MovieChat Forums > Everybody Loves Raymond (1996) Discussion > A very popular profoundly sexist show - ...

A very popular profoundly sexist show - Was surprised

posted 7 years ago by esshor (108)
13 replies | jump to latest

Everybody loves Raymond is hugely sexist. I don't think it would be made today or be as popular.
I've just been watching it a bit lately every now and then due to boredom and having watched everything else I own far too many times.
So I needed a break, something less familiar and new to my shows.
But this show is hugely subpar. I can't believe it was as popular as it was.

It seems every episode is almost exactly the same. It's the guys doing something insensitive or selfish or deceitful, and they're trying to hide it. But then their wives find out and overembellishly react to it (always far more than should be appropriate or deserved).

It seems every episode is about creating a foundation of defending husbands sexism, laziness, and perpetuating the 'BANSHEE woman' stereotype.
I knew the show was low-brow (for the nonintellectuals) but I didn't know it was so abundantly sexist.
Every single episode is striving to put a woman in her place. And it's just sad that the show had such massive appeal, cause that is so many people believing that that's okay.

Plus I find sitcoms based on constant episodes of deceit and/or miscommunication not funny at all, and frankly lazy.
They've hammered the nails into that coffin long ago. Can they come up with nothing else?

Also, another time that actually pisses me off about sitcoms is the way they stand in strategically placed spots so they are facing the audience on an angle (even though the person they're talking to in the scene is right infront of them). It's so awkward and so forced.

[–] earl237 (1106) 7 years ago

Nearly every sitcom since the early 90s follows the dumb, fat husband and bitchy, smarter wife formula, that's why I hardly watch any comedies from past the 80s. Home Improvement, Malcolm in the Middle and Modern Family also had the same tired stereotypes.

[–] strntz (10779) 6 years ago

Yes, it's sexist. It's also racist, homophobic, and misandrist. There are likely a few more "ists" that I missed.

LOL! How do you manage to go through a whole day without cutting your wrists??

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

LOL I was looking for the thumbs up button but there isn't one.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

so , dumb insensitive husband , smart wife - you mean sexist as in attacking men right?

[–] Burk48917 (10966) 5 years ago

My wife watches this show, and that's my take. Man dumb, wife smart. Man insensitive, wife is always right. Man must appologize for everything to keep the peace, even when bitch wife is wrong.
It is so formulaic and lazy. There is a reason these shows are far and few between.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

It does seem that way to me. You have Raymond's wife who withhold's sex, only offers it reluctantly at times as some kind of patronizing reward. Then you have the overbearing mother whose husband only survives by being cold and uncaring towards her and everyone else.

Raymond himself is a pretty laid back easy going type of guy, even the kids hate their mother, I remember one episode where all 3 kids kept asking if mommy was yelling again.

But somehow, the wife is portrayed as the moral centre and intelligent one, even though from memory, she doesn't even work.

[–] Hans-Wilhelm (1320) 5 years ago

Boo hoo, this mean old show was sexist. I'm offended. They shouldn't be allowed to put shows on that offend me. Comedy should be filtered to save the OP's poor little feelings.

[–] liscarkat (16476) 5 years ago

Thanks, OP, for defining "low-brow" for us nonintellectuals.

[–] modica (4169) 5 years ago

I Love Lucy was also really sexist. I remember Ricky spanking Lucy in a couple episodes. I guess it was OK to do that then.

[–] Ace_Spade (9334) 5 years ago

First, I always thought its sexism kinda cut both ways. Deborah is portrayed as frigid and humourless (for the most part) but Ray was portrayed as foolish and stupid. It's stereotyping husbands and wives. Maybe that makes it unfair to both sexes, maybe it makes it balanced because nobody looks good. Who knows? I always found that it was using tropes to build comedy. I don't think it always worked, I don't think it was always the best comedy, but that's what they were trying to do (from my perspective) not put women in their place. You could just as easily make the argument that each show was to put men in their place as the dumb idiots who just should do whatever their wives tell them.

If you find sitcoms based on lies and/or miscommunication not funny, you're not going to enjoy 99% of sitcoms, which follow that ancient tradition of farce. (You should also stay away from farce, Shakespearean comedy, and Roman comedy, etc.)

Sitcom have actors "cheat out" so the cameras and audience can see the actors and characters interact. It's so they're visible instead of frustratingly always in profile. Plays do it, too, because both plays and multi-camera sitcom have audience on one side, just past that fourth wall there. They don't do this in single-camera shows.

Finally, while putting down a show as being low-brow or insulting people who like the show as non-intellectual, I would avoid using the word "overembellishly". It sorta undermines your thesis.

[–] hyperjet (633) 5 years ago

I remember in the early 90s, there was a female writer or exec for one of the networks saying it was her goal to make husbands/fathers dumb. When I think about these old shows, I don't really think of Raymond or Tim Taylor as dumb, I just remember how terrible their wives were.