“[She] is wunderbar, but she is not my Lebenslangerschicksalsschatz.” People have a certain inclination to finding their destiny, their one true love, their soulmate. Usually, it would be considered almost a dream that a speech so meaningful and significant will be coming from a guy. However, to think this argument as valid would also be close to thinking that our world is mostly confined to all its biases and stereotypes. This is evidently not the case today.
Such is much portrayed in many forms of modern mass media. The world of television and movies, for instance, is a vast land of different characters and portrayals. Each series and sitcoms try to explore and develop new characters that are not just delimiting a certain sex, or gender for that matter. In the first episode of How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) Season 8 entitled “Farhampton”, what is basically the preferred meaning of the episode is that no matter what sex or gender, male or female, we are all looking for that special somebody who will make us happy and will make us feel at home. As such, though males have been differentiated from females most of the time, both sexes and/or genders portray overlapping roles that nullifies this idea of stereotyping, especially in our world today.
The episode and series as a whole tries to relate and look into the lives of a group of average Americans in their late 20s and early 30s as they go about everyday problems such as career, family, friendship, and relationship. The emotional context of the show coupled with presence of make-believe “heartthrob” was what mostly got the female audiences. Apparently, the same reason of having a heartthrob was the hook for most male audiences, especially with the way the story is being told. However, the comedic feel and nature of the script most likely accounts for its wide acceptance even amongst teenagers and young adults.
Stereotyping Gender
Evidently still on the episode and the series, there are certain gender stereotypes that has been employed in order to present the story in a more distinct and direct manner. Again due to its light and comedic nature, presence of gender stereotypes has proved to be more beneficial in employing one-liners and more dialogues with the characters than in demanding more explanations, and thus more monologues. Such may be because of the series trying to appeal to a larger audience instead of just a few age groups.
Young children and adults sometimes heavily rely on TV programs and movies in order to study and know more about social reality, and with it gender behaviors (Biondi, 2). This is based on Cultivation theory, which basically acknowledges the influence of repeated media exposure to a person’s opinions of feminine and masculine identities that affects their reality, and consequently make for predetermined gender ideals and stereotypes (Rudman & Glick, 9) Whether we are in the modern world or not, stereotyping is said to be always an integral part of mass media.
The HIMYM episode “Farhampton” is not exempted from this rule of thumb. There are a number of gender biases and stereotypes that have been well represented in the story and in the series. A simple representation of this is the number of male and female lead characters in the cast. In Biondi’s study of “Gender Stereotypes in Reality TV”, she mentioned other studies pointing out the differences, at the very least, in count of men and women presentation in primetime television. And while I can only but include examples from this episode, a sample examination of other TV programs, which I gladly recalled to do a quick test, can prove this concept as not a mere fallacy.
“Body vs Mind”
Another example of which is the very basic stereotype against males and females and that is the connotation that they are sexual subjects or objects, respectively. As what was previously mentioned, the presence of a heartthrob in the character of Barney depicted the kind of male leading character that every man wants for himself – the life of a ladies’ man and being able to get what they want, including and especially the girl. It was very evident in the beginning of the film that marriage life is a definitely new adventure for Barney as he was accustomed to having “the good life”. On the recall, we can also see that Barney still has the instinct and sexual drive of being a ladies’ man with the “having sex in the kitchen” scene and the “seduce the bridesmaid challenge” scene.
The view of women as “sexual objects” had already been widely utilized for decades in the world of advertising, especially in the United States. With their bikini clad bodies hanging atop cars and other merchandise, women have been the subject of desire mostly to sell different types of products (Frith & Mueller, 94). While the presence of sexual content, albeit discreet, does not make for a good product or, in this case, TV series name recall according to the study by Steadman in 1969, it had also been concluded that the same can be more effective in recall for males rather than females. This might explain the episode and series’ heavy support of the masculine population.
“Logic vs Emotion”
A third common gender stereotype is the view of men and women as logical and emotional beings, respectively. When Ted asked Barney to seduce Andrea, Klaus’ sister, over the phone, Barney casually asked permission then to his girlfriend, Quinn, if this will be alright. Without waiting for a response, however, he proceeded with the challenge. There were two stereotypes that have been touched lightly in this scene. Firstly and what was already stressed earlier, men have a more logical way of dealing with relationships such as but not limited to the concept of jealousy. In general, women are more depicted as “dependent on and preoccupied with men and enmeshed in relationships or housework” (qtd. in Biondi 4), while men are depicted as “confident, competent, powerful” (qtd. in Biondi 4). This concept of power and pride is the second theme depicted wherein Barney shows his patriarchal nature by assuming women’s interests as subordinate and therefore can be ignored easily.
Also in the battle between logic and emotion, we saw how Barney had easily opted to destroy and/or replace all of his ex-girlfriend’s, Robin’s, pictures and memories just so he can hide it from his fiancé, Quinn. It only shows that guys have more the capability of moving on easily than girls with new relationships after the end of a previous one. On the other hand, Ted replaced Victoria’s note with Klaus’ and placed artificial tears in it so as to guise Victoria’s eloping with Ted. This portrayed Ted’s stereotyping of women being emotional over someone leaving them.
Reversals in Gender Roles
What is great about the story, however, is that most of the stereotypes presented actually reversed itself in the story in a successful effort that shows gender equality can and works alongside gender stereotyping, and still achieve its target audience. Such is the case with both the “sexual subject/object” stereotype and the “logical/emotional” stereotype of men and women.
The former is depicted in Robin’s new boyfriend, Nick, being the object of affection of both Robin, and later on, Quinn, Barney’s fiancé. When Quinn expressed her doubt on Robin’s and Barney’s feelings for each other, all Robin had to do was show her Nick’s body. Though I probably cannot speak for past generations, the modern era have always freely expressed its general and increased likeness to chiseled bodies. This concept is very evident in today’s print media. Most women’s magazines have features objectifying guys or boys in the same the latter has been doing to the former for decades (Gauntlett, 188). These show more about the transformation and empowerment of women from what the feminine culture was some time ago to what the culture can become today.
Heteronormativity and the “male gaze”
The presence of these stereotypes strengthens the point of “heterosexuality [as being] presumed to be enduring and timeless” (qtd in Lorber, Davis & Evans 316). Lorber, Davis & Evans significantly compared this heteronormative concept to “thinking straight”, which is the common term for heterosexuals today. Anything that confines the boundaries of sexuality and gender by participating in the strict association of a male with a female is heteronormative in itself. While we have these gender reversals, heteronormativity is still evidently one vital part of the story by depicting boy-girl relationships and activities, and also marriage.
Because of heavy emphasis on this institutionalized heterosexuality present in the text, it can thus be concluded that sexuality is no far from the concept of gender in the story. However, in itself, the gender and sexuality are special qualities of the identities of the main characters seeing as each has its own unique way of expressing the gender stereotype. Moreover, I think there is little presence of the male gaze in the story because all female characters tend to be active and having their own piece of mind to share. Thus, women are not “denied of a viewpoint of their own and participate in the pleasure of men looking at women”, because they are given developing and independent characters to portray.
All is fair
As what is evidently portrayed above, today’s description of gender is really very much a mixture of past stereotypes coupled with new and emerging ones commonly from the reversal of these past stereotypes. While men view women as sex objects, women can also already view men as sexual objects as well. Also, traditionally, men appear to be more logical in their treating of relationships while women are the more emotional ones. However, as what can be seen, men also have a soft side that is expressed only at the right time. This is because, again, when it comes to happiness and love, everyone wants to meet his or her own “Lebenslangerschicksalsschatz”. In this concept of a “lifelong treasure of destiny”, whether man or woman, all terms of stereotypes and gender roles become universal and fair. As they say, all is fair in love and war.
Works Cited
Biondi, Olivia. Gender Stereotypes in Reality TV: An Investigatin of the Real World. MI: ProQuest Information and Learning Company, 2007. Web. 26 Nov. 2012.
“Farhampton.” How I Met Your Mother. CBS. Los Angeles, California. 24 Sept. 2012. Television.
Frith, Katherine Toland, and Barbara Mueller. Advertising and Societies: Global Issues. 2nd ed. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2010. Print.
Gauntlett, David. Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.
Lorber, Judith, Kathy Davis, and Mary Evans. Handbook of Gender and Women’s Studies. London: Sage Publications, 2006. Print.
Rudman, Laurie A. and Peter Glick. Social Psychology of Gender: How Power and Intimacy Shape Gender Relations. New York: The Guilford Press, 2008. Print.
