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joan cuddytism can we get thought on cuddy and her mom?

aghhh… always!!!!

i think they have such an interesting relationship that is not unique in the slightest. they are a mother and daughter who are seemingly constantly at odds with each other. who just don’t see eye to eye no matter what. who are constantly in conflict. and as much as this is sad for cuddy, it’s a delicious meal for me :-)

i think a lot of their conflict stems from this disconnect between who they are; the one that Family Practice makes abundantly clear. arlene and julia are far more alike — both have prioritized raising a family, prioritized this ideal version of ‘womanhood’; the one that cuddy fails to embody. cuddy — despite now having rachel — still is not seen as someone with a ‘family’ in her mother’s eyes. arlene has a very specific, very traditional view of “family”, and of what cuddy should have accomplished by now. she doesn’t see cuddy as very accomplished because she has “failed” to reach these traditional expectations of Being a Woman. we see all thru the show how she internalizes this.

i emphasize “womanhood” here because there just is pretty abundant theming in that area. these are… pretty explicitly views would not be held if cuddy were a man. in Larger Than Life, arlene specifically disparages cuddy’s romantic life; the “parade of boyfriends” line, when she says she doesn’t want rachel thinking cuddy is a “slut”, that want for her to “settle down”… it’s pretty damn gendered!

what i find more interesting is that it’s also made clear that arlene, in cuddy’s youth, had always pushed for her to strive farther, to be a high achiever, in the academic sense. so arlene expected highly of cuddy both in the traditional, “feminine” role (with this expectation of having her settle down, have a family, etc.), and in the “masculine” role (of being this high achiever in her career). (it should be obvious that i don’t see these things as necessarily masc/fem but i’m trying to decipher how arlene would see it lol). and thus, cuddy is stretched thin between the two roles she’s constantly expected to inhabit. she’s her own woman, she’s a career woman, she doesn’t take anyone’s shit, she follows in the men before her. she feels unfulfilled without this “promised” (expected upon her) traditional life, family, love. she’s multifaceted, which means all of these things can co-exist, but they don’t in the way that her mother expects.

when i talk about cuddy, so much of what i talk about comes down to her conflicting desires (the difference between her first and second order), and how she doesn’t really seem to know what she really wants. i don’t think it’s so out-there to make the connection between these dichotomous expectations cuddy grew up with, and how split and unfocused her desires and concept of self are in the present day. just something to think about!

#ty for the q :)#cuddytism ramblings #ask #lisa cuddy #arlene cuddy #gender md

It's hilarious that house thinks she's unbearable, since they're the same in that part XDXD

#looks like cuddy found a guy similar to her parent huh #house md #huddy #house 7x11 #Arlene cuddy

We as a society do not talk enough about Lisa Cuddy and her relationship with her mother. I love you both but I like her more. The fact that Cuddy doesn’t have a standard family. That she is passionate about her work but still cares for her daughter by herself. That just she has different priorities than her mother - and because of that, even being wildly successful and a great parent, still is criticized. And it’s not that much about high expectations as it is about different ones. That her sister fullfills them better just by having picked a different path in life, and that she’s the one to defend Arlene. It’s about not even being that deviant from the norm and still doing it wrong. And still, when push comes to shove, her mother cares about Cuddy - to the point of trying to bring her and House back together - but can’t bring herself to show it. God damn it.

#i feel like my analysis post are always messy and bungled #sorry got reminded of how good Family Practice was #house md #in da house #lisa cuddy #julia cuddy #arlene cuddy #meta