Running Head: GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

Gender Roles in Situational Comedies

Sarah McBeath
Indiana Wesleyan University

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Introduction to Gender Roles
Situational Comedies (or Sitcoms) have been around since the 1950s, and shows
such as I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Leave it to Beaver, and Dennis the Menace
dominated the era. Now, sitcoms aired nationally include Modern Family, Parks and
Recreation, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, and The Big Bang Theory. As time has
gone by, America has seen reality change regarding family, social roles, and gender
stereotypes. Women have transitioned from homebound roles to involvement in the
workplace. Social norms and taboos have also changed through periods such as racial
segregation and Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, and through the great technology
changes over the last few decades. Content Analysis is a popular method researchers use
to decode this change in practical terms. This method involves watching a sample of a
certain number of episodes within the situational comedy genre. However, there are many
aspects within the realm of situational comedy involving romance, work, and family
dynamics. Certain gender roles, imposed upon women and men by producers and
writers, tend to give a sense of familiarity and relation to audiences. Quantitative content
analysis presents gender researchers with a set of useful tools for comparing messages
generated by males and females (Neuendorf, 2010, p.276). By assessing these different
media messages, audiences can better understand the relationship between media and
reality.
Literature Review
Previous studies on this research topic pointed out various communication
theories applying to gender roles in media. Banduras social cognitive theory maintains
that people learn from media similarly to how they learn from real-life scenarios (Rudy,

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2010, p. 708). It would appear that with experience come habitual patterns; and, the more
we see patterns in the real world, the more we believe their existence. Accordingly, it
seems that the more we see media messages with stereotypical portrayal, the more we
believe that those characteristics are true. The cultivation theory outlined by Gerbner
expresses that, as we are exposed to different media outlets, we seem to take on the media
reality as our own reality, and then act upon that new socially constructed reality (Rudy,
2010, p. 708). Another theory to explore while researching gender roles in various
television series is the elastic sphere model. This model emphasizes the ever-expanding
influence of producers and writers that measure viewership and what their audience
enjoys in shows. They create more of what their viewers want to achieve higher ratings
and prestige (Lauzen, 2008, p. 203). This seems to affect the character development in a
television sitcom, as well as the limits of gender social roles that the audience is willing
to accept.
Richard Butch wrote that there have been more than 400 sitcoms on United States
television since this genres origin. Most of these, about , have focused on the familial
aspects of life in the home, and the rest have been set in the workplace (Butsch, 2005,
p.1). Looking at situational comedies, there are essentially typical characters that appear
in each TV show. Some are portrayed as innocents, such as children or people that cannot
stand up for themselves. Then, there are silly characters, characterized by their foolish
actions-- providing comic relief. Another type involves the characters that seem to run
into trouble no matter what they do or where they go. Over time, stereotypes are merged
into character types that recur and have a special importance in the culture as stock
imagesthe country bumpkin, the dizzy blondeused to construct a cultures tales and

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even to type each other in everyday life ((Butsch, 2005, p.1). With these stereotypes
based on location or body type, it seems that through television exposure, audiences can
relate these stereotypes to reality, positively or negatively.
Lauzen and Dozier (2008) confirm in their research that female characters are
more likely to play roles of relational, loving family members or friends,,and that the
male counterparts are given more firm occupational roles in the workplace (Lauzen,
2008, p. 202). These researchers studied sitcoms that have aired on ABC, NBC, and CBS,
among others. They studied not only gender roles and occupations of characters in the
shows, but also of the producers and writers. They did this by looking for a correlation
between if and how women writers portrayed the women characters differently compared
to male writers. Researchers believe that women may consciously or unconsciously
write about and create stereotypically female fare, such as relationships, to keep their
jobs or earn kudos from network executives (Lauzen, 2008, p. 206). If this is true, there
seems to be great bias in the film industry--where women writers feel subjected to portray
stereotypical roles even if they do not agree with those stereotypes. In Lauzens previous
research, she found that men greatly outnumbered the number of women in the film
industry. Less than 1/4 of writers, producers, directors, and editors in this field are
females (Lauzen, 2006a). In this male-dominated business, one can see how gender
stereotypes in sitcoms seem to favor the male roles over female characters.
Fouts and Burggraf (2000) explored instances of comments regarding womens
weight and observed audience reactions. In their research, they found that males often
spoke negatively toward women regarding their body size or shape, and audiences
encouraged these offensive remarks with laughter (Fouts, 2000, p.925). The media

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industry often portrays women with unattainable figures as the most prized among men;
consequently, women that fall out of this range are encouraged to change their weight to
achieve a more beautiful, attractive state. In Fouts and Burggrafs research, they coded
negative comments such as, Youre too fat to wear that dress in public, Maybe you
should wear a sack, and Dont you need to go on a diet? (Fouts, 2000, p.928).
Research indicated that males verbally abused 14% of main females concerning their
imperfect bodies on the show. Overweight women received more offensive comments
compared to the skinnier girls. Also, audience reactions to these comments were 80%
favorable, encouraging this negativity toward women with less than ideal body shape
(Fouts, 2000, p.930).
In a Pilot Study for Roles of Women in Television Situation Comedies, Amanda
Scott found that males were over-represented compared to females. Coinciding with the
modern feminist movement in the 1960s, a primary concern has been the treatment of
female characters (Glascock, 2001, p.656). This feminist movement actually spurred
many content analyses to prove the under-representation of women in the media to
promote change. Scott set out to prove a perpetuating patriarchy, in sitcoms such as
According to Jim, Modern Family, and Eight Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage
Daughter. She found that the women of the household primarily did chores, while the
men worked outside the home. She claimed that the stereotypes pervading television are
that, women support the children, clean and cook, and men read the paper, drink coffee
and are shown as either disconnected from the family structure or as getting in the way
(Scott, 2011, p.25-26). These family roles are typically seen in domestic sitcoms. She
concludes by recognizing the lack of portrayal equality of men and women in television

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shows. Collins indicates that women who are portrayed in media often are sexualized or
degraded (Collins, 2011, p.293-294). Body image is a controversial topic in the media vs.
reality debate. Hyper-sexuality measures include: sexy clothing, some nudity, thin,
and beautiful. All of these characteristics were seen in family films, with a staunch
difference in women and men portrayal of each measure (Smith, p.4). In this case, greater
representation of females in media may not lead to gender equality, but rather further
degradation of the female population.
Tedesco (1974) studied gender related to ethnicity to see the level of
representation among minorities, and he found diversity in 10% of male characters and
6% of females (Glascock, 2001, p.658). With the majority of prime-time television
casting Caucasians, minorities are often under-represented.
Audience perception varies among gender, race, socioeconomic status, or
location. A study on the history of content analysis of gender roles questioned the effects
media messages and representations have on consumers. Collins wrote: Perhaps those
who are represented less often in the media adapt by more easily identifying with
dissimilar others, allowing them to be involved viewers even though they do not see
themselves reflected in terms of gender or race (Collins, 2011, p.292). This reflects an
audience that watches with automaticity, not truly engaging in the media versus reality
issue. By identifying with the opposite sex, some females take on male characteristics in
everyday life, further changing gender roles in society.
In reality, gender roles in society seem to have changed radically over the last
couple of decades. Women and male characteristics have seemed to cross over, with
women taking leadership roles in the home and workplace and men having more caring

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emotional sides (Smith, p.18). Media in general, however, has not followed in accurately
representing this shift in gender roles. Even so, Gitlin reports that, In order to continue
to appeal to mass audiences, television producers are to some extent compelled to
acknowledge changing social mores (Gitlin, 1983). The gender gap is slowly closing,
and change in gender roles and stereotypes will not happen overnight. As more content
analyses are carried out, it is likely we will see small shifts toward gender equality in
television.
Previous research on The Big Bang Theory was conducted by Kunert to assess the
roles and stereotypes placed on nerds in this sitcom. She mentions the special
characteristics of this show in that, most characters on the show fall into the social
category of nerds and fulfill the stereotypes associated with that image such as social
awkwardness and physical unattractiveness (Kunert, 2012, p.6). This stereotype affects
gender roles in this series for both men and women. Relationships--romantic or friendly-are also a very important aspect revealed in her research. Rena Rudy admits that, plenty
of valuable research into gender- related content has yet to be conducted (Rudy, 2011,
p.159).
Methodology
This study sampled 25 episodes of CBS Networks The Big Bang Theory by way
of DVDs. Every season opener and season finale of the first 7 seasons was analyzed, with
a couple of random episodes from each season selected by the coder. Since there are 159
total episodes in seasons 1-7, this random sampling of 25 was a slight limitation, but was
acceptable within the confines of this research. A coding system was created where
gender roles, common stereotypes, and other instances to the characters in the show were

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related mainly concerning: Leonard Hofstadter, Sheldon Cooper, Penny, Howard
Wolowitz, Raj Koothrappali, Amy Farrah Fowler, and Bernadette Rostenkowski. A
relationship chart describing the interworking of friendships and relationships consistent
within the plotline was also created. Also in the coding method, attributes of characters
regarding demographics such as race, gender, and occupation as given in the script were
outlined. Additional observations were recorded as the coder watched each episode. After
the collection of data, a content analysis was completed and findings were presented to
the appropriate audience.
From previous research, content Analysis steps were outlined in Neuendorfs
Content AnalysisA Methodological Primer for Gender Research. The first is to find
theory and concepts related to the research topic. Many content analyses are carried out
to find the cause from the effects which media seems to have on the viewer population.
The next steps involve planning, research, immersion in the message pool, and
stabilizing a coding process (Neunendorf, 2010, p.277-280). With this pre-analysis
process, one can have a stable foundation from which to carry out his own research.
A female sophomore student at Indiana Wesleyan University conducted this
studys coding by immersion in the message pool-- watching and observing 25 total
episodes of The Big Bang Theory (See Appendix Figure 10: Chart D). For each episode,
she marked on a coding spreadsheet that correlated with each character that spoke at least
one line. This involved pausing the show at various times to write down additional
observations as well. Through previous literature, successful coding systems have
seemingly resulted that can be reproduced and implemented in gender role research with
minor changes and improvements. Lauzens data coding system "included all characters

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who spoke at least one line, and Each character was coded as either major or minor
(Lauzen, 2008, p. 207). This was utilized as a foundation in the coding process. Next,
gender and race were coded accordingly. Interpersonal roles and work roles were coded
similar to the methods used by Lauzen. These interpersonal roles include familial,
romantic and friendship roles. Work roles are classified as white-collar, blue collar,
service, professional or coworker status among other occupations (Lauzen, 2008, p.210211). As the coder watched each episode, she wrote notes on quotes, situation plots, and
visual indicators of present stereotypes.
The coder presented three hypotheses at the beginning of her research to be
challenged in the process:
H1: Male characters are overrepresented compared to female representation.
Collins stated in her research that, The studies make clear that women are underrepresented in media, and that when women are present they are typically scantily
dressed and relegated to stereotypical roles (Collins, 2011, p.290). In this research, this
hypothesis will be tested in this specific situational comedy.
H2: This situational comedys characters are predominantly White, and
therefore follow the stereotypes common to the American culture.
There are different gender roles and stereotypes in each culture (Rudy, 2011, p.154). In
this research, this hypothesis highlights the distinction and limitation within this research
that is focused on the American stereotypes specifically.
H3: Men are heavily involved in work rather than interpersonal roles.
Women are therefore, associated with interpersonal rather than work roles.

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This is similar to that of Lauzens research hypotheses method that correlated women
with family, romance, and friendship rather than occupations within the workplace
(Lauzen, 2008, p.206).
Coding will be delineated by categories: gender, character, race, interpersonal
roles, and work roles in the following way for each character who speaks at least one line
in each episode:
Gender:
1. Male
2. Female
Character:
1. Major- More than 10 minutes in show (almost the shows time)
2. Minor- Less than 10 minutes in show
Race:
1. White
2. African American
3. Indian
4. Jewish
5. Other
Interpersonal Roles:
1. Familial- mother, father, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, other relations.
2. Romantic: husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, other
3. Friendship: acquaintance, roommate, coworker, best friend
Work Roles:
1. White Collar- secretary, accountant, insurance representative
2. Blue Collar- working class, manufacturer, custodian, taxi driver, other laborer
3. Service- waitress, actress, retail, shop owner, journalist, etc.
4. Professional- lawyer, doctor, nurse, author, teacher, business manager, etc.
5. Scientist- physicist, engineer, astrophysicist, other scientist
6. Student- those who are currently enrolled in school or university
7. Domestic- those who work in home, babysitter, nanny
8. Unemployed- those who do not work in any capacity
9. Unspecified- those whose work roles are unidentified.
The coder inputted all data into a Microsoft Excel Document, and patterns were
recognized and analyzed as they emerged. After collection of data, sum totals were
counted for percentages in each category for an overall presence of each category

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whether gender, major/minor character differentiation, race, interpersonal roles, or work
roles. From these, pie charts and graphs were formed as needed to display data visually to
the audience. Each chart and graph gives insight into affirming or denying original
hypotheses. All other observations of gender role stereotypes are included in the final
appendix. The number of male and female characters were counted and compared to
current census data for correlation to test hypothesis 1. From the coding system and
additional observations, inferences were drawn according to the results of the study and
conclusions were relayed to appropriate audience.
Results and Findings
Challenge of Hypothesis 1: Male-Female Representation
The first category studied was gender representation within The Big Bang Theory.
Hypothesis 1 stated, Male characters are overrepresented compared to female
representation. In this research, this was found to be true over the course of 20 episodes.
In 4 other episodes there was a 50/50 ratio of male/female representation, and in only one
episode did females outnumber their male counterparts (See Figure 1: Chart 1.).
The overall representation of males and females coded is represented in the
following pie chart:
Figure 1a: Graph 1a: Overall Gender Presence from Sample.

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Overall Gender

Female; 38%
Male; 62%

Of all the characters watched in the 25-episode sample, 62% were male, with only
38% being female. These findings aligned with the first hypothesis, as males were
overrepresented than females.
Looking at the censuses from 2000 and 2010, the male to female ratio has
remained somewhat steady with 49.1% Male/50.9% Female in 2000, and 49.2%
Male/50.8% Female in 2010 (Howden, 2011, p. 2). As the previous charts indicate, The
Big Bang Theory seems to over-represent males in their situational comedy.
With this being said, however, as the series progresses and characters develop,
there is a gradual increase in female presence on the show as the following chart
indicates.
Figure 2: Graph A. Gender Presence Over Time

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Gender Presence Over Time

Challenge of Hypothesis 2: Race Representation

Hypothesis 2 focused on race as a factor that distinguishes gender stereotypes
across cultures. Out of the 44 characters coded over the 25-episode sample, 56% were
white, 14% were African American, 9% Indian, 2% Jewish, and 19% Other (which
mainly consisted of various Asian ethnic groups and one being Hispanic). The following
chart displays these findings visually:

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Race Overall (out of 44 coded)

Other; 19%
Jewish; 2%
Indian; 9%

White; 56%

African American; 14%

Figure 4:
Graph C. Racial Demographics For 44 Characters Coded

Racial Presence over all episodes was also coded, and the resulting findings were
73% White, 17% Indian, 3% African American, 3% Jewish, and 4% other (See Figure 5:
Graph D).
In both of these findings, the prominent racial demographic is in fact White,
which affirms Hypothesis 2, in that This situational comedys characters are
predominantly White, and therefore follow the stereotypes common to the American
culture.
Challenge of Hypothesis 3: Gender Roles (Interpersonal vs. Work Roles)
The final hypothesis differentiated women and men regarding gender rolesthe
main focus of this research. The hypothesis was that, Men are heavily involved in work
rather than interpersonal roles. Women are therefore, associated with interpersonal rather
than work roles. This was found to be untrue in this situational comedy. The following
charts and graphs illustrate this insufficiency.

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First overall interpersonal roles and work roles were coded and percentages were
found on overall presence of these roles. In the category of interpersonal roles, 58% of all
roles were friendship, 35% romantic, and 7% familial (Refer to Figure 6: Graph E).
Friendship roles were found to be significant within the confines of this research (Refer
to Figure 9: Chart C).
In the Work Roles category, the overall presence of work roles mainly (61%)
resided in the Scientist field. 17% of work roles were service, 12% were unspecified,
6% were professional, 2% were student, and 1% for each white collar and blue collar
sub-categories (Refer to Figure 7: Graph F). The domestic and unemployed subcategories did not garner any codes from the research, and were thus taken out of final
results.
Work Roles by Character were coded (Refer to Figure 8: Chart B for complete
list) for each character that spoke at least one line. For simplicity, the following chart just
looks at the work roles of the 6 main characters:
Figure 8a: Chart B. Work Roles by Character.
White
Character Name Collar
Sheldon
Leonard
Penny
Howard
Raj
Bernadette
Amy Farrah
Fowler

Blue
Collar

Service

Professional

Scientist

Student

Unspecified

X
x
x
X (CalTech Physicist)
X
X (microbiologist)
X (neurobiologist)

This chart shows that the majority of work roles are scientist-centered, with Penny
being the exception.

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Analysis/Discussion
Results and Findings show that two hypotheses proved true regarding gender
representation and racial majority, while gender roles were challenged.
As previously mentioned, a general theme in media is the underrepresentation of
women. Giving men a higher representation can skew audience perspective to reality.
According to our findings, The Big Bang Theory seems to be consistent with this
approach, but has a slight increasing trend of giving women more of an equal voice or
character participation (As seen in Figure 1: Table A). This voice can be seen as positive
or negative, but as new characters were added to The Big Bang Theory, they seem to
differ from Pennys prevailing relation to the female stereotype of American young
adults: beautiful, but ditzy, with all of the guys attracted to her. Amy and Bernadette
arent portrayed as the most beautiful girls, as they both are very much into science, wear
glasses, and arent the most fashionable. In the beginning of Season 7, Episode 1, Penny
is dressed in pink, revealing sleepwear. As a sharp contrast, Bernadette and Amy are
shown further into the episode to wear old-fashioned nightgowns and slippers. As female
presence increases, male presence seems to decrease to equal-out representation as the
series proceeds.
In the coding process, each character was identified as major or minor. The results
from this data were not significant to the research, as it follows the seemingly obvious
trend that there are more major characters in each episode than minor. For this reason,
this data was not included above in Results and Findings.
Racial majority of Whites on situational comedies also seems to be the trend
(Glascock, 2001, p.658). Diversity is found with Raj being Indian, and Howard having

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Jewish heritage. In the episodes, there are many remarks that correspond with not only
gender stereotypes, but also racial stereotypes (See Additional Observations). Since this
research was mainly focused on gender roles, this area of racial stereotypes was not
delved into thoroughly, but an analysis of gender in relation to racial roles is suggested
for further research.
Looking into Interpersonal Roles for the show revealed a strong emphasis on
friendship between the main characters. These friendships seem to be the driving force
for the show. Involved in these friendships are occasional romantic relationships.
Romance is not as highly prioritized in this show as it is in some other TV shows in the
industry, and family is definitely not held in high esteem from what was seen in the
sample. Sheldon tends to have differing views from his Christian, highly conservative,
Texan mother. Leonards relationship with his mother seems to be more of a autocratic
one where Leonards mother degrades him with expectations as well as valuing Sheldon
above her own son. Raj video chats his parents, but they dont often approve of his
actions and desperately want him to find an Indian wife. The main theme for familial
roles thus seems to be a fractured one.
From additional observations (found in the Appendix), it seems as if The Big
Bang Theory producers challenge gender roles regarding occupation (with scientists in
the majority), but still hold to general American stereotypes that they mainly perpetuate
through Penny. As a young, beautiful girl living on her own in the city, she has no
reservations when it comes to men. She dresses in revealing ways, even beginning with
the first episode with wearing a shirt showing cleavage and midriff with short shorts. Her
shower is broken, and just after meeting Leonard and Sheldon, she uses their shower and

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comes out in just a towel. She has a low-level income, serving as a waitress at the
Cheesecake Factory while waiting to jumpstart a professional acting career. Compared
to all of her friends, she is the least educated, and is therefore very much portrayed as a
dumb blonde. It seems that she finds her worth in men, and when crying over a break
up in the last episode of the first season, she eats ice-cream out of a tub and cries I swear
to God I am done with guys like that (Season 1, Episode 17). She is commonly referred
to as a slut or whore. In Season 4, Episode 1, Sheldon figures out that Penny might
have dated 193 men +/- 8 men (31 sexual partners). Amy asks her, To your mind, are
you a slut? Another example of this actually shows her perception of herself when she
calls herself Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Whore in The Skank Reflex Analysis (Season 5,
Episode 1).
When it comes to general familial roles, Leonards mother challenges the normal
nurturing domestic stereotype often associated with females. She is a world renowned
expert in parent and child development, with books available on Amazon, and when he
is discouraged, all she encourages him to do is buck up (Season 5, Episode 1). On the
other hand, the domestic role of women is perpetuated when Sheldon says, If we were
an old married couple, the wife would serve iced tea and snicker doodle cookies (Season
5, Episode 2).
In romantic roles in this series, gender roles are challenged. Leonard and Penny
seem to have reversed roles where Penny enjoys drinking beer and watching sports, while
Leonard would prefer a quiet night talking about feelings (Season 6, Episode 1). Sheldon
and Amys relationship is referred to as one of the mind (Season 5, Episode 8), and
Amy takes on a more sex-oriented view as Sheldon would rather just talk. Howard and

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Bernadette also challenge roles as Bernadette gives Howard an allowance and tells him to
pick up his toys (Season 7, Episode 14).
After reflecting on all of this, the main theme seems to be that The Big Bang
Theory accepts some gender roles while challenging others, which was a surprising find
in the research. This new diversity in gender roles is beneficial to presenting different
views of people since there is no single personality that is exactly the same. Perpetuating
stereotypes and gender roles can lead to a distorted view of reality of people for viewers.
Conclusion
From this limited content analysis of one situational comedy, the results seem to
both accept and challenge cultural norms found in media today. With male-female
representation rising, and gender roles being challenged, it seems that the future of the
media industry seems to be changing toward more equal and accurate representation.
Cultural diversity is still lacking among many media outlets, but there is a slight
increasing trend with different races making appearances on television (as is the case with
Raj, an young man from India). The Big Bang Theory tends to be known for
generalizations and stereotypes, but this research challenged this common perception.
Future study into gender roles in specific situational comedies might provide further
positive insight into the prevailing stance media takes on gender roles.

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Appendix
Figure 1: Table A. Gender Presence Per Episode
This chart shows that men dominate this show, with 4 episodes having equal
representation of male and females, and only 1 episode with a female character majority.
Total # of
# Male
# Female
%
Episode Title
Characters Characters
Characters % Male Female
Season 1, Ep. 1: Pilot
7
5
2 71.43% 28.57%
Season 1, Ep. 17: The Tangerine Factor
8
6
2
75%
25%
Season 2, Ep. 1: The Bad Fish Paradigm
9
7
2 77.78% 22.22%
Season 2, Ep. 8: The Lizard- Spock
Expansion
6
4
2 66.67% 33.33%
Season 2, Ep. 14: The Financial
Permeability
6
5
1 83.33% 16.67%
Season 2, Ep. 23: The Monopolar
Expedition
8
5
3 62.50% 37.50%
Season 3, Ep. 1: The Electric Can
Opener Fluctuation
7
5
2 71.43% 28.57%
Season 3, Ep. 7: The Guitarist
Amplification
9
7
2 77.78% 22.22%
Season 3, Ep. 10: The Gorilla
Experiment
6
4
2 66.67% 33.33%
Season 3, Ep. 14: The Einstein
Approximation
7
4
3 57.14% 42.86%
Season 3, Ep. 23: The Lunar Excitation
8
5
3 62.50% 37.50%
Season 4, Ep. 1: The Robotic
Manipulation
7
4
3 57.14% 42.86%
Season 4, Ep. 21: The Agreement
Dissection
10
6
4
60%
40%
Season 4, Ep. 24: The Roommate
Transmogrification
10
5
5
50%
50%
Season 5, Ep. 1: The Skank Reflex
Analysis
8
4
4
50%
50%
Season 5, Ep. 2: The Infestation
Hypothesis
9
5
4 55.56% 44.44%
Season 5, Ep. 8: The Isolation
Permutation
7
4
3 57.14% 42.86%
Season 5, Ep. 14: The Beta Test
Initiation
10
6
4
60%
40%
Season 5, Ep. 24: The Countdown
Reflection
10
7
3
70%
30%
Season 6, Ep. 1: The Date Night Variable
9
6
3 66.67% 33.33%
Season 6, Ep. 7: The Habitation
8
5
3 62.50% 37.50%

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21
Configuration
Season 6, Ep. 24: The Bon Voyage
Reaction
Season 7, Ep. 1: The Hofstadter
Insufficiency
Season 7, Ep. 14: The Convention
Conundrum
Season 7, Ep. 24: The Status Quo
Combustion

50%

50%

44.44%

55.56%

62.50%

37.50%

10

50%

50%

Figure 2: Graph A. Gender Presence Over Time

This graph measures how producers presented more female characters as the sitcom
changed over the seasons. From these findings, we see a general increase in female
participation, as this is predominately a male-dominated show.

Gender Presence Over Time

8
7
6
5

Number of People in each episode

4
3
2
1
0

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Figure 3: Graph B. Major vs. Minor Characters
The coder coded each character with a voice, and classified each as major or minor. This
graph represents a commonality that major characters are more heavily involved near the
end of the series (Season 7) compared to the beginning (Season 1). Some episodes have
an absence of minor characters.

Major vs. Minor Character Presence

# of Major Characters

10

12

# of Minor Characters

Figure 4: Graph C. Racial Demographics For 44 Characters Coded

This pie chart shows the percentages of race identified for the 44 total characters coded in
this 25-episode sample.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

23

Race Overall (out of 44 coded)

Other; 19%
Jewish; 2%
Indian; 9%

White; 56%

African American; 14%

Figure 5: Graph D. Racial Presence over 25 episodes

This pie chart differs from the one above because this one compiled all of the data
(whether obvious racial characteristics such as skin color, and accents or from mentions
by other characters) from each episode, and therefore measures the overall racial
presence over the 25 episodes.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

24

Racial Presence over 25 episodes

White

African American

Jewish

Other

Indian

3% 4%
17%
3%
73%

Figure 6: Graph E. Interpersonal Roles

This graph represents the familial, friendship, and romantic roles found in the sitcom.
This shows that the shows main focus is based on friendships, with little regard for
family. Romance increases as show proceeds.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

25

Interpersonal Roles
Familial; 7%
Romantic; 35%
Friendship; 58%

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

26
Figure 7: Graph F. Work Roles
This pie chart shows emphasis in different occupations for the various characters, which
were coded based on mentions to/of work by the character or from external characters.
Since most of the main characters of the show (with the exception of Penny) are
scientists, this theme dominates the whole series.

Work Roles
White Collar

Blue Collar

Service

Scientist

Student

Unspecified

Professional

12% 1% 1%
17%
2%
6%

61%

Figure 8: Chart B. Work Roles by Character.

Looking specifically at the 44 total characters coded, this chart shows a heavy presence
of scientists. Also from this chart, we actually see women holding professional positions
such as a doctor, lawyer, and nurse. Most men in this show are credentialed scientists

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

27
with PhDs. Service roles were approximately equally represented among men and
women, but many characters were not assigned a work role.

Character Name
Sheldon
Leonard
Sperm Bank Secretary
Penny
Howard
Raj
Restaurant Man
Restaurant Woman
Restaurant Man 2
Restaurant Member 1
Restaurant Member 2
Restaurant Member 3
Restaurant Member 4
Stephanie--Girl at
Space Station
Kurt (Penny's ExBoyfriend)
Raj's Mom (Virtual)
Raj's Dad (Virtual)
Howard's mom (on
phone)
Sheldon's Mother
Student #1
Stewart (Comic Book
Store Owner)
Justin (Penny's
Musician Friend)
Bernadette
Secretary
Zach (Penny's new
boyfriend)
Leslie (Leonard's exgirlfriend)
Amy Farrah Fowler
Lady Nurse
Priya

White
Collar

Blue
Collar

Service

Professional

Scientist Student
X
x

Unspecified

x
x
X (CalTech
Physicist)
X
X
X
x
X
X
X
X
X (Doctor)
X
X
X (holds PhD)
X
x
x
x
X (microbiologist)
x (secretary)
X (designer for Cheesecake
Factory)
X
X (neurobiologist)
X
X (Lawyer)

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

28
Cab Driver
Dancer #1
Barry (Raj and
Sheldon's co-worker)
Security Officer at
Desk
Siri (in dream)
NASA Astronaut #1- D.
Resinov
NASA Astronaut #2:
Mike Massimino
Bernadette's dad
Wil Wheaton
Lavar Burton
Lucy
Girl Raj talks to @
mixer
Mrs. Davis
James Earl Jones
Caretaker of Howard's
mom

x
x
x
X
x
X
x
x
X
x
X
x
x
x

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

29

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

30

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

31
Figure 9: Chart C. Relationship SystemInterpersonal Roles

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

32

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

33
Relationships for Main Characters Encountered in Research

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

34
All are friends=

Sheld
GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES
35
Lengthy Relationships=

Penny

Raj
Amy

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

36
Figure 10: Chart D. Sample Episode List
Sample #
1
2
3
4

Season
1
1
2
2

Episode #
1
17
1
8

Episode Title
Pilot
The Tangerine Factor
The Bad Fish Paradigm
The Lizard- Spock Expansion

Release Date
24 Sep. 2007
19 May 2008
22 Sep. 2008
17 Nov. 2008

5
6
7

2
2
3

14
23
1

2 Mar. 2009
11 May 2009
21 Sep. 2009

8
9
10
11
12
13
14

3
3
3
3
4
4
4

7
10
14
23
1
21
24

15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
7
7
7

1
2
8
14
24
1
7
24
1
14
24

The Financial Permeability

The Monopolar Expedition
The Electric Can Opener
Fluctuation
The Guitarist Amplification
The Gorilla Experiment
The Einstein Approximation
The Lunar Excitation
The Robotic Manipulation
The Agreement Dissection
The Roommate
Transmogrification
The Skank Reflex Analysis
The Infestation Hypothesis
The Isolation Permutation
The Beta Test Initiation
The Countdown Reflection
The Date Night Variable
The Habitation Configuration
The Bon Voyage Reaction
The Hofstadter Insufficiency
The Convention Conundrum
The Status Quo Combustion

9 Nov. 2009
7 Dec. 2009
1 Feb. 2010
24 May 2010
23 Sep. 2010
28 Apr. 2011
19 May 2011
22 Sep. 2011
22 Sep. 2011
3 Nov. 2011
26 Jan. 2012
10 May 2012
27 Sep. 2012
8 Nov. 2012
16 May 2013
26 Sep. 2013
30 Jan. 2014
15 May 2014

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

37
Additional Observations Taken from Each Sample Episode
1) S1.EP1. PILOT
1. Penny wearing shirt showing cleavage/ midriff/ short shortsportraying women
without reservation and revealing.
2. PennySagittarius, Im a vegetarianexcept for steak I LOVE steak.
a. Waitress at Cheesecake Factory
b. Also writing screen play practically based on her life
c. Really ditzy
d. Starts crying until I fell in love with a jerk
3. Raj doesnt talk. (He speaks English but doesnt speak to women. Howard says
its because hes a nerd)
2) S 1. EP. 17: The Tangerine Factor
1. Penny getting over breakup---eating a tub of ice-cream. I just feel so betrayed and
embarrassed. I just want to crawl into a hole and die *while spraying whipped
cream in her mouth.
a. Crying about breakup. I swear to God I am done with guys like that.
3) S2. EP. 1: The Bad Fish Paradigm
1. When Leonard and Penny kissed, a camera follows them and zooms in on her
cleavage from her dress. (Howard and Raj behind this)
4) S.2. EP.8: The LizardSpock Expansion"
1. Howard walks in with an eye-patch, crazy clothes, a big belt buckle, and ideas for
picking up girls. Leonard calls him the bat mitzvah boy with pink eye because
hes Jewish.
2. Howard brings a girl (to the space station, and she is wearing a short dress where
a lot of cleavage is showing. They cut to her making out with Leonard in the car
while hes telling her all the good attributes of Howard. Portraying girl as slut
not looking for a long-term relationship.
3. Leonard sneaks off to hang out with Stephanie, the girl he met that Howard had
brought to the space station.
a. They are having dinner, and she just starts making out with him.
b. Howard keeps calling, leaving messages.
4. Leonard goes to Howard to tell him about Stephanie, but at the time Stephanie
calls Howard asking to just be friends.classic nerd story.
a. Howard tells Leonard Youre dead to me.
5) S.2. EP. 14: The Financial Permeability"
1. Penny is behind on bills and her car broke down.
a. Sheldon said he pointed out her check engine light being on
b. She says the light is still working; its just the engine that stopped
working.again furthering dumb blonde idea.
c. Sheldon offers Penny money.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

38
6) S.2. EP. 23: The Monopolar Expedition
1. Sheldon always has breakfast at 8 and goes to the restroom at 8:20
2. He uses Heisenbergs uncertainty principle to describe his time waiting to know
what the President wants to meet with him about.he went to the presidents
house at 2 in the morning to find out.
7) S.3. EP. 1 The Electric Can Opener Fluctuation
1. Sheldon calls his seat friend when he got back home from arctic expedition
2. Penny starts making out with Leonard. She is wearing a very revealing tank top.
3. The boys tampered with experimentSheldon freaks out.
4. Sheldon goes to his bed, curls up in a ball and cries hard.
5. Sheldon ran away to Texas. His mom is a Christian and they pray before meal.
6. Rajasks where the saloons, cattle drives, tumbleweeds are since thats what he
thought Texas was from movies he watched in India.
7. Mrs. Cooper is strong about no alcohol, healing at her church (to take out
whatever 3rd world demon is running on inside of you. Referring to Raj)racial
stereotype.
8) S.3. EP. 7 The Guitarist Amplification
1. Sheldon created his own game called Research Lab: the physics is theoretical,
but the fun is real.
2. While Leonard is fuming to Sheldon in the car about the fight, he mimics Penny:
it doesnt matter what you want Leonard, cause Im penny and Im pretty and I
can do whatever I want in a high pitch voice.
3. Sheldon runs from all confrontation and fighting because of his past with his
parents.
9) S.3. EP 10 The Gorilla Experiment
1. Howard introduces Bernadette, his new girlfriend, to Raj and Sheldon.
a. Bernadette tries to sit in Sheldons seat but Penny explains the very
scientific reasons for it being Sheldons seat.
2. Bernadette comments on Pennys shoes: a girl thing to do. And Penny talks about
the great deal she got on them.
a. Sheldon thinks hes in hell, but Howards says, Let the Womenfolk
chat.there is a sharp contrast between men and women conversation.
3. Penny asks Sheldon to teach her a little physics so she can talk to Leonard about
his job.
a. He comments on her messy apt.: uneducated.
b. He likens teaching Penny rudimentary physics to teaching a monkey sign
language.
c. He calls this Project Gorilla one of his most challenging aspects of
scientific career.
d. He hands her a college-ruled notebook and says that he hopes thats not
too intimidating.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

39
e. When Sheldon teaches Penny about Newton all she gets is that Newton is
a smart cookieis that where Fig Newtons come from?Blonde, ditzy
stereotype
f. Penny starts crying because she thinks shes stupid.
10) S.3. EP. 14 "The Einstein Approximation"
1. Raj feels left out of Leonard and Howards double date to go roller-skating.
a. When they got back...the girls talked about how embarrassed they were of
the boys, but the boys thought they skated great.difference between men
and women.
11) S.3. Ep. 23 The Lunar Excitation
1. Sheldon freaks out when he sees a dirty sock. He is a germophobic.
2. Sheldon thinks Zach, Pennys new boyfriend is more on intelligence level as
Penny. Zach uses terms such as bitchin., naked, etc. to refer to cool.
3. They hit the moon with a laser. Zach asks stupid questions (filling stereotype of
big, attractive, stupid jock), that Sheldon changes his mind that Penny can do
better.
4. When Sheldon meets Amy (from Howard and Raj putting them together on online
dating site), Amy wears glasses, tells him that her mom and her have an
agreement that she date once a year, and Sheldon offers to buy her a drink. Amy
seems to be the female version of Sheldon!
12) S4. EP. 1 The Robotic Manipulation
1. Penny freaks out when she finds out that Sheldon has a girlfriend. Which
Sheldon denies. They communicate about his work in physics, her work in
neurobiology and the recent possibility of them having a child together to produce
intellectual overlord to make humanity a better place.
2. Penny drives Sheldon and Amy to their date. Amy criticizes her check engine
light. They sit in uncomfortable silence, while Penny tries to spark conversation
between the two of them. Sheldon calls Penny a muggle (harry potter
reference).
3. Sheldon figures out that Penny might have dated 193 men +/- 8 men. (31 sexual
partners). Amy asks her, To your mind, are you a slut?
13) S.4. EP.21 "The Agreement Dissection"
1. Sheldon seeks help about the roommate disagreement from Penny, but shes going
out for a girls night but invites him anyway
a. He doesnt know if hes up for that: he thinks they would just talk about
frivolous things and menstrual cramps, but he decides to go anyway.
2. On the girls night out, Sheldon has a glass of milk, while all of the other girls
have drinks.
a. Amy calls Sheldon a sexy toddler because he smells like baby powder.
b. Bernadette is a lightweightgetting loopy while drinking more.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

40
c. He knows all about the method of kissing, but wont experiment on
Amy.
d. Sheldon went through cotillion where he learned how to dance, so they go
to take him dancing.
3. Amy woke up hung-over, and Sheldon explains everything that happened the
night before.
a. He describes rebooting their relationship as one would reboot a computer
to restore to previous conditions.
14) S4. EP. 24 The Roommate Transmogrification
1. Amy and Sheldon talk about their surprise at Bernadette (Howards fianc)
getting her PhD. Amy almost discounts the microbiology field as it studies yeast,
while she studies the brain.
a. Leonard teases Howard about being a trophy husband to a successful wife.
b. Bernadette told Howard, you let me worry about the money (reverse
roles)
15) S.5. EP. 1 The Skank Reflex Analysis
1. Raj thinks hes in love with Penny: talks about Hindu version of Cupid.
a. Leonard is jealous that Penny slept with Raj so he brings up Rajs
obsession over Bernadette (Howards fianc).
2. Penny, in her apt., pours wine into a large measuring cup. Amy comes in and uses
scientific language, Keeping accurate track of your alcohol intakeespecially
seeing how trampy you get when youve had a few.
a. She calls herself Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Whore.
3. Leonards mom a world renowned expert in parent and child development, with
books available on amazon, and all she encourages him to do is buck up.
Challenging nurturing mother stereotype.
16) S.5. EP.2 The Infestation Hypothesis
1. Sheldon goes to Pennys apt. where they are both reading.
a. Penny comments on it being niceand likens them to an old married
couple.
b. Sheldon says, If we were an old married couple, the wife would serve
iced tea and snicker doodle cookiesfurther perpetuating the woman as
homemaker stereotype.
c. He really enjoys her new chair until he finds out it use to be trashhe
thinks its infested.
17) S.5. EP. 8 The Isolation Permutation
1. Amy gets jealous when she finds out that Bernadette took Penny dress shopping.
2. Sheldon is worried about reaching Amy because every avenue: video chat, twitter
and the phone isnt working.
a. Shes playing the harp while crying and singing Everybody hurts
sometimes
b. She tells Sheldon her world is falling in around her.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

41
c. Sheldon thinks their relationship is one of the mind.
d. Amy wants to have sex. Sheldon wants to pat her head. She says French
kissing. He says neck massage. She throws out final offer of cuddling.
3. Sheldon yells at Howard and Leonard to get their women in line.
a. He says he is a man of science not someones snuggle bunny.
4. The girls talk about why they didnt invite Amy to bridesmaids dress shop.
a. They go to Amy and say theyre sorry, and try to make it up to her. She
thinks she doesnt belong with them.
b. She gets drunkreflects on how she was always left out of friend groups
her whole life.
c. Bernadette asks Amy to be her maid of honor, which seemingly changes
her life.
18) S.5. EP. 14 The Beta Test Initiation
1. Raj gets a new phonetalks to Siri and Howard jokes that he finally has a woman
in his life.
2. Raj asks Siri why women dont like him.
a. She asks him what he wants to be called: and he says Sexy, so she says
from now on Ill call you sexy.
b. Raj thinks Siri is his soul mate.
3. In a dream, Raj meets real-life Siri, and because he cant talk to women in real
life, he is unable to say anythingthen he wakes up from the nightmare.
19) S.5. EP. 24 The Countdown Reflection
1. On the Space Shuttle, Massimino calls Howard fruit loops. The other astronaut
(Resinov) thinks its because of his very gay haircut, but Howard tells him that
its because he lives with his mom and she makes him fruit loops.
2. In a flashback--At the wedding, all Howard & Bernadettes friends become
ordained ministers and all speak at the wedding. Each has their own agenda
beyond their words for Howard and Bernadette.
a. Tension between Penny and Leonard on definitions of love.
b. Tension between Amy and Sheldon. Sheldon is fine on his own, but Amy
wants to be with him.
20) S.6. EP. 1 The Date Night Variable
1. Sheldon found loophole in relationship with Amy agreement, so Raj joins him and
Amy on their annual date.
a. Amy doesnt take it very well, because she think its a real relationship.
2. Leonard plans a date night for Penny with beer, wings, and footballhe even
painted his stomach with Go Sports.
a. Leonard is more of a girl and Penny is more of a guy: reverse role
stereotype.
3. Amy and Sheldon also almost reverse roles. Amy gets horny when shes drunk.
Sheldon doesnt want to have sex.
a. Sheldon tells Amy that he needs herfor a car ride.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

42
b. Sheldon tells Amy how he really feelsa quote from one of the 1st
Spiderman movies. He assumes theyre splitting the check.
21) S.6. EP. 7. The Habitation Configuration
1. Sheldons Fun with Flags episode features Wil Wheaton, StarTrek actor. Amy (1st
time director) gives Wil a hard time.
a. She offers to leave, and Sheldon says that would solve all our problems
and hell see her at dinner. She thought hed rather have dinner with Wil
and he said she was right.
b. Sheldon doesnt realize that Amy could be upset or offended by this.
2. Sheldon video-calls Amy and she tells him that shes angry.
a. He tells her to eat a LunarBar because when women think theyre angry
theyre really just hungry.
b. But...she really is mad.
3. At the restaurant, Bernadette and Howard talk about the move.
a. He blames the SabbathThis ones on God, because hes technically
not allowed to move or work on the Sabbath.
b. But hes eating a bacon cheeseburgerHe says as long as your
circumcised and not wearing a cross youre good.
c. Penny says multiple times that shes not a good waitresslow selfesteem.
4. Sheldon goes to Penny to talk about girls.
a. He says the problem is with women.
b. He normally gets a chamomile tea but Penny serves him a Long Island ice
tea, which he calls, a treat thats hard to beat.
c. He starts getting drunk, calls Amy a unique blend of saint and squirrel.
d. He goes to Wil Wheatons house to defend Amy, his woman.
22) S.6. EP. 24 "The Bon Voyage Reaction"
1. When Raj tries to find 1 person from the group to meet Lucy, he picks Bernadette
because Penny is too pretty to show and might intimidate her.
a. B gets offended.
b. Amy offers: she came in as an outsiderbut now feels a part of the
family.
2. At the going away party, Lucy decides to end things with Raj.
3. Raj cries and asks the girls why no one ever loves himhe thinks he is unlovable.
a. He got over his no-talking-in-front-of-girls syndrome.
23) S.7. EP. 1 The Hofstadter Insufficiency
1. Penny is dressed in pink, revealing sleepwear.
2. Sheldon misses Leonard a lot.
a. Claims to be an emotionless robot, but he really does miss him.
3. Bernadette and Amy are at a conference, and they talk intellectuallythey claim
to just end up talking about boys when theyre with Penny.
a. Boys bought them drinks, and Amy gets excited because they didnt even
need Penny there for boys to hit on them.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

43

4.

b. At night, Amy wears an old-fashioned nightgown and slippers.sharp

contrast to Pennys sleepwear earlier in the episode.
Sheldon promised Leonard to take care of Penny so he tries to comfort her.
a. Penny is tan, with straight hair. She told Sheldon that she once did a
topless part in an unknown movie.
b. Sheldon tells her a deep secret about how upset he is about YouTubes
changed review system: from stars to thumbs up system (seemingly trivial
but really mattered to him.)

24) S.7 EP. 14 The Convention Conundrum

1. Bernadette acts like a mother more than a wife to Howard
a. Gives him allowance
b. Tells him to put away his toys
2. The girls go to a teahouse to feel more grown upbut they see all these little girls
instead.
a. They talk about what it means to feel grown up.
b. Penny talks about laughing out loud at an old man falling.
c. Penny tells Amy that sex does not make you a grown up. Bernadette
says yeah that would make you the oldest one here.
25) S.7. EP. 24 "The Status Quo Combustion"
1. Leonard tells his mom about Pennys engagement, which Sheldon already told her
about. She doesnt approve of his life choices, but Sheldon approved so she
approved.
2. Penny tells her mom about the engagement. Her mom is just proud that shes not
pregnant.

GENDER ROLES IN SITUATIONAL COMEDIES

44
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