Crude, obscene humor, as seen below, as used in It's Always Sunny is nothing new, but what does the dialogue between these three characters mean about the portrayal of men in the sitcom? Let's find out.
Text Talk One: Masculinity in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
When one thinks back on season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the first word that comes to mind is not usually “academic”, but this text does, however, inform certain academic research regarding its portrayal of gender roles, and more specifically that of masculinity. The representation of men on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia challenges traditional portrayals of men. Traditional constructs of masculinity are challenged in a way that Birthisel (2013) describes as “excess as hyperbole”, which will be a key part of the explanation of the show’s portrayal of masculinity. In a way, season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia does not negate these stereotypes, but overemphasizes them in a satirical light in order to challenge them.
The three most prominent stereotypes of men in television are as follows: the meathead, the buffoon, and one who negates femininity. Firstly, the meathead can be found in MTV’s Cribs, or The Jersey Shore, where an individual’s worth is being measured by his or her possessions, materialistic and that relating to his or her body (Smith & Beal, 2007). For example, the average individual being shown on such a show is tan with overly muscular features in order to assert one’s dominance. Another male stereotype is that of the “buffoon” in modern television (S. Walters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). This is described as someone who is not as intelligent as the other characters, but in a dramatic way. The buffoon serves as a sense of comic relief, and in doing so, informs the comedic element of the show, in most cases. This male stereotype appears quite often in today’s televised sitcoms. Finally, a third male stereotype that is commonly expressed in television shows is simply one who is at a more respectable standpoint than that of the female characters (S. Walters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). This could include implying the higher status in terms of job title, as is expressed in The Office, another popular sitcom with similar satirical elements (Birthisel & Martin, 2013). Also, this could be expressed through degrading conversation with women, and asserting male dominance through the informed subordination of women. Terms such as “pussy” or “bitch” can be used to describe women to degrade them, or even towards other men to assert the speaker’s male dominance over the other (S.Waters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). The negation of femininity, in other words, informs masculinity, Suzan Walters explained.
These three general male stereotypes found in television sitcoms today directly relate to how season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia portrays its male characters in a blatantly satirical light. Firstly, Mac starts the season off by challenging the buff, meathead stereotype when he gains fifty pounds and still pictures himself as a muscular man. Also, Dennis challenges the buff, male stereotype through his absurdly unhealthy habits that seem to relate to anorexia. Lastly, at the gang’s high school reunion, Charlie and Mac are confronted by Adriano, a former classmate, in a way that asserts Adriano’s masculinity. These three will be described below in more detail.
To begin with the example of Mac, in the first episode of season seven, titled “Frank’s Pretty Woman”, the four other main characters, Dee, Frank, Charlie, and Dennis, are making comments about Mac’s sudden weight gain. Sweet Dee says “Mac, you look bad. Really, really bad” and Charlie adds that Mac’s shirt is way too tight on his body. Lastly, Dennis says “you look fat as shit!” As Dennis refers to Mac’s weight gain as “fatness”, Mac refers to the change as “gaining muscle”. Mac seems very content with his sudden weight gain. The “restrictive representations in the media” contribute to the ironic portrayal of Mac’s weight gain in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Robertson, E., 2011).
Dennis also challenges the “normal” male stereotypes on television through his extreme weight loss and health-maintenance routine. While an average male sitcom character might take steps to improve his muscle mass and tone, Dennis challenges this stereotype by taking on anorexic behaviors. “I don’t eat lunch anymore”, Dennis states in “Frank’s Pretty Woman”, the first episode of the season, “and on odd days, I don’t eat breakfast”. He continues by saying: “it is miserable, but it has to be, man! No pain, no gain.” His unhealthy and nonconventional methods of maintaining his distorted version of a healthy body certainly challenges the meathead male stereotype on television.
Lastly, Adriano, a character in the episode titled “High School Reunion” asserts his masculinity to Charlie and Mac by giving them wedgies and calling them “bitches”. This overemphasizes the negation of femininity to inform masculinity in an explicitly blatant way that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia tends to use. Referring to the two as “bitches” informs a sense of subordination that is implied by being associated with insulting, feminine slurs.
After constant exposure to the “normal” male stereotype representations on television, viewers of this sitcom are now consumed by the unconstructed and atypical embodiment of what it means to be “a man”. This outrageous and up front nature of the show is explicit, because unlike the characters in The Office, in which crude, invasive humor is also used, the characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia present a much more exaggerated, ridiculous form of this humor. This challenges the way viewers take in and interpret information from television shows about portrayals of masculinity, and faces head-on the misrepresentations of men in television shows.
When one thinks back on season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the first word that comes to mind is not usually “academic”, but this text does, however, inform certain academic research regarding its portrayal of gender roles, and more specifically that of masculinity. The representation of men on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia challenges traditional portrayals of men. Traditional constructs of masculinity are challenged in a way that Birthisel (2013) describes as “excess as hyperbole”, which will be a key part of the explanation of the show’s portrayal of masculinity. In a way, season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia does not negate these stereotypes, but overemphasizes them in a satirical light in order to challenge them.
The three most prominent stereotypes of men in television are as follows: the meathead, the buffoon, and one who negates femininity. Firstly, the meathead can be found in MTV’s Cribs, or The Jersey Shore, where an individual’s worth is being measured by his or her possessions, materialistic and that relating to his or her body (Smith & Beal, 2007). For example, the average individual being shown on such a show is tan with overly muscular features in order to assert one’s dominance. Another male stereotype is that of the “buffoon” in modern television (S. Walters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). This is described as someone who is not as intelligent as the other characters, but in a dramatic way. The buffoon serves as a sense of comic relief, and in doing so, informs the comedic element of the show, in most cases. This male stereotype appears quite often in today’s televised sitcoms. Finally, a third male stereotype that is commonly expressed in television shows is simply one who is at a more respectable standpoint than that of the female characters (S. Walters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). This could include implying the higher status in terms of job title, as is expressed in The Office, another popular sitcom with similar satirical elements (Birthisel & Martin, 2013). Also, this could be expressed through degrading conversation with women, and asserting male dominance through the informed subordination of women. Terms such as “pussy” or “bitch” can be used to describe women to degrade them, or even towards other men to assert the speaker’s male dominance over the other (S.Waters, personal communication, November 13, 2015). The negation of femininity, in other words, informs masculinity, Suzan Walters explained.
These three general male stereotypes found in television sitcoms today directly relate to how season seven of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia portrays its male characters in a blatantly satirical light. Firstly, Mac starts the season off by challenging the buff, meathead stereotype when he gains fifty pounds and still pictures himself as a muscular man. Also, Dennis challenges the buff, male stereotype through his absurdly unhealthy habits that seem to relate to anorexia. Lastly, at the gang’s high school reunion, Charlie and Mac are confronted by Adriano, a former classmate, in a way that asserts Adriano’s masculinity. These three will be described below in more detail.
To begin with the example of Mac, in the first episode of season seven, titled “Frank’s Pretty Woman”, the four other main characters, Dee, Frank, Charlie, and Dennis, are making comments about Mac’s sudden weight gain. Sweet Dee says “Mac, you look bad. Really, really bad” and Charlie adds that Mac’s shirt is way too tight on his body. Lastly, Dennis says “you look fat as shit!” As Dennis refers to Mac’s weight gain as “fatness”, Mac refers to the change as “gaining muscle”. Mac seems very content with his sudden weight gain. The “restrictive representations in the media” contribute to the ironic portrayal of Mac’s weight gain in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Robertson, E., 2011).
Dennis also challenges the “normal” male stereotypes on television through his extreme weight loss and health-maintenance routine. While an average male sitcom character might take steps to improve his muscle mass and tone, Dennis challenges this stereotype by taking on anorexic behaviors. “I don’t eat lunch anymore”, Dennis states in “Frank’s Pretty Woman”, the first episode of the season, “and on odd days, I don’t eat breakfast”. He continues by saying: “it is miserable, but it has to be, man! No pain, no gain.” His unhealthy and nonconventional methods of maintaining his distorted version of a healthy body certainly challenges the meathead male stereotype on television.
Lastly, Adriano, a character in the episode titled “High School Reunion” asserts his masculinity to Charlie and Mac by giving them wedgies and calling them “bitches”. This overemphasizes the negation of femininity to inform masculinity in an explicitly blatant way that It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia tends to use. Referring to the two as “bitches” informs a sense of subordination that is implied by being associated with insulting, feminine slurs.
After constant exposure to the “normal” male stereotype representations on television, viewers of this sitcom are now consumed by the unconstructed and atypical embodiment of what it means to be “a man”. This outrageous and up front nature of the show is explicit, because unlike the characters in The Office, in which crude, invasive humor is also used, the characters in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia present a much more exaggerated, ridiculous form of this humor. This challenges the way viewers take in and interpret information from television shows about portrayals of masculinity, and faces head-on the misrepresentations of men in television shows.