“Hegemonic Masculinity” and the Female Drug Dealer

Weeds first premiered on the Showtime network in 2005. Now entering its sixth season, the dark comedy about a widowed mother who sells marijuana to her upper-middle class suburban neighbors has gained a large following. The audience has witnessed main character Nancy Botwin’s transformation from loving mother to jaded and fearful drug mafiosa by association. How did this happen?

In the beginning, Nancy was a recently widowed mother of two living in an upper-middle class neighborhood in southern California called Agrestic. In order to maintain her family’s level of luxury and security, she decided to sell marijuana to the surprisingly unlawful soccer moms and city councilmen of her picturesque community. While dealing drugs seems a surprising route for a woman of Nancy’s status and gender to take, researcher Fiona Hutton feels that this isn’t necessarily out of the ordinary. “It could be argued that those involved in drug dealing, both male and female, have ‘chosen’ this particular ‘career’ because of the limited options that are available to them in terms of lifestyle choices” (2005). Nancy had been a stay-at-home mother and housewife, with a questionable level of education (something which is never specifically discussed in the series), and therefore felt that she was unqualified to do other jobs and make enough money to support her family.

Throughout the series, Nancy’s drug business and dealings with others escalate into a spectacle that seems highly unrealistic. However, Hutton’s research regarding the effects of gender on the role of the drug dealer explains many of Nancy’s alliances and strategies. Hutton describes the world of drug dealing as revolving around the concept of “hegemonic masculinity”, which is “desired over all [other forms of masculinity]”, and stresses “toughness, machismo, aggression, and smartness”(546). According to this model, women are considered “passive and unsuitable for the world of drug dealing” (546). Women are less of a physical threat, are often vulnerable to being taken advantage of by other dealers, but may still use cunning and street smarts to outwit others and stay afloat in the business. This is evident in Weeds, as Nancy is a slight build physically, and poses little, if any, threat to the male dealers (who are nearly always portrayed as masculine, tough, and “buff”). In turn, she surrounds herself with male protectors, such as Conrad Shepherd, U-Turn, Guillermo, and eventually Tijuana mayor and drug kingpin Esteban Reyes, whom she marries to avoid the repercussions of being a “narc”.

Additionally, Nancy plays the clueless newbie stereotype to her advantage in many sticky situations, most notably when being held at gunpoint in the season three episode named “Doing the Backstroke”. (Weeds: Season 3). As a fledgling drug pusher she often fails to acknowledge the danger associated with the profession, such as the threats of blackmail, legal repercussions, and endangerment of both her family and herself. Yet, she still manages to avoid the certain death that a seasoned dealer would be met with. She has the keen ability to talk herself out of life-threatening situations by playing the role of the damsel in distress, which highlights her street smarts over her physical abilities.