#cause like. Lauren’s not a very career oriented person

[friendsgwssanalysis]

Friends Season 2 Episode 1: GWSS Analysis

The popular television series Friends has provided entertainment to a variety of audiences, including myself, for many years. Although its humor is often politically incorrect, the show has been praised around the world as a “smart, sophisticated comedy” (Rotten Tomatoes). The lack of diversity within the cast as well as offensive remarks regarding race, gender, and sexuality are subtle at times but included in every episode, and make this a great television show to analyze. The main characters are all heterosexual, white individuals who have relatively “normal” bodies meaning not over or underweight. Even when looking at the supporting cast it is rare to see diverse representations of race, gender, and sexuality throughout the entirety of the show. On a few occasions, there were guest appearances of individuals of another race and/or sexuality other than heterosexual and/or white; however, the predominantly white cast makes it simple to analyze diversity within the show “because there really wasn’t any”(The Independent).

The television series Friends is an American sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman that follows six twenty something-year-olds, Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Chandler Bing, and Phoebe Buffay, as they navigate their personal and professional lives in Manhattan (IMBD). This 90’s sitcom is very stereotypical when it comes to gender norms. Rachel is the slightly ditzy fashionista with the “ideal” appearance that has a rocky romantic relationship with Ross throughout the series. Monica is the obsessive-compulsive, competitive friend that is often seen as the mom of the group. Ross is Monica’s nerdy, romantic, quirky brother who has been in love with Rachel since they went to high school together. Phoebe is an unusual, but sweet-natured aspiring musician that you can’t help but love. Chandler is known for being sarcastic and his blatantly homophobic remarks. Lastly, Joey is the self-absorbed womanizer, or “ladies man” whichever you prefer, that continually makes sexual remarks at every woman no matter the social cues. Each character portrays a stereotype in a slightly offensive manner. Joey and Rachel are the most conforming characters to gender norms through their stereotypical careers, actions, appearance, and personalities; however, Ross’ character challenges typical gender norms. Throughout the series, he shows more “feminine” qualities such as being sensitive and romantic (gnds125bloggroup). Overall the main characters manage to be relatable, funny, yet slightly offensive through the portrayal of these stereotypes.

At the conclusion of season one Ross had gone to China for work. After he left, Chandler accidentally revealed that Ross is in love with Rachel. Rachel realizes that she has feelings for him and meets him at the airport when he returns, only to find that he has returned with a new girlfriend(Julie)(Friends Central). The episode I will be reviewing, Season 2 Episode 1, begins at the airport where season 1 left off. When Rachel sees Ross with his new girlfriend she tries to run out of the airport, tripping and falling in the process. This drew enough attention that Ross notices her and she attempts to play it off. As she greets them, she uses the phrase “back from the orient.” It was very subtle in the context of things however it was the first thing I noticed in this episode regarding race. While this is not the most offensive remark of the episode I don’t want to disregard it as it can be considered an offensive term. Within that same conversation, Rachel greets Julie in a condescending manner by saying “Welcome to our country” in a slow and loud tone assuming she is not from America and wouldn’t understand English. Julie then corrects her saying she is from New York. Come to find out Ross and her met in graduate school and reconnected in China (Friends Central). Throughout the episode, Rachel struggles to hold back her feelings for Ross since he is now in a happy relationship. In a bad place, Rachel contacts an ex-boyfriend and sleeps with him in an effort to try and forget about the situation but immediately regrets it afterward. In addition to this ongoing internal struggle that Rachel has throughout the episode, random events such as phoebe giving hair cuts, which goes badly, and Chandler getting his pants tailored take place. Joey referred Chandler to his tailor that he has been going to his entire life. When measuring Chandler’s pants, the tailor gets a little too close and personal for Chandler’s liking. When Chandler gets back he confronts Joey for referring him to a tailor that is assumed to be homosexual. As stated before, Chandler is a homophobe and is extremely upset about the situation. He explains what had happened and Joey isn’t phased, assuming “that how they do pants” since that was all he had experienced with tailors. Chandler and Ross are quick to correct Joey’s assumption with the remark “yes, yes it is, IN PRISON!” This offensive remark that homosexual actions are cause for prison time goes to show the homophobic feelings of the characters. The episode ends with Joey telling his father “that’s not how they measure pants!” and Phoebe moves on to her next hair cut client, Julie (Friends Central). 

This particular episode is one of the few times the show has had a guest star/character that is of another race and/or sexuality other than heterosexual and white. All characters in this episode are presumed heterosexual and cisgender so in this case, race becomes a factor with the appearance of the Chinese-American actress Lauren Tom playing the character Julie, Ross’ new girlfriend. Other than the offensive remarks and misrepresentation, or lack of representation completely, regarding race, gender, and sexuality apparent in all episodes of the series, there are no additional political issues addressed in this episode.

Thanks for reading!

Hope you enjoyed this analysis of race, gender, and sexuality within the television show Friends!

Works Cited

“Friends.” Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/friends. 

“10 Time Friends Was Incredibly Problematic.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 26 Mar. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/friends-netflix-sitcom-problem-sexism-men-joey-phoebe-chandler-ross-rachel-a8168976.html. 

“Friends.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 22 Sept. 1994, www.imdb.com/title/tt0108778/. 

gnds125bloggroup, ~. “Gender Roles and Stereotypes in Friends.” Gender, Race and Popular Culture, 11 Mar. 2017, genderraceandpopularcultureblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/gender-roles-and-stereotypes-in-friends/. 

“Season 1.” Friends Central, friends.fandom.com/wiki/Season_1. 

“The One With Ross' New Girlfriend.” Friends Central, friends.fandom.com/wiki/The_One_With_Ross'_New_Girlfriend. 

[starlingsrps]

may donovan

ORIGINS & FAMILY:

Name: may isabelle donovan

Nickname: maybelle is her family nickname

Birthday: november 9 (may had a shitty birthday this past year)

Age: twenty six

Gender: female

Place of birth: greenwich, ct

Places lived since: [blep] for college and [mlem] for right now

Parents’ names, backgrounds, occupations: james and elizabeth donovan - attorney and housewife respectively.

Number of siblings: one older brother, jack, and a younger sister, lauren.

Relationship with family: it's been good to rough in the past - may has always felt like the middle child she is. jack and lauren are both clear parental favorites and may always felt like she had to do something to stand out which usually meant misbehaving and minor rebellions throughout high school and college. she's settled down and buckled down in recent years though and it's done a lot to improve their relationship.

Children of her own?: none yet but she does eventually want a family of her own

PHYSICAL

Height: 5'7

Build: tallish and willowy

Disabilities: ---

Complexion: olive

Face shape: square

Distinguishing facial features: may is just cute as a button. she likes to use that to her advantage.

Hair color: brown

Usual hair style: she wears it long and keeps meaning to get a smart, adult haircut but her hair is kind of her security blanket. up in a bun for work, down every other time.

Eye color: brown

Glasses? Contacts?: contacts

Style of dress/typical outfit(s): suits for work (she's a clerk at a pretty conservative firm so suits suits suits), jeans and cute tops for everything else.

Typical style of shoes: heels for work (again, conservative firm), flats for everything else.

Grooming: neat and polished - she's not in a position to be outlandish in terms of dress or appearance right now so she's pretty neutral and natural.

Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?: tasteful jewelry, pierced ears, and a sparrow tattooed on her left shoulder that she's going to get removed asap.

Accent?: nah

Athletic?: yoga counts right?

INTELLECT

Level of education: a degree in philosophy from [blep] and a jd from [mlem]

Level of self esteem: pretty high lately. she's got a lot of good things going for her career and life wise and it gives her a confidence boost [cackles ominously]

Gifts/talents: she's smart and quick and tireless when she has a cause - when she believes in something, she gives it everything she has. she’s good to the people in her life. she likes to laugh and hang out and she’s always here if a bottle of wine needs to be popped at the end of a hard day.

Shortcomings: for a lawyer, may is shit at confrontation. good at arguing, shit at actually showing up to the fight. she tends to ignore personal problems until they're too big for her to handle on her own and she'd rather pretend everything is just fine even if it's really not.

Style of speech: quick and on the posh side, though she doesn't mean for it to be.

Artistic?: not especially

Mathematical?: moreso than artistic

Makes decisions based mostly on emotions, or on logic?: logic

Neuroses: pretending nothing is wrong and then going into defcon 10 when she reaches the boiling point.

Life philosophy: always strive to improve but never at the expense of others.

Religious stance: ehhhh

Cautious or daring?: cautious now - growing up made her cautious. she used to be a little daredevil badass.

Most sensitive about/vulnerable to: her limitations

Optimist or pessimist?: realist

Extrovert or introvert?: extrovert

Level of comfort with technology: comfortable

RELATIONSHIPS

Current marital/relationship status: hella single

Sexual orientation: heterosexual

Past relationships: one epic, several average.

Primary reason for being broken up with: OHHHHH BOY.

Primary reasons for breaking up with people: oh, may doesn't do the breaking up. she just stops calling.

A social person?: yes

Most comfortable around: her current roommate - they've been together since freshman year of college and there's no one in this world may trusts more. her name is abby. abby is important.

Oldest friend: abby

How does she think others perceive her?: as a hardworker with a lot of potential.

How do others actually perceive her?: that but that she needs to unclench a little.

VOCATION

Profession: law clerk

Past occupations: intern, library clerk

Attitude towards current job: she likes it!!! she likes it really!!! but she just wishes it were a little looser in terms of company culture - she feels like a rambunctious kid among staid adults sometimes.

Attitude towards current coworkers, bosses, employees: she has nothing but respect for her superiors and wants them to like her very much - there's an entry level associate position with her name on it at the end of this if she does the job well.

Salary: [ugly laughing] student loans [continues ugly laughing]

SECRETS

Phobias: spiders

Dreams: she'd like to be a judge one day - she's not angling supreme court but district court might be nice.

Greatest fears: failure

Most ashamed of: the first half of college is a blur for her and she prefers to not think about it much if she can.

Hobbies: studying and yoga and more studying

Secret skills: she can tie a cherry stem in a knot with her tongue but she hardly considers that a skill.

Past sexual transgressions: nah.

Crimes committed: nah

What she most wants to change about her current life: look she just wants to pass LSATs.

What she most wants to change about her physical appearance: nah.

DETAILS/QUIRKS

Daily routine: work and sleep. that's about it.

Night owl or early bird?: early bird but not by choice.

Light or heavy sleeper?: light

Favorite food: strawberries

Favorite book: harriet the spy

Favorite movie: the notebook (leave her alone she knows)

Favorite song: "closer" by the chainsmokers

Coffee or tea?: diet coke

Type of car she drives: nah

Lefty or righty?: righty

Favorite color: blue

Cusser?: occasionally

Smoker? Drinker? Drug user?: stress smoker and occasional bottle popper.

Pets?: nah

[hannahbaker-jensen]

1. What’s your middle name? Jean 2. What are you listening to right now? Various FOB and P!ATD songs 3. What was the last thing you ate? McDonalds chicken nuggets lmao 4. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? my boyfriend 5. Do you drink? rarely 6. Do you smoke? no  7. What is the first thing you noticed in someone? idk their eyes I guess 8. What is your hair color? blonde 9. What is your eye color? hazel 10. Do you wear contacts/glasses? yes 11. Dogs or cats? cats <3 12. What’s your favorite animal? cats lol 13. What’s your favorite television show? 13 reasons why 14. What’s your favorite movie? right now fantastic beasts and where to find them 15. What’s your favorite band/singer? panic! at the disco/halsey/fall out boy 16. How old are you? 19 17. Do you have a crush on anyone? yeah my boyfriend 18. What’s your sexual orientation? I like everyone 19. What’s your favorite color? maroon 20. What was your most embarrassing moment? too many to remember 21. Do you ever wish you were someone else? sometimes 22. What were you like when you were a kid? outgoing 23. What would your dream house be like? tbh I don't know 24. What last made you laugh? my cats being dumb 25. What is your favorite word? puppersnup (thanks markiplier) 26. What is your least favorite word? ointment  27. What turns you on? stuff 28. What turns you off? bad breath 29. What is your star sign? scorpio 30. What are your favorite books? 13 reasons why, all harry potters 31. Do you have any siblings? no 32. Do you like to dance? no 33. What is your definition of cheating? flirting w someone behind your so’s back, actually doing stuff...etc

34. Have you ever cheated on someone? no 35. Do you regret anything? yes 36. Do you have any phobias? yes - mine are weird 37. Ever broken any bones? no 38. Ever come close to death? yes 39. What is your religion, if any? not religious 40. Have you ever been to a psychiatrist/therapist? no 41. Are looks important in a relationship? it’s a plus, but not important 42. Are you more like your mom or your dad? dad 43. What is your favorite season? spring 44. Do you have any tattoos? Yes: 3 45. Do you have any piercings? yes: 7 46. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? 8-10 I can't remember and I don’t want to count. My boyfriend is the only one who matters rn 47. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? too fucking many 48. Who is your celebrity crush? Sebastian Stan, Justin Prentice, Brendon Urie 49. Are you a virgin? no 50. Do you get jealous easily? yes 51. What is your favorite type of food? I really love breakfast food...but if we’re talking country...I like Mexican food 52. Do you ever want to get married? yes 53. Who was your first kiss with? some asshole who I don’t have contact with anymore 54. Have you ever been cheated on? no 55. What is your idea of the perfect date? eating and watching something together at home 56. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? introvert everywhere besides with my friends 57. Do you believe in aliens or life on other planets? yes 58. What talent do you wish you’d been born with? being able to sing 59. What is your saddest memory? my grandma dying 60. Do you believe in love at first sight? ehhh 61. Do you believe in soul mates? yes 62. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes - too many times 63. Has someone ever spread a nasty rumor about you? i think so? idk high school was 3 years ago and I let that shit go 64. Would you go against your moral code for money? no 65. What are three things most people don’t know about you? uhh....no idea...I typically like the villain more in movies/shows? 66. Who are you jealous of? Sarah Urie cause she's so pretty 67. Do you sleep with a stuffed toy? no I have three real cats and a boyfriend I sleep with 68. How long was your longest relationship? currently in my longest: 1 year 7months 69. Is the glass half empty or half full? full, right now... 70. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you? get me a cat? 71. Who is your most loyal friend? Lauren 72. Are you in a relationship? yes  73. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her? how fucking sweet and generous he is omg.  74. Are you a bad person? probably lol I try not to be though 75. Are you a lover or a fighter? lover 76. What did you do on your last birthday? I played Until Dawn and went out to dinner with my boyfriend 77. What is your favorite quote and why? “Everyone is just so nice until they drive you to kill yourself ” <3 13 reasons why 78. If your best friend died, what would you do? cry for 19049 years omg 79. If you had to go back in time and change one thing, what would it be? being so mean to my mom when I was younger 80. If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do? try as many things as possible 81. What is the strangest dream you’ve ever had? I HAD A DREAM THAT I WAS PREGNANT WITH BRYCE WALKER’S KID AND WTF WHY ?!??!?!?! 82. Are you happier single or in a relationship? In a relationship 83. Who were you in a past life? probably a famous writer 84. What is your happiest childhood memory? idk 85. Have you ever experienced unrequited love? yeah 86. Have you ever had an imaginary friend? ....when i was younger I pretended Danny Phantom was my brother for months 87. If you were the president, what would you do? impeach myself and appoint Bernie Sanders 88. What is your ideal career? anything with Psychology 89. What is your political affiliation? . 90. Are you conservative or liberal? liberal 91. Is the male or female body closest to perfection? all 92. Do you like kissing in public? do you 93. If you could change one thing in the world, what would you change? i would make everyone nice to each other and animals and then give everyone a cat bc pets are the best 94. Where would you like to live? california 95. Where would you go on your dream vacation? France 96. Describe yourself in one word. Tired 97. Describe yourself in one sentence. Very tired cat lover