gender essentialism when he states : “ A man isn ’ t a man unless he ’ s got a purpose , Quinn . I got soft last year .... I forced you to play the male role . That wasn ’ t fair ; it wasn ’ t natural . Women are made to nurture . Be adored . Guys gotta do things .” This comment reduces women to their biology claiming that the essence of nurturing is a biologically determined , central feature of womanhood . Correlatively , he attributes purposiveness to males ’ natures and claims the role reversal was “ unnatural .” Even if Quinn finds this laughable , she does have to deal with the socially constructed reality of male power . Chet finds a way to undo temporarily much of Quinn ’ s work in controlling the show , because he is friends with the network president , Gary ( Christopher Cousins ), showing that “ the good ol ’ boys club is alive and well .” Amid Chet ’ s rejected essentialist premise that “ guys gotta do things ,” Quinn finds a way to undermine him , by a playful bending of genders :
Chet : Let the best man win . Quinn : She usually does .
Further , the boys club resurfaces when Gary gives Coleman Wasserman ( Michael Rady ) the job Rachel surreptitiously tried to steal from Quinn after she became convinced that Quinn gave up on her previous desire to turn it over to her .
Essentialist notions of female roles , Chet ’ s male activism notwithstanding , are more difficult to detect , as they are framed within Quinn ’ s and Rachel ’ s quest for control , independence , and autonomy , attempts which undermine essentialist notions . Further , conventional female roles are literally constructed within the production of the fictional reality show , Everlasting . Such an overt display of gender construction is a feminist anti-essentialist move by the show ’ s creators . Early in the season , when Chet and Quinn are battling for control of the show with widely differing visions for it , Chet tries to brand the show as a frat party booze fest with bikini girls as eye candy for Darrius ’ s entourage ’ s male gaze . Quinn tries to frame a traditional love story , both of which rely on conventional gender roles albeit in different ways . Watching the producers , such as Quinn , demand the contestants are properly groomed and show cleavage gives the audience an insight into literal gender construction and its undermining of gender essentialism .
Viewing the two main female characters ’ ‘ real life ’ dips into and out of conventional roles offers an enticing parallel . For example , Rachel plays the role of a wounded woman in need of a knight in shining armor to save her , whether it be Coleman or Adam , upon his brief return to the show . Rachel is also beaten up by Jeremy and plays the role of the silent victim . Quinn appears
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