The Problem with How I Met Your Mother

How I met your mother is an American sitcom where the main character, Ted, recounts his story to his children that led him to meet their mother. Even though the story was basically supposed to revolve around the two main characters, the addition of Ted's friends and the other characters in the show made it all even more eventful.

Even though the show was widely acclaimed for its unique storyline, addition of humor and its dramatic elements, there were a lot of things that were found to be problematic in the show, especially the representation of women in it.

From the very start of the show, we have the main lead, Ted, who is trying to find a girl for himself and it can be seen that Ted could go to any extent just to find that 'one true love of his life.' There are several places where he has passed derogatory comments regarding women, talked low of them and have even gone as far as slut-shaming them, for example, in one scene, Ted says, "There's a bunch of models in the lobby and the gossip is one of them is really a dude. Wanna play who's hot and who's scott?" Now, this comment is not only objectifying women but it is also a transphobic statement.

Ted has also shown to be an overly obsessive creep, who doesn't take no as an answer and can be overly jeoulos when it comes to his partners, all the while not being completely honest himself. There was a scene where Ted asked his partner to 'get rid of the dogs' that her ex boyfriend had gotten for her, disregarding the fact that his partner was really attached to to dogs. But when it came to Ted himself, he would generally lie about the things that his exes had given to him. There is also a statement that shows Ted's obsessive and creepy behaviour, "When you love someone, you don't stop ever. Even when people roll their eyes and call you crazy. Even then! Especially then! You just dont give up!"

This is promoting the culture of men not taking no lightly. Where they feel the need to get a yes out of a woman or a person that they like, and when after all the efforts, the answer remains a no, it ends up with them being angry over the fact that they tried so hard but the girl never considered the efforts. (Maybe should've taken the no and moved on in the first place.)

So, considering all the problematic elemts of the show, the question arises, should it be as widely acclaimed as it is when it is promoting the transphobic culture, objectification of women, and romanticizing the problematic side of a male lead?