Softball Stereotype How I Met Your Mother

After watching an episode of the popular series How I Met Your Mother last night, I came across this interesting article,, about gender roles the various characters on the show including, Barney, Ted, Robin, Marshall, and Lily. Firstly, he notes the reversal of gender roles of Ted and Robin.

Robin seems to express multiple stereotypes throughout “How I Met Your Mother”. My traffic x serial key. Robin emphasizes the Canadian stereotype, using an occasionally strong accent, as well as being an aggressive hockey lover. Mar 26, 2012 - The TV Critic.org - How I Met Your Mother, Season 4, Episode 18: Old King. Gldirect 5.0.2. They even organised a fake softball game for him with some random guys. It's the fact that they have Robin say obviously American stereotype.

According to the writer, Mayer, Ted is the “hopeless romantic, believes that every girl he meets just might be “the one”.” Ted is portrayed as the guy who is desperate of being alone and wants to have a girlfriend. His character is juxtaposed with Robin’s character. She is portrayed to be independent and is not looking for a long lasting relationship. Another interesting point that Mayer brings up is about Barney, the only one who wants to remain single out of the group. Barney is considered the “ladies man” of the group. In a Season 7 episode titled, “Trilogy Time,” Barney wishes to continue his lifestyle, sleeping with different women once and then kicking them out. This shows that Barney is only purely seeking sexual relationship rather than one that is more emotion-based.

Mayer states that the show suggests that this promiscuous lifestyle is morally wrong and should be condemned. I thought that this show satirizes traditional gender roles.

Women are no longer portrayed as desperate in finding a long lasting relationship. Instead, men can also take on that role. The article also alludes to a double standard that is apparent with the Ted-Robin relationship. Since Ted is desperately searching for a spouse, he is often looked upon as a beloved and likeable character, as it is atypical for a male to behave like him in society. Men are expected not to invest in emotional relationships.

However, if Ted’s character was a female’s, then she may be considered as whiny and needy. This discrepancy of varying gender roles, ironically, is what, I think, adds the element of comedy to the series. Barney, another distinct character, is also part of a double standard that the series sets up. In the show, he is completely opposite of his Ted; he portrayed as a womanizer. Barney even has different strategies for meeting and sleeping with different women.

He finds a hard time imagining himself in a monogamous relationship. His outright promiscuity earns him the label as a ‘ladies man.’ However, if his character were to portrayed by a female, she would be ridiculed and even condemned as loose. Similar to Ted’s double standard, Barney’s double standard adds to the humor of the element. I get uncomfortable watching this show sometimes because of Barney's behavior. Sure Neil Patrick Harris does a great job as a womanizing character (his sexuality in real life clearly doesn't interfere with his ability to act), but more often than not I feel as though the show idolizes his behavior rather than condemn it.

While the other characters make reference to his promiscuity, and make fun of him for his shallow relationship with women, the show does make his behavior as negative, nor do any of the characters do anything to stop him from disrespecting women. Characters like Barney only perpetuate the notion that it is cool for men to be promiscuous, and that there are very limited consequences to that kind of behavior. The show also characterizes women as less intelligent than men, as Barney easily persuades women with his ridiculous ploys and pick up lines, which only increases the appeal of Barney's lifestyle and objectifies women further. While I agree the show attempts to satirize traditional gender roles, they do not take Barney's promiscuity seriously enough, and have created a role that disrespects and objectifies women.

I completely agree with Alex's opinion about Barney. I also agree with Courtney's comment about if a woman played the part that Barney does, she would most likely be shunned immediately for living such a lifestyle. In addition, since this show is a comedy, the poking-fun at these stereotypes help habituate the audience into feeling more comfortable with the actions portrayed in the show. However, like Courtney mentioned before, How I Met Your Mother does manage to switch up some gender roles in the form of Ted and Robin, allowing for this habituation to apply to them as well. The show's producers may not be intending on projecting this image, whether pro-gender equality or not; their main objective is to get as many viewers as possible, which means making the show as funny as possible. In the end, these characters were most likely created to encourage as many laughs as possible, and these characters just so happened to be formed in the way that suggested these gender roles. I am a fan of How I Met Your Mother and I can understand where you found that the show was challenging and even promoting gender stereotypes.

After watching an episode of the popular series How I Met Your Mother last night, I came across this interesting article,, about gender roles the various characters on the show including, Barney, Ted, Robin, Marshall, and Lily. Firstly, he notes the reversal of gender roles of Ted and Robin.

Robin seems to express multiple stereotypes throughout “How I Met Your Mother”. My traffic x serial key. Robin emphasizes the Canadian stereotype, using an occasionally strong accent, as well as being an aggressive hockey lover. Mar 26, 2012 - The TV Critic.org - How I Met Your Mother, Season 4, Episode 18: Old King. Gldirect 5.0.2. They even organised a fake softball game for him with some random guys. It's the fact that they have Robin say obviously American stereotype.

According to the writer, Mayer, Ted is the “hopeless romantic, believes that every girl he meets just might be “the one”.” Ted is portrayed as the guy who is desperate of being alone and wants to have a girlfriend. His character is juxtaposed with Robin’s character. She is portrayed to be independent and is not looking for a long lasting relationship. Another interesting point that Mayer brings up is about Barney, the only one who wants to remain single out of the group. Barney is considered the “ladies man” of the group. In a Season 7 episode titled, “Trilogy Time,” Barney wishes to continue his lifestyle, sleeping with different women once and then kicking them out. This shows that Barney is only purely seeking sexual relationship rather than one that is more emotion-based.

Mayer states that the show suggests that this promiscuous lifestyle is morally wrong and should be condemned. I thought that this show satirizes traditional gender roles.

Women are no longer portrayed as desperate in finding a long lasting relationship. Instead, men can also take on that role. The article also alludes to a double standard that is apparent with the Ted-Robin relationship. Since Ted is desperately searching for a spouse, he is often looked upon as a beloved and likeable character, as it is atypical for a male to behave like him in society. Men are expected not to invest in emotional relationships.

However, if Ted’s character was a female’s, then she may be considered as whiny and needy. This discrepancy of varying gender roles, ironically, is what, I think, adds the element of comedy to the series. Barney, another distinct character, is also part of a double standard that the series sets up. In the show, he is completely opposite of his Ted; he portrayed as a womanizer. Barney even has different strategies for meeting and sleeping with different women.

He finds a hard time imagining himself in a monogamous relationship. His outright promiscuity earns him the label as a ‘ladies man.’ However, if his character were to portrayed by a female, she would be ridiculed and even condemned as loose. Similar to Ted’s double standard, Barney’s double standard adds to the humor of the element. I get uncomfortable watching this show sometimes because of Barney's behavior. Sure Neil Patrick Harris does a great job as a womanizing character (his sexuality in real life clearly doesn't interfere with his ability to act), but more often than not I feel as though the show idolizes his behavior rather than condemn it.

While the other characters make reference to his promiscuity, and make fun of him for his shallow relationship with women, the show does make his behavior as negative, nor do any of the characters do anything to stop him from disrespecting women. Characters like Barney only perpetuate the notion that it is cool for men to be promiscuous, and that there are very limited consequences to that kind of behavior. The show also characterizes women as less intelligent than men, as Barney easily persuades women with his ridiculous ploys and pick up lines, which only increases the appeal of Barney's lifestyle and objectifies women further. While I agree the show attempts to satirize traditional gender roles, they do not take Barney's promiscuity seriously enough, and have created a role that disrespects and objectifies women.

I completely agree with Alex's opinion about Barney. I also agree with Courtney's comment about if a woman played the part that Barney does, she would most likely be shunned immediately for living such a lifestyle. In addition, since this show is a comedy, the poking-fun at these stereotypes help habituate the audience into feeling more comfortable with the actions portrayed in the show. However, like Courtney mentioned before, How I Met Your Mother does manage to switch up some gender roles in the form of Ted and Robin, allowing for this habituation to apply to them as well. The show's producers may not be intending on projecting this image, whether pro-gender equality or not; their main objective is to get as many viewers as possible, which means making the show as funny as possible. In the end, these characters were most likely created to encourage as many laughs as possible, and these characters just so happened to be formed in the way that suggested these gender roles. I am a fan of How I Met Your Mother and I can understand where you found that the show was challenging and even promoting gender stereotypes.