From mild discomfort to outright outrage, there’s a reason you have mixed feelings about this show. No one does the archetype of the ‘adorkable misogynist’ better than the Big Bang Theory.
WATCH: Why the ‘adorkable’ misogyny of ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is actually dangerous Ever wondered why despite the LOLs something feels off about one of the most popular sitcoms of our day? Maybe it’s because the cheap laughs come at a price, and it’s women who are footing the bill.
The Big Bang Theory provides a perfect lens through which to deconstruct a popular media trope that ‘Pop Culture Detective’ Jonathan McIntosh likes to call the Adorkable Misogynist.
Howard is the creepy pervert with a heart of gold
McIntosh defines Adorkable Misogynists as male characters whose geeky version of masculinity is framed as comically pathetic yet still endearing. Their status as nerdy “nice guys” then lets them off the hook for a wide range of creepy, entitled, and sexist behaviours. About Jonathan McIntosh Dude gets it! Jonathan McIntosh is a video producer and pop culture critic. His project, the Pop Culture Detective Agency is a series of video essays looking at media through a critical lens with an emphasis on the intersections of politics, masculinity and entertainment. He has been creating online videos about social and political issues for a over a decade. Over the past three years he had the honour of working as producer and co-writer on the first season of Feminist Frequency’s influential web series Tropes vs Women in Video Games. He’s also the creator of Buffy vs Edward and Donald Duck meets Glenn Beck.
“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou
