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Big Bang Theory is painful to watch


Linda Rhaldeen

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Linda Rhaldeen

I have friends and family who are obsessed with this show, so I watch it a lot with them, but the Sheldon/Amy relationship is so painful to watch. Sheldon is quite obviously aromantic and asexual; he is also completely oblivious to Amy's come-ons, and I get the most awful second-hand embarrassment watching him, being asexual and aromantic myself. I mean, I guess it's cool that there is an asexual character on a popular television show, but do they have to make him such a conceited, oblivious jerk?

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The character also perpetuates the stereotype that asexuality is a symptom or a part of being Asperger's... and they yet again fall into the trope of "let's push an asexual into a relationship they clearly don't want to make them 'normal' and they will realise they love love and sex and be 'cured'". Tbh the treatment of asexual characters in media is abysmal. They're either some weird stereotype and also not actually out as asexual just "is scared of sex" or "too cool for a relationship" and/or the writers decide they need to progress into being a sexual person like no ok. Anyway just my thoughts.

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Well, it's painful to watch for other reasons for me haha, but in defense of the show it's just a comedy that's trying to be funny, and that's probably why he's a conceited, oblivious jerk. I don't watch comedy to see asexuality being positively represented by perfectly pleasant people because, y'know, it wouldn't be very funny.

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I liked parts of BBT, but the relationship parts were always painful for me to watch, because it seemed like Sheldon was perfectly content without a relationship, but got coerced into one. If Sheldon is asexual, it's a bad way to represent asexuality, suggesting it's something that can be cured. If he isn't, he's still being coerced into a relationship.

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They don't think of him as asexual. They just make him so alien and strange as possible, a result of that is making him asexual. But their intention is not that he is asexual, just that they want him to be as strange and distanced from the common man as possible.

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I always wondered if asexuals were happy with the way Sheldon's asexuality was portrayed on B.B.T so this thread is very interesting. As an out and out Aromantic asexual I do not identify with the character Sheldon at all.

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i agree that the relationship itself is pointless but in the show it started out as a joke in itself so i never imagined they would ever take it seriously and that its just a source of humour for the show i havent whatched much of the later episodes as i only see them when my sister gets the dvds but from what i saw its obvious the whole thing is silly and not meant to be serious and besides that sheldon himself is constantly being shown as a high functioning psychopath anyway and of course perpetuating a few stereotypes so i wouldnt read to deeply into any asexuilism undertones that may or may not be there.

and seeing how its a comedy i dont expect any real seriousness heck if i took everything ive ever heard in any comedy 100% seriously i dont think there would be a single character i like in them :D

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Mal Makalaster

I only watched the show a couple of times. It's a terrible show for it's comedic value. barzoople.

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The Great WTF

Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

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I admit to watching and enjoying the show personally. But I have to agree with WTF here. Sheldon should not be associated with Asexuality at all. And, as a person with Aspergers, I hate the association with that just as much.

I made an attempt to come out to my Mom a while back (It was sort of a failure, but she wasn't totally closed off. If I keep pushing, I think I might eventually get her to be open to the idea), and her response was "you mean like Sheldon?" I replied that I really didn't like that comparison, and not exactly. But she kept pushing her point, so I was forced to concede, yes, like Sheldon.

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Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

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The Great WTF

Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

Of course you ask me this ten minutes after I head to work. If I can find the article on my lunch break I'll drag it out for you. I know it's been linked in a couple of the old Sheldon threads but I can't look it up very well on my phone.
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Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

Of course you ask me this ten minutes after I head to work. If I can find the article on my lunch break I'll drag it out for you. I know it's been linked in a couple of the old Sheldon threads but I can't look it up very well on my phone.

haha no probs, when you get back then

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Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

Search for Sheldon Cooper on google. And visit the Big Bang Theory wikia. There it is explicity stated that the creators did not think of him as asexual.

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Sheldon is just an exaggeration of a person who would be disinterested in sex. Like the blond girl is a stereotype of pretty blond girls (dumb) and the other guys are a stereotypes of smart science types (socially awkward nerds). The same goes for shows like modern family. That show is hilarious but exaggerates on stereotypes also. Like a lot of shows. It adds to the humour but it can be irritating.

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I suppose it depends how you think about it. It's a show that is trying to be funny, so they go to the extremes. They want contract and conflict between characters, so all the other characters are either obsessed with sex or needy. Sure, they've made Sheldon appear to be an asexual and awkward young man. (regardless of how he is thought of by the creators, there are more scenes that would strongly suggest that he is asexual than scenes that would suggest that he is not, so it's a pretty common and understandable misconception) But Leonard and Howard are the 'typical' nerdy straight guys - very sex obsessed and will try to take advantage of girls to sleep with them. Not a good stereotype. So I guess it goes both ways. Although arguably the straight community doesn't exactly need awareness. :s

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No one in here mentioned the

kiss

in the last episode? Due to the show's massive popularity, I tend to know what's going on even though I am not a fan or tune in to it. I was so suprised to read that happened, I had to look up that moment on Youtube. I was like *barf*. Immature yeah but I seriously was like that. I know that the fandom is probably going wild though. It's just what people like. People like to laugh at Sheldon but they'll actually like him once he gets romantic and sexual with Amy.

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Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

Search for Sheldon Cooper on google. And visit the Big Bang Theory wikia. There it is explicity stated that the creators did not think of him as asexual.

using CTRL+F, all I found was this:

Of all the main characters of the show, Sheldon is presumed to be asexual and has displayed the least interest in pursuing a sexual relationship with anyone. He tries to avoid all human physical and emotional contact. He has, however, had a few opportunities to "get it on" - maybe more opportunities than the other characters. Being true to his personality, though, he never seems to realize it. However, the introduction of Amy Farrah Fowler into the show has changed this aspect of him, at least slightly. Even though Amy used to be a girl, who was his friend, but not his girlfriend, and now is his girlfriend, she is the closest person who may be romantically-linked to Sheldon. Though, their relationship used to be nothing more than that of friends, or, as Sheldon put it, "a relationship of the minds".
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Linda Rhaldeen

No one in here mentioned the

kiss

in the last episode? Due to the show's massive popularity, I tend to know what's going on even though I am not a fan or tune in to it. I was so suprised to read that happened, I had to look up that moment on Youtube. I was like *barf*. Immature yeah but I seriously was like that. I know that the fandom is probably going wild though. It's just what people like. People like to laugh at Sheldon but they'll actually like him once he gets romantic and sexual with Amy.

Yeah watching the last episode is actually what prompted this thread. I don't know how anyone can watch that part, and Sheldon's explanation to Leonard afterwards, and still deny that he is asexual, regardless of what the showrunners say.

For context, the kiss happened because Amy was mad at him for ignoring her on Valentine's Day after she planned a romantic dinner so he starts sarcastically listing off romantic things while doing them, like drinking wine, and kissing is one of them. Later he is talking to Leonard and mentions it offhandedly in the middle of a list of other things he had done that night, and it is clear he neither liked nor disliked the kiss but was pretty indifferent to it.

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I try to take these kind of roles with a grain of salt. Sheldon is the product of a sexual writing for an asexual. It's like asking someone who has never tasted cake to write about cake and make it entertaining at the same time. That's how I choose to see it ayway.

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I've stopped really caring about the constructs of the Big Bang Theory a while ago...

I used to love it because of how relatable Sheldon was, and the hilarious situations the group was put in. It was making fun of geeks vs. jocks and their stereotypes. Now it's making fun of geeks and their "transformation" into "normalcy."

It's insulting. As both a geek and an asexual.

I go through the motions with the show now, and I've stopped being invested forever ago.

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Notte stellata

Yeah watching the last episode is actually what prompted this thread. I don't know how anyone can watch that part, and Sheldon's explanation to Leonard afterwards, and still deny that he is asexual, regardless of what the showrunners say.

For context, the kiss happened because Amy was mad at him for ignoring her on Valentine's Day after she planned a romantic dinner so he starts sarcastically listing off romantic things while doing them, like drinking wine, and kissing is one of them. Later he is talking to Leonard and mentions it offhandedly in the middle of a list of other things he had done that night, and it is clear he neither liked nor disliked the kiss but was pretty indifferent to it.

Yeah, that's my thought about the kissing as well. So I don't think the kissing is a big turning point or something. Sheldon didn't do it because he wanted to, nor did he seem to enjoy it.
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Amoeba-Proteus

I liked the show before it became purely about relationships.
Every episode is the same. Sheldon doesn't want to sleep with Amy, Amy's angry cause Sheldon won't sleep with her, Penny and Leonard have some weird encounter, Howard and Bernadette have sex, Raj complains that he doesn't have a girlfriend, and once in a while, somebody wins something or someone gets a new toy.

I kind of gets old... really fast...

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Sorry, but this is turning into a huge pet peeve of mine: Sheldon. Is. Not. Asexual. His creators have gone on record saying that he is not and this obsession our community has with saying otherwise is driving me a little crazy.

Do you have evidence? Not being rude or anything, just to make your point more solid so I can reference it later.

Search for Sheldon Cooper on google. And visit the Big Bang Theory wikia. There it is explicity stated that the creators did not think of him as asexual.

using CTRL+F, all I found was this:

Of all the main characters of the show, Sheldon is presumed to be asexual and has displayed the least interest in pursuing a sexual relationship with anyone. He tries to avoid all human physical and emotional contact. He has, however, had a few opportunities to "get it on" - maybe more opportunities than the other characters. Being true to his personality, though, he never seems to realize it. However, the introduction of Amy Farrah Fowler into the show has changed this aspect of him, at least slightly. Even though Amy used to be a girl, who was his friend, but not his girlfriend, and now is his girlfriend, she is the closest person who may be romantically-linked to Sheldon. Though, their relationship used to be nothing more than that of friends, or, as Sheldon put it, "a relationship of the minds".

How about this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Cooper

Despite speculation that Sheldon's personality traits may be consistent with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive personality disorder and asexuality,[5][7] co-creator Bill Prady has repeatedly stated that Sheldon's character was neither conceived nor developed with regard to any of these conditions.[7]

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Cooper

Despite speculation that Sheldon's personality traits may be consistent with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive personality disorder and asexuality,[5][7] co-creator Bill Prady has repeatedly stated that Sheldon's character was neither conceived nor developed with regard to any of these conditions.[7]

That goes in my signature.

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No one in here mentioned the

kiss

in the last episode? Due to the show's massive popularity, I tend to know what's going on even though I am not a fan or tune in to it. I was so suprised to read that happened, I had to look up that moment on Youtube. I was like *barf*. Immature yeah but I seriously was like that. I know that the fandom is probably going wild though. It's just what people like. People like to laugh at Sheldon but they'll actually like him once he gets romantic and sexual with Amy.

Yeah watching the last episode is actually what prompted this thread. I don't know how anyone can watch that part, and Sheldon's explanation to Leonard afterwards, and still deny that he is asexual, regardless of what the showrunners say.

For context, the kiss happened because Amy was mad at him for ignoring her on Valentine's Day after she planned a romantic dinner so he starts sarcastically listing off romantic things while doing them, like drinking wine, and kissing is one of them. Later he is talking to Leonard and mentions it offhandedly in the middle of a list of other things he had done that night, and it is clear he neither liked nor disliked the kiss but was pretty indifferent to it.

Oh I didn't see the episode. In the clip that I saw, the kiss was rather long, and he moved in closer as if to get more intimate. That to me showed he liked the kiss.

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Notte stellata

I liked the show before it became purely about relationships.

Every episode is the same. Sheldon doesn't want to sleep with Amy, Amy's angry cause Sheldon won't sleep with her, Penny and Leonard have some weird encounter, Howard and Bernadette have sex, Raj complains that he doesn't have a girlfriend, and once in a while, somebody wins something or someone gets a new toy.

I kind of gets old... really fast...

I'd make an addition to your summary: "Raj complains that he doesn't have a girlfriend, but others just think he's gay in denial." (I hate the "feminine guys must be gay" stereotype so much...)

I also prefer the earlier seasons with only Penny and the four guys. There was much more scientific stuff back then. Now everyone is paired up or desperately trying to pair up, and it's basically like a geek version of Friends.

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WhenSummersGone

I still watch this but it hasn't been that good for a while. They have changed the characters too much to make them seem normal, as someone else said above. Sheldon will probably say later that he's just been too focused on work to care about sex. I can see Sheldon having sex by the end of the series and Raj having a girlfriend. Some will probably get married as well.

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Well even if he's not asexual, it's pretty sad that he seems to be the only media example of asexuality that we have. Personally I find their implications that Raj has to be gay because of his effeminacy more insulting. Sheldon is just mad to be a weird human, and I personally don't associate with him at all.

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.diva plavalaguna.

I'm in absolutely no rush to have Sheldon in our ace army. Sorry, don't see it. The show was painful for me to watch way before the relationship crap began, and now I'd rather spend my time puking my guts out than watching it. =_ =

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