You Will Never Believe What This Shameless Couple Just Did... Click Here To See More!

An adventure through the relationship of Veronica and Kevin.

So what is Shameless, and what is it about? It's a Showtime TV series about an extreme case of a dysfunctional family. Look to the video clip below to get a sample.

youtube.com / Via Youtube

"Nobody is saying our neighborhood is the Garden of Eden. Hell, some people say God avoids this place all together, but it's been a good home to us."

This quote ties in very well with representing the show's relationships and how they do not fit in well with traditional Christian theology. Suggesting that the neighborhood is not the Garden of Eden also suggests that the characters are destined to go through hardships. It's hard to think of any better religious them to give a better foreshadowing than the Genesis verse provided.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Er48FQwl5K4&t=114

To analyze the relationships of all the characters in this series would take seven seasons on its own, so the main focus will be on Kevin and Veronica.

The easiest thing to pick out about this relationship is that it is interracial. This idea creates an early separation to traditional marriage. When looking at the gender roles in this relationship, there is some slight sexism. Kevin is a bartender at a janky bar mostly visited by middle aged men. Veronica had a job, but it was as a CNA in a nursing home and then as waitress in a bar requiring her to wear little clothing. As we learned early on, it was sinful for Christian couples to take pleasure in sex. This relationship is fueled by premarital sex, creating a larger void in relation to traditional relationships.

They started the series as a couple who was dating, but then...

Kev accidently proposed to V, but then just went with it because she acted all excited. He didn't want to hurt her emotionally and didn't have a problem spending the rest of his life with this woman. Prior to the accident, marriage didn't seem to be a main priority for either of the two. The proposal showed a

push towards a more traditional marriage, and a less unique relationship.

Why foster care?

In the article, "Deinstitutionalize Marriage?", David Blankenship brings up the idea that foster care was a method that Christian couples used to create families. Veronica and Kevin did foster care as well, but not for the Christian related reasons. The foster care idea was initially used to bring in more money for the family. Eventually this lead to Kevin and Veronica wanting a child of their own.

Background on foster care child:

The foster child was a fourteen year old mother who was formally apart of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints. This meant that she was in a polygamous relationship with a husband much older than her and his other wives. Child protective services then showed up and put the child and her baby in foster care. When living with Kevin and Veronica, the child met a boy. While the foster child was happy with her previous lifestyle, society didn't understand her feelings. This included the boy who had gang related ties. In an attempt to fix the situation, the boy had his father kill the foster child's previous husband. Sadness filled the foster child. This situation related to our class discussion on whether or not FLDS followers are truly happy with their situation.

It's time for procreation! Maybe.

After losing foster care child, Kev and V decide that they want to have a kid. Issues arise and it turns out that the two as a couple have very little chance to have a child together due to biological issues. Economic restraints factor in and the two decide to find a woman to carry the baby. Veronica requests for the person to be a black woman. When neither of the two can find a viable candidate, they resort to Veronica's mother. By first getting married and then next trying to have a kid, the TV show pushes the marriage to confine to societal norms, but does so in an unconventional way.

It's time for procreation! Actually.

Veronica ends up getting pregnant after Kevin gets her mom pregnant. The comedic aspect added in is that Veronica ends up having triplets. After trying everything possible to have a child, the family ends up with four.

Interesting Thought: The woman of the relationship originally had the biological issues. This brings up the question of "Is the show trying to portray males as the superior sex?" I personally don't believe so in this instance. I think its more of a move to add on to character development and reversed gender roles in relation to child care. Continue on for more on this subject...

Marriage is difficult. Kids are difficult.

Like we talked about in class, trauma can lead to the division of marriage. The trauma involved in this relationship came from childbirth and childcare. Veronica ended up developing postpartum depression, while Kevin worked to be the best father he could. Ultimately this lead to Veronica not getting the attention she needed, and then a brief period of separation. This separation included sex with other people. While being separated, Kevin at one moment miraculously came to realize that Veronica was the only person for him. This seemed like a fairy-tale resolution and unrealistic.

Three is company.

We had the discussion of whether or not a polygamous marriage would be emotionally satisfying. In this case it was. Svetlana entered the marriage in a act to keep her citizenship however, romantic feelings came about in her and Veronica leading to an actual meaningful relationship. Kevin was also a fan of the sex. This new addition to the relationship also took a unique approach to gender roles. The initial idea of having Svetlana around was to help care for the children, but eventually she took a larger role in the bar that Kevin now owned. Child care was then split evenly between men and women.

A little more background on Svetlana:

At an early age she was sold as a sex slave by her father. Earlier in the TV series another character's father forced him to have sex with Svetlana and marry her in order to cleanse him of his homosexuality. This was done through gunpoint. Svetlana then became pregnant. As the series went on, the baby's father was able to separate from Svetlana and live life as he wanted to. This left Svetlana in need of a new partner in marriage in order to maintain citizenship.

The presence of Svetlana allows for focus on the topic of homosexuality. The TV series constantly shows the struggles of other than heterosexual characters, but also shows happy resolutions. This is a good representation of how society is changing to accept all people regardless of their sexual orientation, but still has a long ways to go in order to fully understand the difficulties other than heterosexual people go through.

But overall its a good marriage.

When analyzing this marriage, Kevin and Veronica fit in to the category of soulmate marriages. Each find qualities in the other that nobody else can compare to. The addition of Svetlana adds a companionship aspect to the marriage. This is supported by the fact that she originally joined due to the mutual benefit rather than love. While this relationship has went through it's ups and downs, I feel that it is healthy. All the members have coping experience when problems arise, and they all complement each other nicely. In a TV show filled with relationship issues, this relationship truly isn't so bad.