Page - 51 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 04/02

50 | Sharon Lauricella and Hannah M. Scott www.jrfm.eu 2018, 4/2, 39–53 sage about how to be a woman or how to get married. These portrayals may be considered dissonant in that they lack uniformity, as the program does not offer a streamlined view of gender performance, what it means to be heterosexual or homosexual, or how these performances play into religious weddings. Even singular characters simultaneously exhibit elements of heteronormativity and challenge compulsory heterosexual expectations and patriarchal constraints (for example, Callie is a same-sex bride, yet wears a white dress; Meredith re- jects the poufy wedding and focuses on her career, yet wants to acknowledge herself as a wife and mother). While this dissonance is evident, we argue that the lack of constancy in how to perform as a woman, together with diversity in both heteronormative and homosexual weddings, can be considered a strength in this scripted drama. The complexity in expression for women in a variety of situations is arguably a reflection of how women must constantly navigate the rigors of personal expression and cultural acceptance in contemporary culture. This struggle is consistent with Butler’s argument36 that women ought to be able to perform “woman” in whatever way they wish, yet in order to be under- stood as a sexed and gendered individual, one must inhabit at least some of the norms associated with gender identity.37 This tension between wanting to perform as one wishes (such as Meredith telling her partner, Derek, that she’s not a “church-wedding” bride) and how one’s culture expects one to perform (such as being married before adopting a child) is dynamic and, we argue, por- trayed in a way that is illustrative of Butler’s description of the complexities of gender performance. The tension in navigating both resistance and compliance to compulsory het- erosexuality is evident in Grey’s Anatomy, and we also suggest that the pro- gram’s depiction is a robust interpretation of the contemporary struggle for many women as professionals and/or as lesbians. The program is one of the first mainstream scripted dramas to depict a lesbian wedding and certainly one of the few that do not fall victim to “dead lesbian syndrome”38 or the “bury your gays” trope.39 Television narratives in which gays and lesbians die have been used since 1976 for shock value; by 2016, there had been 166 queer female televi- sion characters who died,40 a number which is arguably more shocking than the narrative itself.41 Thus, Grey’s Anatomy makes strides for LGBTQ+ representa- tion, although it is still bound by Rich’s concept of compulsory heterosexuality:42 36 Butler 1990. 37 Butler 2009, i–xiii. 38 Bradley 2016. 39 Waggoner 2017, 1–15. 40 Riese 2016. 41 Waggoner, 2017. 42 Rich 1980, 631–660.