It has always bothered me that the writing for Joey’s character had him regress in later seasons. He’s always been himbo-like but it became exaggerated, painting him as a helpless little man child who needs his friends to look after him. What annoys me about it the most is that it completely ignores Joey’s awful treatment of women. Now it has been a while since I’ve seen the show, but from what I remember, Joey’s increasing “himboness” correlated with his desire to form real relationships with women, like with Rachel and Charlie. To me at least, he seemed to become less of a womanizer the more dumb and “innocent” he became, completely disregarding his past behavior. I could be thinking way too much about this though lol!
It’s been awhile since I watched it too! But I feel like the whole man-child stereotype can turn into quite the double standard, it’s definitely worth a re-watch though - especially to see how his characterization progresses in later seasons.
such a poignant and refreshing read! i’ve never really been able to articulate how the himbo emergence has made me feel uncomfortable, and you summarized it so perfectly -- it feels like a way to praise men for doing the bare minimum when most of the time, they can’t even manage that since their “indifference” will likely allow for a few misogynistic jokes or behaviors to slip through the cracks. i would never date a self proclaimed himbo -- i feel like that language can be easily bastardized and used to manipulate women, and i’d much rather be with someone who’s genuinely interested in learning about the patriarchy and how to make themselves a better feminist. i’m so excited to read more from u!
another killer think piece madison!! u never miss <3
Thank you so much Abby! <3
It has always bothered me that the writing for Joey’s character had him regress in later seasons. He’s always been himbo-like but it became exaggerated, painting him as a helpless little man child who needs his friends to look after him. What annoys me about it the most is that it completely ignores Joey’s awful treatment of women. Now it has been a while since I’ve seen the show, but from what I remember, Joey’s increasing “himboness” correlated with his desire to form real relationships with women, like with Rachel and Charlie. To me at least, he seemed to become less of a womanizer the more dumb and “innocent” he became, completely disregarding his past behavior. I could be thinking way too much about this though lol!
It’s been awhile since I watched it too! But I feel like the whole man-child stereotype can turn into quite the double standard, it’s definitely worth a re-watch though - especially to see how his characterization progresses in later seasons.
Agree - Jeremiah Fisher is a total himbo.
such a poignant and refreshing read! i’ve never really been able to articulate how the himbo emergence has made me feel uncomfortable, and you summarized it so perfectly -- it feels like a way to praise men for doing the bare minimum when most of the time, they can’t even manage that since their “indifference” will likely allow for a few misogynistic jokes or behaviors to slip through the cracks. i would never date a self proclaimed himbo -- i feel like that language can be easily bastardized and used to manipulate women, and i’d much rather be with someone who’s genuinely interested in learning about the patriarchy and how to make themselves a better feminist. i’m so excited to read more from u!
Thank you so much, so glad this resonated with you <3