The Adorkable Misogyny of The Big Bang Theory
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- Опубліковано 30 сер 2017
- Watch part 2 here:
• The Complicity of Geek...
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The Big Bang Theory provides a perfect lens through which to deconstruct a popular media trope I like to call the Adorkable Misogynist. Adorkable Misogynists are male characters whose geeky version of masculinity is framed as comically pathetic yet still endearing. Their status as nerdy “nice guys” then lets them off the hook for a wide range of creepy, entitled, and sexist behaviors.
This is the 1st of two video essays about gender on The Big Bang Theory. Next month I'll focus on how the show relentlessly mocks its four male leads for not acting like “real men," and in so doing reinforces a whole bunch of regressive ideas about masculinity.
• Yes, The Big Bang Theory was the most watched scripted TV show in 2016 according to Nielsen: www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights...
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FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT
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CREDITS
Writer/Producer: Jonathan McIntosh
Motion Graphics: Jonathan McIntosh
Logo Design: Justin McIntosh
Outro music: Jonathan Mann
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I once saw a quote “Sheldon loves Spock, but Spock would really despise Sheldon for his prejudices” and I think that’s brilliant
"Geeky Guys can be sexist, too" well, every girl who plays online Games can agree to that.
The kind of abuse that gets beamed at women on mics is fucking crazy.
@@Hardcore_Drug_Abuse95mute
@@Hardcore_Drug_Abuse95 Thankfully, a lot of us take it well.
They ain’t only sexist, they say the most devious stuff known to man so sometimes I pretend to be white.
Okay, I never saw that clip of him calling Marie Curie an "honorary man" before. That was... That was something.
Basically giving away the game right there, saying the quiet part out loud.
The episode where Penny finally calls him out on his sexual harassment always made me, as a woman, feel so uncomfortable. The fact that they guilt-tripped her into apologizing did not make sense to me at all.
I agree. I honestly thought that her Penny calling him out to his awful bs would finally make him see how horrible of a person he is and change!
I knoooow, y todavía él es la victima y ella se tiene qué disculpar , como por???
Omg yes
I like the show overall but you are right here. They should have forced Howard to apologize.
"On television men's feelings and men's egos are nearly always depicted as more important than women's comfort or women's safety" And there it is everybody, that's the kicker right there.
Pretty sure it's the other way around.
@@Vishnuk-fe9ivno it’s not
@@Bubbles603 Look at any talk show with middle age women, that's where men's egos and feelings go to die.
@@nope1083All those talk shows combined can't even compare to TBBT and real life. Hilariously bad comparison.
@@muhdancent4362 The View?
Additionally, Amy and Bernadette have PhD's as well. Rarely are they referred to as Dr. on the show as the guys are.
"acknowledging bigotry is not the same thing as critiquing bigotry"
PUT THIS ON A BILLBOARD
"honorary man".
That makes me so sad. The struggle that women had to go through. What a shitty thing to say :(
My best friend is an engineering major and one of 4 women in her intro to mechanical engineering lecture. First day of class, she walks in and sits down. The guy next to her says "You know this is an engineering lecture, right? Do you need help finding the right lecture hall?"... So yes, the misogyny in this show is very real and thriving. And making light of it with overdone jokes and subpar comedy is not helping anyone. TBBT has been trash since the beginning, I truly don't understand how it ever took off.
It told creepy guys that their bad behavior is permissible. It told them what they wanted to hear.
How is that mysogny? That Guy was helping her. The same goes for Men.
… he was not helping her. He was questioning why she was there, in an engineering lecture hall.
@@Vishnuk-fe9ivhelping her by assuming she didn’t belong in that class that she signed up for?
@@Vishnuk-fe9iv why are you trying so hard in every comment section
Is this show paying your food tax or something?
I'm so glad a man brought attention to this issue as I think that a woman would have been criticised for being "overly-sensitive" or a "feminazi". It's a shame that when it comes to talking gender equality, men are commonly taken a lot more seriously when voicing their opinions about it. Great video!
You might not see it here now that he's able to moderate comments, but there used to be loads of vicious dudebros taking over the comment sections, deeming him a "cuck" or "fag" or other bigoted language for being over-sensitive himself and daring not to fall in line with what they think a man should stand for. He is getting traction, but there was some strong resistance leading to where he is now. But maybe this was a special case, I dunno.
Its a very unfunny show on top of being sexist, but if you point out either failing you're going to be attacked online, by the same type of guys they were portraying ON the show, which actually makes sense.
Wrong. No woman is shamed for showing the issues which is sexist. People calls her feminazi when she twists it and try to paint Men bad.
@@Vishnuk-fe9iv there ; you proved her point
Just like how Men gets called mysognyst or "incel" when point the sexist tv shows against Men.
If you remove the laugh track, They're very awkward and unfunny
The show is trash, but obviously removing the laugh track would totally ruin the comedic timing and make it awkward.. there are plenty of valid critiques without resorting to cheap oh it had a laugh track nonsense
@@ot1438 I don't know about that. Like if you remove the laugh track from Friends for example, yes it's awkward because of the long pause, but it's not uncomfortable or creepy. Big Bang Theory feels like that though. Remove the laugh track and I feel like I need a shower.
@ot1438 if it was trash then why is it one of the most popular American sitcom
@@misaeldoesanimation4408 because most of humanity is very easy to please. a very small percentage of people are able to identify when something is harmful or low quality, probably because only around 20% of people are self aware. i enjoyed big bang theory when i was a kid, as soon as my brain started developing i realized how fucking lame it is lol
Idk man
Come to think of it, the guy who essentially sexually assaulted me always threw pity parties about how he wasn't like "other guys."
Did he call himself a nice guy?
Sorry that happened to you. You will also see this behavior by some male feminists.
It's so nice to hear men standing up for women
I personally never saw the "Heart of gold" in Howard. He's just creepy.
“On television men’s feelings and bruised egos are nearly always depicted as more important than women’s comfort or women’s safety.” just had to reiterate that
For a video that has the word "Misogyny" in the title, it has a surprisingly tame comment section.
To add to your list of nerdy male characters who aren't sexist- Tom Holland's Spider-Man was a really good depiction of a movie character like that
Excellent addition to the list! I think Jonathan was working on this before Homecoming came out, but Holland's Peter Parker is right up there with Abed and Ben Wyatt in my book.
Could you elaborate? Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Tom Holland's take on Peter Parker, so I'd just like to add a bit more to love about the movie!
I dunno, I had someone who hated it because of that one bit at the start where they're crushing on the girl and talking about her sweater.
i stopped watching this show when penny finally called out howard's creepy behavior and then he got depressed the entire episode, until penny apologised to him
As a woman in STEM I feel this every day from my colleagues.
It's so nice that a man is doing a video like this, but also sad it's the only way most people would validate the criticism
when a nerdy guy gets rejected they always think its because theyre nerdy but most of the time it's because they're like these guys^^^ and don't think sexism is that bad
I just know that the writers thought that that Marie Curie line was throwing us women a bone, when all it essentially tells women is that the only way you can be respected by men is to be considered a man. I know I've had that feeling in my life since I was 4 years old, it's the reason why "pick me girls" exist.
The most eye opening part of this video for me was your analysis of Leonard. I realized that I know so many Leonards. So many people who won’t challenge the misogyny I experience in life. So many “nice guys”. What’s even worse is realizing that *I* can be a Leonard. It’s so easy to roll my eyes and to just play off jokes as just that. It can be exhausting. I guess I just have to do better. Call out what I see and challenge what I experience.
👍
А почему я должен бросать вызов мизогинии? Что мне это даст?
They also never apologize. They state that it's racist or sexist but never apologize.
As an autistic woman, Sheldon's behaviour bothers me the most; you can't use social disabilities as an excuse to say bigoted things
I thought I was too sensitive when I thought they are all creepy. Especially in the case of Sheldon who seems to despise women to a point I am surprised that he is in a relationship.
I have autism, and I frequently get compared to Sheldon. Unlike Sheldon, I am bad at math, but I am good at history and literature; I do not say inappropriate things to people, in fact I do not say anything at all; I may have immature behaviour, but I do not display this behaviour to anyone; Sheldon is aloof to his own actions and words, but I am very aware of how actions and words affect people, and Sheldon does not appear to have sensory overload, which happens to me all the time. But people still believe Sheldon is a good example of how neurodivergents are, so I just want to say, if you think Big Bang Theory can teach you about the basics of neurodivergent people, turn off the TV and try meeting real us as people.
THANK YOU!!!! I also have autism can definitely relate to you! I hate the stereotype that autistics are socially awkward know-it-all savants at math and science. I'm terrible at math and science but I'm good at literature and history. I'm not socially awkward, I just don't say anything and prefer to be by myself. Sheldon is garbage representation for neurodivergent people, and I'm glad we can both see that.
Unfortunately, watching TV os far easier than meeting neurodivergent people
Jesus christ the "honorary man/penis made of science" is the most objectively sexist and offensive joke ive heard in awhile
God i hate that laugh track
Genneth It's a live audience, not a track. Still annoying though.
women on this show are ONLY there to be viewed romantically. as soon as a women arrives, whoever they are, they automatically have to be a love interest to one of the guys and I found that to be a problem. like, women aren't just objects made to be beautiful for men, they can contribute to society just as much as men can.
also, when sheldon said that madam curie was an "honorary man" it was almost as like they had to consider her male to respect her. disgusting. now I'm 12 years old, and I know better than that.
i always felt strangely repelled by this tv show's humour, and you made me realise what I couldn't
You should try thinking about things
I feel sorry for you. Based on the clips you used, it seems like you actually had to sit through multiple seasons of this show. I hope you made it out okay. Get well soon.
I watched all 230 episodes....twice. It was not fun.
"hey guys, I'm a sexist and pretty racist too but I'm geeky and nerdy and don't know how to socialize so who cares lol" is basically the entire fucking show
In the end video, Jonathan looks like he had a mental breakdown after watching hours of BBT
I wouldn't blame him if he did. Thank you, good sir, for watching all that crap so we don't have to.
I love that show.
As a female who was or is frequently the only one present in a comic store, magic tournament, d&d campaign, board game night at a cafe, or any online gaming group...I heartily agree with all of this. I especially love how nerd boys still try to make me prove my credentials when I've literally been gaming longer than they've been alive (I'm 35). You should hear it on Overwatch voice coms when I make callouts. Everything stops and you hear "Grill? Is that a grill??"
I actually threw up in my mouth when he called Marie Curie an "honorary man". What a fascinating insight into the vile mind of Chuck Lorre, who basically does this stuff in all of his shows.
Even without the sexism the show's humour is constantly really mean. They just say mean oneliners to each other and that's the whole show. Even the geek culture references are really superficial.
Thank you! I'm so tired of the "nice guy" stereotype, endlessly complaining about being friend zoned as though women owed them something in return for not being assholes.
This is so wonderful. There's no way a woman doing this video wouldn't have been dismissed for being a "feminazi" or told to "shut up". It almost makes me cry that there really are men out there who care enough to say these things. I've been a girl in the geek world since I was very little and I've seen all of this. Casual misogyny cannot be allowed to stand and we need men like you to say it. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.
"nerds" are just as hyper-masculine as "jocks". They actively make a point of excluding women from typically nerdy activities and women are constantly being told to "prove" that they're a "real nerd/fan" . Why can't we just let people enjoy things?
I feel bad for Mayim Bialik, she's a part of the backbone of the show. She's a neuroscientist and fact checks all of the formulas etc written on white boards in the show but her character is completely bashed all the time. The show acknowledges Sheldon turning down Amy because he "doesn't know how relationships work" but when Amy says no to Sheldon or she needs space he stalks her. Seriously what the ever loving fuck is wrong with this show.
This is disgusting, I can't believe I never noticed this before
As a father of girls who share my passion for video games, comics, and science fiction who felt themselves pushed away from the lunchroom 'nerd table' as the boys started getting 'creepy' (their word) this whole video filled me with rage at the toxic way women are portrayed in media. I never bothered watching more than bits and pieces of that show, and all of them were awful. Thank you for pouring that filth into your brain, Pop Culture Detective, so that we don't have to.
I got so uncomfortable while watching 16 Candles for the first time. My mom had talked me into watching it with her and she only realized how creepy it was when I pointed it out.
Receipts everywhere.
really goes to show how our culture feeds the "nice guy" syndrome so many guys have where they feel a woman owes them a relationship after they've been friends for so long. You can't be a 'Chad' if you're a nerd right?
I used to love TBBT. But all of this is correct. And I can’t believe I had felt sorry for Howard when Penny called him out for being ’pathetic and creepy’. And then SHE apologised?!! The whole show is yucky...
Its funny cause in the Pilot episode pitching the show it actually had a girl geek in place of Rajh and Howard, which means they actively replaced her
That's the worst part of nerdy guys turned bullies, they'll always feel like they're the ones being attacked
The series is basically r/iamverysmart and r/niceguys combined
I typed in “Big Bang theory cringe” looking to laugh at the bad jokes but this was just… so much worse. As a woman, I’m kind of embarrassed that I didn’t notice the harassment and assault in these shows that star “nerds”. This was very awakening
I literally cannot watch big bang theory because it reminds me so much of my old roommates boyfriend and his friends/roommates. They were so rude, dismissive and downright disrespectful. I remember we all watched a movie and I didn't think it was particularly funny and they all went off on how low my IQ was because I read Twilight when I was 14 and all I actually paid attention to was how nice my eyeliner looked and they constantly compared themselves to Big Bang Theory. They treated my other roommate like shit too, constantly making allusions to her intellect and her being a blonde. They only took my roommate, his gf (who mostly nerded out for HIS benefit) and our other roommate who placated them by essentially asking them to mansplain everything, seriously. It was like every time I opened my mouth they were hell-bent on proving me wrong or why I wasn't as correct as I thought I was. Anytime I brought up something remotely dealing with clothes, cosmetics, or vanity I was immediately labelled VAPID...needless to say, I didn't live with those roommates too much longer...
as a person who is majoring in a "nerdy" field i can assure you their sexism is very, very real and normalized. things are changing (half of the class is made of very open minded and chill people) but the other half is... well, let's just say our vacations just ended and we already have a racism scandal
I work at a comic book store. I don't get any of the blatant sexism, or weird looks. I get more "fake gamer" comments. I am female, I can't also be a nerd... unless I am an UBER NERD who knows ALL the things!
The fact that they made penny apologize was disgusting.
I liked the show overall all but that didn't sit well with me either. If howard was just doing pick up lines it would be more tolerant, but all the other stuff went too far at times
In reality Leonard gave no fucks about Penny, he held her to ransom and made her apologise to Howard because he wanted to win a Robot wars competition. Penny was a prop for his ego, the fact he sent a bikini picture to his old school club friends, shows he viewed her as an object.
As someone who, as a kid, was good with computers, has been playing RPGs and video games, I always hated how geeks are depicted in TV and movies. Why can't they just behave normally? Why does expertise or being part of a fandom, or even social awkwardness has to mean they can't behave in a socially accepted way? Seriously, even being socially awkward doesn't mean that a person has to behave in scandallous manner. It mostly just means less social interactions initiated, nothing dramatic.
I always hated that Penny ended up apologising to Howard after she called him out on his behaviour, I don't watch TBBT anymore because I don't really like the characters however I never thought about the sexism in the show that much, this really was an eye-opener, thank you!
As a woman I never even noticed this which is perhaps worse than noticing it. I’ve become so accustomed to hearing these kinds of things in the real world that I’ve become blind to it.
I would never be able to watch enough of the Big Bang Theory to put together a video like this.
One of my old friends was a nerdy guy, and he tried to date me multiple times. At one point he asked me for nudes while I had a boyfriend then tried to rape me. But when I was angry at him and stopped being friends with him everyone was mad at me cause he didn't know what he was doing. Now whenever any guy tries to touch me in any way I flinch because of him. But everyone said I should have just let him cause he doesn't get much
You could also add Jake Peralta from B99 to the list. He's not as nerdy as the males from BBT, and he has stuffed up, but the main difference is that B99 calls attention to it, and doesn't let him get away with his mistakes. Jake learns, and is actually a nerdy guy who's super nice, and pretty much the ideal. He calls out people for their bigotry and apologises when he is called out himself.
As a fangirl and nerd it is always disappointing to watch shows where I am automatically othered or treated as fictional.
it’s interesting to me how mayim bialik is an advocate for feminism and a very intelligent woman but still supports and works for a show that’s so blatantly misogynistic
Thank you so much for including Ben and Abed as counter examples to how nerds can be written without those awful underlying tones of misogyny! Ben was so supportive of Leslie and their relationship was truly beautiful. And Abed is a bit like Sheldon in the way that they seem to have some sort of autism. But with Abed it is never mean spirited and especially his relationship with Annie was just wonderfully depicted. And when he went too far, he was always called out on his behaviour. Also both Parks&Rec and Community were smart, but also laugh-out-loud comedies which can't be said about TBBT. Thank you so much for this essay!
DRAG👏THEM👏
UA-cam would not leave me the fuck alone until I watched this.
I don't know if you all remember the time when penny had to apologise to howard because she protested against Howard's misbehaviour towards her. I really didn't understand what was the writer eating before writing this script. Lol. Total hypocrisy.
I was never confused as to how Raj & Howard didn't manage to get girlfriends but how the heck they managed to get any girl to like them considering their behaviour, attitudes & apparent unwillingness to change.
YES! You hit the nail right on the head with this video.
Another thing about BBT that bothers me and wasn't really touched on in this video is its incorrect assumption that all women are uninterested in "nerd stuff." Whenever one of the girls walks into a comic store it's like the men in there have never seen a woman before in their lives. Whenever the guys talk about Star Trek, Doctor Who, Star Wars or something similar the girls are always completely disinterested and dismissive. It's fine to have a couple female characters be uninterested in nerdy things, but to present every woman in the world as being clueless to, say, the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars is absurd and ridiculous.
never liked BBT in the first place and that "penis made of science" comment really solidified it for me
Summed up everything I hate about this show. I love that you show alternative ways to write this character at the end. We do need to retire these tropes.
I loved the analysis on how lampshading doesn't actually fix the problem.
Also this kind of trope is why I hate characters like mineta from bnha
This is so fucking on point.
Fan girls of all things geeky have learned to mask their fandom because of the way male geeks behave towards them. This is spot on.
Jesus, I'd heard "Revenge Of The Nerds" was bad, but I didn't realise it was that bad. Ewww
you always find the best ways to explain things i know are sexist but can never put my finger on
I know this is besides the point but now I realize why I love Ben Wyatt so much. He manages to be a complete dork with his quirks (like his affinity for calzones) WITHOUT being a creep. He respected Leslie from the moment they began to form a friendship, even poking fun at men who absolutely require their fiances to take their soon-to-be husbands name on the night of his and Leslie's wedding. He's my all time favorite character from anything I've ever seen and I wish more nerdy guy characters could be like him.
I never watched the show. I caught small snippets while remote surfing, but I did gauge the racism towards the Indian guy.
17:40 "Well, despite your... 'quirks,' you three are very accomplished in your respective fields."
Hey look, it's the entire reason the Me Too movement exists, distilled down into one supporting character's line on an asinine TV show, which definitely will not age well.
Some of Sheldon's lines could be spoken by Patrick Bateman
The amount of different examples given in just this one video is disgusting.
As a younger kid, growing up I never understood why people hated the show. I enjoyed the irony but looking back I understand and disappointed about a show I grew up loving.
Wait we were supposed to feel bad for Howard in the Howard/penny thing?
I hadn't really watched BBT much before, but I find it interesting that the actress who plays Amy is a very outspoken feminist, speaking about how men should refrain from referring to women as "girls" for example, yet hasn't spoken out about the show.
"most of the jokes in the bbt, such as they are..." ohhh snap
wait, the characters in this show are supposed to be likeable?
This well articulates a lot of what makes me uncomfortable with and contemptuous towards this show.
"On television men's feelings and bruised egos are nearly always decipted as more important than women's comfort or women's safety" -YES, thank you.
I'll admit that I've been a big TBBT fan because even though there are many jokes that annoy me (every single storyline regarding Howard's unwillingness to do house chores or the human resources lady to name a few) others really make me laugh. But I'm sure that if I were in a position where I had to face that kind of behaviour in real life I wouldn't find this show funny at all. You've really made me rethink what should be condemned in movies and TV and now I'm going to stop watching.
Also, this video had me thinking of that quote in The Social Network "you are going to go through life thinking girls don't like you cause you're a nerd. And I want you to know from the bottom of my heart, that that won't be true. It'll be because, you're an asshole."
Oh my God Sheldon calling Marie Curie an "honorary man" had me fucking disgusted.
Another nerd portrayed respectfully? Brick Heck on The Middle. I'm a few seasons behind, but unless things have changed, he's still a good guy who just struggles in social situations.
I always found howard so gross but the others aren't too much better. I mean leonard I did like because he was the best one out of the group but he would be better off with a different group of friends who can make his confidence grow enough so he feels he can say "no this is wrong" and actually have his friends listen to his advice.
Jesus, I've heard bad things about Sheldon's character but this is.... really bad.
Shit I never noticed this. How is that possible? Now I'm kinda disturbed...
There’s so many ‘Leonard’s’ in comedy shows. I didn’t see it before but there’s a lot of male (lead) characters that just straight up bother women into liking them. These ‘nice guys’ also never get put into their place or learn anything from their actions and the women are always seen as the ones being stubborn and complaining. Leonard reminds me of other characters like Ross Geller (Friends) and Ted Mosby (HIMYM)
Shows with laugh tracks are usually not funny, they need a crutch.
Jesus Christ, Sixteen Candles is hard to look at nowadays.
Is "dogwhistle comedy" a thing?
That's a great term for this!
It just doesn't hurt women, it hurts us all. Sexism, like all isms are detrimental to the whole society. Btw thanks for making this video.
Oh my god. A man who understands how serious sexism is. I love this channel. Thank you so much.