Comp102

1. Gender Roles in TV
Sitcoms
By Jacob King

2. Agenda
▪ Common Stereotypes
▪ History
– Leave it to Beaver
– I Love Lucy
▪ Present
– How I met your mother
– Big BangTheory
– Scrubs
– House
▪ Effect on society

3. Common Stereotypes
Men
▪ Fearless
▪ Tough
▪ Decisive
▪ “Man of
Action”
▪ No
Weakness
Women
▪ Submissive
▪ Frigid
▪ Generous
• Cautious
• Sensitive
• Assertive
• Lustful
• Selfish

4. History
• Leave it to Beaver
• Dad: Brings home the bacon
• Mom: is a stay at home house wife
• Kids: Learn their lesson
• I love Lucy
• Lucy: Drives Ricky crazy
• Ricky: Bandleader /Actor

5. Older Shows
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
I Love Lucy Leave it to Beaver
Gender Ratio
Women Men

6. Current Shows
Fights Gender Stereotypes
▪ Scrubs
– J.D. : Emotional, Sensitive
– Elliot Reid: Overcomes her neurosis
– Dr. Cox: Overcomes his Self sabotage
to become Dean Of Medicine
▪ How I met your mother
– Robin: Goes after what she wants, not
afraid to speak her mind
– Ted: Sensitive, Romantic
Promotes Gender Stereotypes
▪ Big BangTheory
– Penny, Bernadette: Struggling
waitresses
– Sheldon, Leonard, Raj, and Howard:
Established Scientists
– Conflict Between Bernadette and
Howard
▪ House
– Everyone in the show revolves
around Dr. House.

7. Current TV Sitcoms
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Scrubs House How I Met your Mother Big Bang Theory
Gender Ratio
Women Men

8. Comparison
Classic Modern

9. Effects On Society
▪ Both Stereotypes feed off Each other
▪ Can’t escape the influence that it has on people
▪ Things are Changing
▪ Take time to weed out

10. References
Gender Roles and the Media. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.dototot.com/gender-roles-
and-the-media/
Gender Roles inTelevision Shows. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from
https://prezi.com/ns9tg3cicot7/gender-roles-in-television-shows/
Gender Stereotypes inTV series. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from
http://danielafrendo.hubpages.com/hub/Gender-Stereotypes-in-TV-series
“How I MetYour Mother” and “Big BangTheory” Promote Gender Stereotypes. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8,
2015, from http://mic.com/articles/7840/how-i-met-your-mother-and-big-bang-theory-promote-gender-
stereotypes
Cardoza, E. (2013, September 23).TV Criticism 2013: “Modern Family” Gender Roles and Stereotypes.
Retrieved from http://tvcriticism2013.blogspot.com/2013/09/modern-family-gender-roles-and.html
TV Drama. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mediarepresentation.wordpress.com/women-in-tv-dramas/
Why Gender Matters OnTV. (n.d.). Retrieved August 8, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-
lantagne/gender-roles-media_b_5326199.html