Sitcom Representations of Women Eating
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Authors
Gilbert, Ava
Issue Date
2025-04-03
Type
Language
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Description
Eating disorders are very prevalent women’s health issues today. Additionally, societal
expectations dictate that women should eat less than men. One way that we can begin to tear
down this patriarchal ideal of female eating habits is by portraying positive messages about
women eating in media. It has been found that the media we consume has a powerful influence
over our thoughts and feelings. When trying to understand the pathologies of eating disorders
and body image, it is important to consider what media we are consuming and if this media is
perpetrating any of the thought processes that are predictors of ED severity. Therefore, the
purpose of this study was to compare how many times male and female characters were shown
eating in popular sitcoms and to discuss what implications these results may have on women’s
health and eating habits.
To gauge how often men and women were shown eating in popular sitcoms, three shows
ranked on the IMDb website as “The Best Sitcoms of All Time” were chosen to analyze. The
three shows watched were New Girl, Friends, and The Big Bang Theory. Five episodes of each
show were watched and analyzed, paying specific detail to when characters were eating. The two
values of interest were times characters of each gender were shown eating, and the amount of
male and female main characters per episode. To be counted as eating, the character had to put
the food in their mouth. Characters were categorized as “main characters” if they spoke and
significantly furthered the plot of the episode.
The results of this study showed that in two out of the three shows watched, male
characters were shown eating more often than female characters in the first five episodes of three
popular sitcoms. Based on these findings, a larger scale study should be performed to see if this
pattern of men eating more than women in television is common throughout a variety of
television shows in a larger number of episodes. Additionally, eating can still be perceived as a
gendered action through media that is less acceptable in women than men.