Representation of Women in The Big Bang Theory

:This article is about the representation of women on the television show. For the CBS series, see The Big Bang Theory.
Though female representation in The Big Bang Theory has increased and expanded roles for women characters since the show's 2007 debut, the popular sitcom has continued to perpetuate the female stereotypes generally present in television shows and has hindered the progressive development of its female characters.
Independent scholar Alexis J. Leon describes The Big Bang Theory, commonly referred to as TBBT, as relying mainly "on two related premises: one, that pretty women are not, as a rule, smart. And two, that smart men could not possibly appeal to pretty women, at least not enough for there to be dating."

In the series, Dr. Leslie Winkle, the first woman "nerd" character on the show, is usually depicted as "cold and unfeminine." In contrast, Penny, the first female character introduced in the show's pilot episode, is commonly described as "a shapely flake" who moves next door to Sheldon Cooper and Leonard Hofstadter, the main "nerd" characters. Penny, whose surname has yet to be revealed, is stereo-typically portrayed as the attractive blonde neighbor.

Humor in The Big Bang Theory hinges on the gawky social interactions of its male characters, which is especially easy to illustrate in their exchanges with Penny who, by direct contrast of her character's sexualization, represents "the normal non-nerdy majority of society.”
Scenarios like the one from season 2, episode 16 illustrate the perpetuation of gender stereotypes in the show. In this episode Penny uses a hot pink laptop to shop for shoes while Leonard is shown typing on a grey and red computer. When Penny's computer crashes Leonard begins working to fix it, filling the masculine role of intellectual.
In episode 13 of season 6, the male characters are surprised to find the female characters arguing over comic book story lines. "Sheldon wonders if they have somehow "tumbled into an alternate universe where the girls appreciate great literature."
Objectification
Penny is the only main female character on TBBT for the first three seasons. She is objectified by the male characters in the show regularly. In season 1 episode 9, the male characters build a remote controlled vehicle with a camera mounted on it so that they can look up her skirt.
Female characters in TBBT are seen as sexual objects and often their introduction to the show is as potential sexual partners for the male characters.
Other female characters in TBBT are objectified. Amy Farrah Fowler is initially introduced as the intellectual counterpart to Sheldon but later "becomes another female character fixated on "coitus." "Even the female characters who are introduced as something other than the show’s normal, sex-centered characterization eventually become the subject of the same objectification as the rest of The Big Bang Theory's female characters."
Although the characters do not claim the title feminist, many critics argue that the show fights gender stereotypes and empowers girls and women to join careers in STEM fields and is therefore a feminist sitcom. Constrastly, the male characters on TBBT tend to encompass roles relating to work. The show was nominated for an Emmy under the Best Comedy Series in 2014.

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