Trigger warning: homophobia, transphobia, fat-shaming, sexual assault mention
Have you ever noticed that there are several jokes in older sitcoms that haven't aged well? You thought it was funny the first time you saw it, but now you cringe when revisiting it on Netflix or Hulu. Well, I can relate. I hopped on the Friends and HIMYM trains late, so I was caught off guard by many "jokes" the first time around. In case you never noticed-- or wanted to see if someone else agreed with you-- here are some sitcom jokes that have not aged well.
1. The "It switches back and forth..." gender jokes.
As many who read my articles on a regular basis know, "How I Met Your Mother" is one of my favorite television series. However, I am not afraid to step back and admit that it contains several extremely problematic jokes, the likes of which (I hope) would not get past the first draft of a script nowadays. Something that sickens me every time is whenever the characters include the "t" slur that references transgender people.
It happens not only in season one, but also in seasons two and six. Likely there are others, but the instances in the pilot, concerning Marshall's Fiero (btw, HIMYM writers, "tr***y" is not the word for referencing something that "switches back and forth" between genders), and when Ted first meets Zoey are the ones that stand out to me the most.
2. When a pretty, thin actress's character used to be "fat."
As a heavier girl, my heart hurts whenever "fat Monica" is mentioned in Friends, or "fat Riley" in Baby Daddy. As both of these characters are conventionally beautiful and thin by the time the show takes place, I guess the writers consider it okay to make jokes at the expense of their former weight.
However, if you look at these two fat suits, they do not make the actresses all that big. Honestly, they probably fall just above the national average size of women. I myself am close to their size and I know that my weight has never affected my health-- and it hurts to suggest that only once they got thin did they get healthy.
3. All the gay jokes concerning Chandler and his family.
One thing that really bothered me in Friends' ten season run was the fact that everyone thought Chandler was gay-- and he thought it was a very bad thing. God forbid he embrace his metrosexuality and be open and comfortable with the fact that his father is gay.
Also, about Chandler's father-- some of the childhood stories Chandler shares makes it sound as though his dad was forcefully and excessively gay to the point of trauma, which is a problematic view to have on gay parents.
It doesn't help things that Carol's sexuality is also played as a joke.
4. Rape/non-consent "jokes."
How many times does Barney talk about seducing drunk girls? And, Ross talks about kissing "Rachel" (who wasn't actually Rachel) when she was semi-conscious and drunk (AND in high school). Seriously. If girls are too drunk to consent, it's not okay to talk about sexual moves being made on them.
5. All the incest... *shudders*
I talked about Ross's incestual transgressions in another article. He makes a move on his cousin, and kisses Monica (who he thought was Rachel) when she was passed out on his bed. Also, Barney grinds on his cousin. At least that's as far as it goes, but... still....
6. And MORE transphobia.
In How I Met Your Mother and Baby Daddy (and likely many, many others) there are several instances of guys being on dates/in a relationship with girls and they fear or find out that they "used to be a dude."
For example: Ted thinking about what could be Robin's deal breaker, Ted on the date with the perfect girl (who he imagines running into in the men's room), Ted playing "who's hot and who's Scott?" And Ben on Baby Daddy makes a joke about rhyming his ex-girlfriend's names to remember them, and he goes "Susanne, used to be a.... we don't talk about Susanne."
Insinuating that attractive women are no longer beautiful when they are trans or hermaphroditic is f**ked up on so many levels. Seriously. Love should not be confined by such arbitrary standards-- but God Forbid a sitcom forgoes a girl-with-a-dick joke.
You would hope that we would have aged past some of these jokes, but Baby Daddy is still airing and dropped Transphobic and fat-shaming jokes in its latest season. Hopefully, comedy will mature as our social and political progress does.
