Even though the show centers on a man and a man’s club, there can still be women found in the show and their importance is obvious throughout. The women can sometimes be seen as the glue that holds SAMCRO together, and Gemma stands by that idea throughout the series. She is always fighting for what she wants and what she believes is best for the club, and more importantly her family. She is one of the most protective characters in the series. Though all of the women certainly play into the stereotypical feminine rolls such as mother and caregiver, they fight some roles as well. The men aren’t the only violent killers in SAMCRO, the women get their fair share of violence and hatred during the series.
G e m m a & T a r a 's F e m i n i n i t y
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O r M a s c u l i n i t y ?
Gemma Teller-Morrow is highly sexualized throughout the seasons, as are many other women in the show, usually with the only exception being Tara (Fine 153). Gemma is often thought of as the Queen to her husband’s King and is called the Queen of SAMCRO by those outside of the club, generally who have no other name for her position. Gemma is the mother of the main character, Jax, and grandmother to his sons, who she loves very much. She is constantly taking on the role of caregiver to the two young boys when no one else is able to for various reasons (usually because someone is in prison). She proves over and over again that she will do anything in order to take care of her family. When Abel is kidnapped and taken to Ireland, the club, plus Gemma, follows the kidnapper there and looks relentlessly for Abel. While looking for Abel in an orphanage, Gemma threatens to kill another baby to get information about Abel ("Bainne"). She does not kill the child, but she does help the club get the information that they needed in order to continue their search for Abel. This helps to prove her love for her family, as intense as it may be, but everyone knows that she is willing to do whatever it takes for protect her family.
Tara Knowles-Teller is a doctor and happens into the club for a second time at the beginning of the show. She was a part of the club nearly fifteen years before the start of the show, then she is pulled back into the mess that is the life of the club. She isn’t often sexualized, as she is seen as an upstanding citizen and doctor at a nearby hospital. Almost immediately Tara takes on Jax’s first son, Abel, as her own and falls into the niche of motherhood, the womanly thing to do. As their relationship moves forward, the two of them have a child together, and Tara falls deeper into her niche and at times forgets the violence around her. Gemma, however, is there to help pull her out of the niche when need be.
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As extremely tough women that have learned to deal with quite a bit through their time with the club, Tara and Gemma are able to breach on characteristics that are generally associated with masculinity (Fine 154). These two women are able to “broaden the range of feminine gender markers” by the way that they interact not only with each other and members of the club, but with complete strangers. While Tara is visiting a fugitive Gemma in Oregon, they are faced with the horrible reality that Gemma’s father’s caregiver has recognized who Gemma is and intends to call the police (“Caregiver”). Even more horrible than that reality, is the fact that they know they must kill this woman in order to protect themselves, and specifically Gemma. After holding the caretaker captive in the basement for an extended amount of time, they eventually devise a plan to kill her. They act on this plan, and Tig helps them cover it up and they all agree to tell no one. Jax arrives at the house and realizes what the three have done. Jax and Tara have been in a rough place in their relationship since the kidnapping of Abel, and neither one know if the relationship will survive because of how different they are. However, Tara, to prove a point, yells, “Is this Old Lady enough for you?!” (“Caregiver”) This speaks not only about Tara and Jax as characters, but also about what the women in the show believe that they have to do in order to earn the respect of the men in their lives.
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This, however, was not the first time that Gemma devised a plan to take someone’s life. After the birth of her first grandson, Abel, Gemma devised a plan to rid herself and her family of Wendy, the boy’s mother. Wendy had been addicted to drugs the entire time she was pregnant with Abel, which did a lot of damage on the baby. After the birth and while Wendy was in detox, Gemma paid Wendy a visit, threatening her to not attempt to get any form of custody of Abel (“Seeds”). She left Wendy with enough heroin to kill her, hoping that she would take it. Gemma did not personally inject Wendy, or even tell her to do it herself, but she left her the option to, knowing that she would. Wendy did use the drugs Gemma left her, and she nearly did die because of them, but the fact that she was already in the hospital, surrounded by doctors, saved her life. Gemma is visibly disappointed by the fact that Wendy survived and does not attempt to hide her involvement with Wendy's downfall.
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