Mad Men's Joan Holloway: Jessica Rabbit reincarnate?

Oh, Joan Holloway. Clearly everyone’s attracted to you. Even straight women. Even me. And I think I’ve discovered the reason why. You are the character who shaped my youth. The one whose super-slitted red dress I’d always try to find for my dress-up bin. The one whose pursing lips and smoky voice I’d impersonate with my friends. The one whose sashaying, high-heeled walk I’d imitate down the halls of my apartment.

You are Jessica Rabbit.

Obviously, Who Framed Roger Rabbit's Jessica Rabbit oozed sex. But not in a vapid, Playboy Bunny sort of way. There was always something more to her. Something captivating and calculating and titillating and tragic all at the same time. Let’s look at some of those Jessica/Joan similarities that push the characters into the realm of the untouchable ultra-babe.

1. The feminine figure. Men do it all the time. They embrace their masculinity at the workplace as a source of power—whether it’s in a meeting or on a conference call. Women, on the other hand, cover up  their natural feminine qualities with hunched shoulders and pipsqueak-ed voices. Joan and Jessica? No way. They push femininity to its peak by accentuating the attributes many women try to hide. They walk chest first. They talk in their natural low, raspy voice. While most women (myself included) try on an outfit and then ask whether or not it makes their boobs/butt look too big, Jessica and Joan wonder if it makes their curves look too small - and if so, out the window the outfit goes! 
2. The know-how. From the real world to Toon Town, Jessica Rabbit could play the game better than anyone else. She held all the keys, she knew all the answers—effectively, Jessica was the center of the action… all masked in a sly side-smirk and a sleepy gaze. Similarly, Joan rules Sterling Cooper. Without her, the whole operation would fall apart. And even when she's tasked to help out in the T.V. department, she's, as Boston.com points out, a natural. And not because she's playing by the "male" rules. But rather, because she creates her own.
3. The vamp red. It takes a lot of chutzpa to full-on rock out with your red out, because peeps LOVE to hate on redheads. There's even a term for it: Gingerism. How do Joan and Jessica respond to this? Red hair. Red lipstick. Red dress. Red shoes. Red cheeks. Red, red, red. In your face haters!
4. The dudes. What do I love most about these two? They don’t swoon for the typical hearththrobs. Joan behind-the-scenes dated a few of the Sterling Cooper guys, but she’s never so much as winked at hunk-of-the-office Don Draper. And as for Jessica… well she baked carrot cakes for hubby Roger Rabbit. ‘Nuff said.

Related:

What Would Joan Holloway Do?

MSNBC: Men Rule - At Least, in the Workplace

iVillage: How to dress sexy without looking slutty

Comments

[Manny Stevens]

dead on! Jessica Rabbit is a characature of Joan

[CNKeach]

You're absolutely right, Ryan. Wish I were brave enough (and hand the figure and temperament)to carry off what Joan and Jessica convey with such ease. True, Draper is a real treat to watch, but as far as I'm concerned, it's Joan who steals the show.

[Russian Dating]

Thank you for such an interesting post!

[QueenJoan]

I LOVE the part in Mad Men when they are classifying the women in Sterling Cooper into 'Marilyns' and 'Jackies' and one of the men goes, "Well, Marilyn's really a Joan." Lol best line EVER!!