Big Bang Theory
There has been a lot of research done on the influence media can have on society, in particular the degrading images of women that are often seen in media. Since the second wave of the women’s rights movements these images were the object of scrutiny and an easy example of how women were viewed. In modern society where women have made many strides towards equality why are there still instances in popular media were women are negatively depicted? Have women come as far as they think? The popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory negatively depicts the female characters by reverting to a binary view of gender, in which the female characters are lacking, they can be beautiful or smart however they cannot be both.
The Big Bang Theory premiered on CBS in 2003. When the show began it centered on five characters. Four of the five characters are genius young men whom all work at the same university as scientist, Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, and Raj Koothrappali. With their love of comic books, role-playing games and individual quirkiness these characters are examples of “nerds”. The show begins when roommates Leonard and Sheldon meet their neighbor Penny, a beautiful all be it dumb blond whom is aspiring to become a actress, but works as a waitress at The Cheese Cake Factory. In 2011 Sheldon and Howards love interest, Amy and Bernadette, whom previously held supporting roles were promoted to full time members of the cast. This offered a new element to the show providing a contrast to the mainly male dominated show.
The main female charter on the show The Big Bang Theory is Penny, whom interestingly does not have a last name. For the first 4 years of the show of the five main characters Penny is the only female. The under representation of females seen in The Big Bang Theory is a common occurrence in media as discussed by Collins in the article “Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media” Collins states that “television primetime males out number
The Big Bang Theory premiered on CBS in 2003. When the show began it centered on five characters. Four of the five characters are genius young men whom all work at the same university as scientist, Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Howard Wolowitz, and Raj Koothrappali. With their love of comic books, role-playing games and individual quirkiness these characters are examples of “nerds”. The show begins when roommates Leonard and Sheldon meet their neighbor Penny, a beautiful all be it dumb blond whom is aspiring to become a actress, but works as a waitress at The Cheese Cake Factory. In 2011 Sheldon and Howards love interest, Amy and Bernadette, whom previously held supporting roles were promoted to full time members of the cast. This offered a new element to the show providing a contrast to the mainly male dominated show.
The main female charter on the show The Big Bang Theory is Penny, whom interestingly does not have a last name. For the first 4 years of the show of the five main characters Penny is the only female. The under representation of females seen in The Big Bang Theory is a common occurrence in media as discussed by Collins in the article “Content Analysis of Gender Roles in Media” Collins states that “television primetime males out number