TMC
08-03-2022, 08:11 PM
https://www.looper.com/951358/cringeworthy-90s-tv-moments-that-were-also-awkward-at-the-time/
https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/cringeworthy-90s-tv-moments-that-were-also-awkward-at-the-time/friends-1658944968.webp
Homophobic and transphobic punchlines ran rampant on "Friends (https://www.looper.com/914854/the-untold-truth-of-friends/)." For seven seasons, the entire cast threw demeaning ribs at Chandler's sexuality and his trans mom, which would culminate in a distasteful full episode in 2001. Before and after that episode, however, showrunners routinely wrote Ross as a character with a poisonous level of fragile masculinity (https://the-take.com/watch/toxic-takeaways-the-problem-with-ross-from-friends).
Ross gets heated about gender norms here and there, channeling some serious internalized homophobia along the way, but none of those moments stack up against his rage-filled, unnecessary tirade against his son Ben's (Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen) toy preference in Season 3. "The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel" has some good laughs, but poses no real importance in the season altogether. So when Ross discovers his son playing with a Barbie doll (https://www.thelist.com/90128/untold-truth-barbie/), we have to watch him lecture Ben. It's an uncomfortable sequence, especially because Ben is so young and doesn't understand which gender or sexuality implications can supposedly stem from playing with Barbies and G.I. Joes.
Ross does what Ross is wont to do: throw a whiny fit about Ben's interests, which he believes are wrongly influenced by his mom and stepmom being lesbians. The episode does have good moments — especially when we see Chandler's relationship with Janice (Maggie Wheeler) heat up and Phoebe pose as Joey's agent — but the homophobic overtones of Ross' storyline try to imply that a boy playing with a "girl's toy" is wrong and needs correcting. It's just a toy, and Ross' fragile understanding of masculinity is a bummer subplot in an otherwise goofy, standalone chapter.
https://www.looper.com/img/gallery/cringeworthy-90s-tv-moments-that-were-also-awkward-at-the-time/friends-1658944968.webp
Homophobic and transphobic punchlines ran rampant on "Friends (https://www.looper.com/914854/the-untold-truth-of-friends/)." For seven seasons, the entire cast threw demeaning ribs at Chandler's sexuality and his trans mom, which would culminate in a distasteful full episode in 2001. Before and after that episode, however, showrunners routinely wrote Ross as a character with a poisonous level of fragile masculinity (https://the-take.com/watch/toxic-takeaways-the-problem-with-ross-from-friends).
Ross gets heated about gender norms here and there, channeling some serious internalized homophobia along the way, but none of those moments stack up against his rage-filled, unnecessary tirade against his son Ben's (Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen) toy preference in Season 3. "The One with the Metaphorical Tunnel" has some good laughs, but poses no real importance in the season altogether. So when Ross discovers his son playing with a Barbie doll (https://www.thelist.com/90128/untold-truth-barbie/), we have to watch him lecture Ben. It's an uncomfortable sequence, especially because Ben is so young and doesn't understand which gender or sexuality implications can supposedly stem from playing with Barbies and G.I. Joes.
Ross does what Ross is wont to do: throw a whiny fit about Ben's interests, which he believes are wrongly influenced by his mom and stepmom being lesbians. The episode does have good moments — especially when we see Chandler's relationship with Janice (Maggie Wheeler) heat up and Phoebe pose as Joey's agent — but the homophobic overtones of Ross' storyline try to imply that a boy playing with a "girl's toy" is wrong and needs correcting. It's just a toy, and Ross' fragile understanding of masculinity is a bummer subplot in an otherwise goofy, standalone chapter.