Sitcoms And Women

Situational comedies, more popularly referred to as sitcoms are often praised for their fast pace story line and humorous dialogue, creating an entreating experience worthwhile for many viewers. The sitcom How I Met Your Mother, follows the narration of Ted Mosby telling his kids the story of his life in New York City with his friends, as he attempts to find love. The sitcom is often credited for the introduction of the iconic character, Barney Stinson, a friend of Ted Mosby. Barney Stinson is most noted for his love of suits, the creation of the Playbook (a book with “plays” he uses to seduce woman) and his iconic catch phrases. However, at a closer examination, Barney’s behavior can be criticized towards his treatment of women throughout

She clearly expresses that women in these video games are subjected as sexual objects, that have no active role in these video games. The sitcom, How I Met Your Mother (season 3 episode 14), portrays women as sexual objects in order to advance the story line of the misogynic character Barney Stinson. In using humorous dialogue to describe his “sexual conquests” and vulgar remarks about woman’s bodies, the sitcom subtly reveals these issues as insignificant and irrelevant, leading to perceptions of a power imbalance between Barney and the women he forms relationships with, concerns that coincide with Sharkeesian’s video, Women as Background Decoration: Part 2- Tropes vs Women in Video Games. In creating this distinction, it ultimately suggests, Barney is not so much making ignorant jokes as he is using humorous tactics to assert dominance and establish values and assign roles to women he forms relationships

Throughout these inquisitions and discussions with his friends, Barney abstains from referring to most of these women by their names, preventing them from having a rounded personality. Instead, by involving his friends in his plans to unmask the stalker, he opens up a discussion about these women, providing little insight into their personalities. According to Sarkeesian, “The women who fulfill this trope in gaming universes are sometimes designed to occupy minor narrative roles but more often than not they’re just hollow shells, empty representations with little to no personality or individuality to speak of (Sarkeesian).” In her video, Sarkeesian further develops her argument of the treatment of women in video games by mentioning that these characters are not diverse in personality as they are either only referred or meant to be looked as sexual objects for the male characters. In a similar sense, when Barney tries to unmask the woman who is stalking him and preventing his advancement of other woman, Barney uses a drinking game to gain the involvement of his friends to help him find the woman. The humorous dialogue and intoxicated state of his friends demonstrate that Barney’s exploitation of women seems trivial and irrelevant, which is furthered when these women are discussed and