The Destructive Misogyny of Grey's Anatomy

Even if you only casually watch Grey's Anatomy you've probably noticed the changes between seasons one and two and season three. In the post "Burning the House Down" show creator and writer Shonda Rhimes tries to explain her vision of season three of Grey's Anatomy and why viewers should stick around for the fourth.

For those that felt the last episode of season three left some questions to be answered, the insights Shonda provides are a disturbing indication of how far off course Grey's Anatomy has traveled. Once hailed as a girl power show where females cared about their profession as much as their relationships, the third season of Grey's Anatomy was almost unrecognizable.

If the season three of Grey's Anatomy has differed in tone so drastically from other seasons, it is because the main characters have been replaced with female stereotypes. When addressing the character of Cristina, Shonda begins her paragraph with "oh the Cristina of it all". Shonda uses that phrase to describe two other people, using their names to stand in for a group of ideas, not actual characters.

The problem with Grey's Anatomy replacing female characters with sets of poorly conceived stereotypes is apparent in the finale: there is no reason for the characters to be acting this way. There has been no convincing reason put forth by Grey's Anatomy or Shonda as to why Cristina must accommodate Burke by sacrificing herself. Yet it is Cristina's sacrifices that end her marriage to Burke.

In the last episode of season three, Cristina is so helpless that Burke must "set her free". However, no one is exactly why she is so weak. Her character is markedly different from the strong surgical intern of the first two seasons, a fact Shonda has yet to explain.

Even more interesting the character of Chris Marlowe, a former boyfriend whom Cristina did not change for during their relationship. So similar in position to Burke, one wonders why Cristina did not alter her character for this man if she is so helpless in relationships. Instead, Cristina blindly follows Burke for no discernable reason, until Burke must save her from herself.