Situation comedies or sitcoms as they are more commonly known are a popular genre of television program. There are as Richard Taflinger defines generally perceived to be three types of sitcom: the action comedy (Actcom), the domestic comedy (Domcom) and the dramatic comedy (Dramedy). Stereotypes are often used within this genre but the portrayal of either gender varies depending on which type of sitcom we look at. For example, within the domcom the long suffering wife such as Marge from The Simpsons is a frequent character whereas actcoms often have masculine men who regularly get themselves into scrapes such as Richie from Bottom. The representation of gender in sitcoms is generally a reflection of the role they play in society during the time period they are transmitted, especially in domcoms, which are more character based. For example, domcoms of the 50s and 60s such as Bewitched and The...