Glitz and Gloss/Soap and Suds

One argument that I felt Spigel was very adamant about was television as a means of reinforcing women's gender roles. The vlogs definitely exemplify this theme. Every show has a "glossy" element--everyone, especially the women, are prim and proper. The "First Lady of Television", Arlene Francis, is the perfect picture of elegance with her New York socialite accent. The soap opera is also a great example of the glamor women were assumed to posses. The "Queen for a Day" game show is the best example of reinforcing multiple stereotypes. Not only does it emphasize a woman's need to be glamorous and beautiful in great clothes and makeup, but it literally shows her where her place is--in the kitchen.
Going along with Spigel's argument, early television in many ways reflected the idea that women were to stay at home with the children, cook, clean, and keep their husbands happy (while at the same time staying as glamorous and social as the TV women). In the Henry Miller chair commercial, as the man with the cocktail and the suit lounges in the chair his wife appears literally at his feet, waiting to serve. Almost every other commercial advertising cooking and cleaning ware were directly targeted to women. Even the "Queen" is awarded with the tools she needs to do her job at home.
Although current advertising and programming seems to be far more "progressive" from this 1950s ideology (I recently saw a Rice Crispies commercial with a dad sitting down and feeding his three daughters) women are still assumed to be the primary houseworker and caregiver. Sitcoms present obvious reinforcement of gender roles. Shows like "Everybody Loves Raymond" keep the often bumbling, but working, fathers out of the kitchen while the women, despite their often saucy, non-compliant natures, cook, clean, and watch the kids. Women with real careers are still scarce in television today. Don't even get me started on shows like "Real Housewives" or "Millionaire Matchmaker" where the whole goal in the women's lives on the show are to find rich men who have enough money so they do not have to work and to afford their extravagant social, fashion, and beauty expenses.
Are these accurate representations of our current society or just more dreamworlds for us to buy into?