The Stereotypes Of Penny In The Big Bang Theory

The television series, The Big Bang Theory, bases itself on multiple stereotypes such as women are the helpless, unintelligent victims and men are the brave, fast thinking hero’s. The show’s main female character, Penny, is sexualized and objectified throughout the series. The show focuses solely on her social capabilities and how she physically looks. Penny is merely on the show to be a sex object. The Big Bang Theory also exemplifies the stereotype that women cannot be both intelligent and sexual. The men on the show are science geniuses who are continuously rescuing Penny from her irresponsible lifestyle. The show also discusses how all the men have master’s degrees in engineering from top universities while Penny dropped out of community college and is a waitress. This puts Penny into the stereotype of an uneducated, ditzy blonde woman who needs educated men to save her in her daily life.
In one episode, she is brought to a scientist cocktail party where the men all ask what she’s doing there. Penny then takes off her coat to reveal she is wearing a skimpy and revealing dress and says she
Penny is portrayed as a sex object who is there to satisfy the male gaze and for her intelligence to be laughed at and she is constantly objectified throughout the series. This stereotype of women is harmful to society. Entenmen discusses how “stereotyping converts real persons into artificial persons. In our stereotypical acts, we treat people as proxies for a group we have decided they should represent. In short, we deny them their humanity.” (17) The show has Penny stereotyped into a dumb, sexual and helpless woman that many American viewers watch on their television every day and are influenced by what they see. By continuing to use stereotypes like the one of Penny in American media, these stereotypes will be further used in everyday