowledge it or not, this kind of systematic white privilege and race-based favoritism is built into the very foundation of the country" (Tim Wise). 

Again, you can see a lot of the sexism and racism they touched on in The Office is really only for comedic effect. However, sexism and racism are still very large issues that we face in today's culture. There are many prominent examples of sexism in the U.S. today. The wage gap is a very large one. Not only are women making less than men, but they are usually not able to excel as high as men in the workplace. According to College Times, women typically earn less than men in nearly 99% of all occupations(collegetimes.co). College Times also found that "four in ten businesses worldwide have no women in senior management" (collegetimes.co). Another example of how women are disadvantaged in the workplace, and one most of us are familiar with, is Jennifer Lawrence and her efforts to receive the same compensation as men. USA Today discussed her trials and though Lawrence said her "problem's aren't exactly relatable," they help show women everywhere how to take power into their own hands (usatoday.com). Racism is also still a big issue today. From the riots in Baltimore last year to all the uncalled for murders, racism is definitely not over. In fact, an article from The Washington Post said that "Americans say racism is a bigger problem today than at any point in the past 20 years" (washingtonpost.com). 

Article Sources: 

Covert, Bryce R. "When Men Want Kids - and Women Aren't So Sure." The Cut. N.p., 15 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

"Diversity Day - The Office." YouTube. YouTube, 6 June 2014. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Elkins, Kathleen. "6 Examples of Subtle Sexism That Women Still Face at Work." Business Insider. N.p., 27 May 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2015.

Ingraham, Christopher. "Americans Say Racism Is a Bigger Problem Today than at Any Point in the past 20 Years." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Lawler, Kelly. "Jennifer Lawrence on Sexism: I'm 'over' Being Likable." USA Today. Gannett, 14 Oct. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

"Pressures of Gender Pressures- a Short Office Montage." YouTube. YouTube, 3 May 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

"The Office: Racist Bathrooms." YouTube. YouTube, 11 June 2011. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

White Like Me: Race, Racism, and White Privilege in America. Dir. Time Wise. 2013. Transcript.

Wilson, Lauren. "Why Women Give up Their Dreams." NewsComAu. N.p., 08 July 2014. Web. 09 Dec. 2015.

"10 Surprising Statistics on Women in the Workplace." CollegeTimes. N.p., 15 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.