Page - 40 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

Anatomy of a Wedding | 39www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 39–53 Sharon Lauricella and Hannah M. Scott Anatomy of a Wedding Examining Religiosity, Feminism, and Weddings in Grey’s Anatomy ABSTRACT Medical drama Grey’s Anatomy (Peter Horton, US 2005–) features weddings as piv- otal life events and has portrayed 14 unions over the program’s 13 seasons on ABC. This article is a synthetic approach combining communication, gender studies, and grounded theory methodology to examine weddings in Grey’s Anatomy through a feminist lens. We employ Judith Butler’s theory of gender performance and Rich’s1 concept of compulsory heterosexuality to examine weddings throughout the show’s extensive run. Depictions of women and weddings demonstrate dissonance between hegemonic gender performance and the potential to redefine the performance of woman in one’s own ways. Tension exists between the program’s portrayal of tra- ditional heterosexual weddings and its progressive inclusion of a lesbian ceremony. We argue that the program’s portrayal of both traditional white weddings and cer- emonies which are more private and self-defined reflect the challenges inherent in navigating cultural expectations and personal objectives associated with performing as a woman in contemporary culture. KEYWORDS Wedding, television drama, gender performance, compulsory heterosexuality, femi- nism, Grey’s Anatomy BIOGRAPHIES Sharon Lauricella (Corresponding Author) is Associate Professor and Director in the Communication Program, Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, UOIT, Oshawa, ON, Canada (Sharon.lauricella@uoit.ca). Hannah Scott is a Masters’ candidate in So- cial Justice and Community Engagement at Wilfrid Laurier University in Brantford, ON, Canada (scot9810@mylaurier.ca). 1 Rich 1980, 631–660. DOI: 10.25364/05.4:2018.2.3