‘How I Met Your Mother’: Moments That Haven’t Aged Well at All
How I Met Your Mother has a handful of clever moments sprinkled throughout the series. Yet despite the occasional bursts of charm throughout the tv show‘s run, there are plenty of moments that haven’t aged well. It’s safe to say that some of the elements from How I Met Your Mother would never fly in 2020. These aspects of HIMYM have not aged well at all.
Robin Scherbatsky’s character as a whole
Anyone who has seen Gone Girl will be familiar with the “cool girl” trope. The “cool girl” is the type of woman who guzzles beer all day and stuffs her face with cold pizza, yet remains a size 2. She is regarded as “one of the guys,” which means she’s “not like other girls.” This trope is incredibly sexist, and Robin Scherbatsky is the embodiment of it.
In fact, Robin is such a “cool girl” that she even admits how much she dislikes women. Um. What?
Ted and Robin ending up together
Fans were incredibly disappointed when Ted and Robin ended up together during the series finale.
One reason fans were upset was because the series had put so much of an emphasis on Barnie and Robin’s relationship. Therefore, it feels unjustified when Barney and Robin get divorced after we spend several seasons investing in their relationship.
Yet another reason Ted and Robin’s courtship is so disappointing is because it suggests that for Robin to be happy, she needed to settle down with a man. This feels unfair because Robin preaches throughout the series that she doesn’t want to settle down in a romantic relationship. She makes it clear that focusing on her career will ultimately be what makes her happiest. It feels like an unfair ending for Robin, who only seems to end up with Ted because it’s what he wants.
Barney Stinson tricking women into sleeping with him
Barney Stinson’s entire schtick on How I Met Your Mother is that he tricks women into sleeping with him. He sees his actions as a game, and the worst part is, his friends don’t do anything to try and stop him.
When Barney pretends to be an astronaut or a celebrity to get women into bed with him, he isn’t allowing these ladies to give full consent. Psychology Today examines this idea, claiming, “sexual encounters involving deceit as a way to obtain ‘consent’ may not, in fact, be consensual.”
Transphobic and Homophobic jokes
How I Met Your Mother is riddled with offensive jokes that target the LGBTQ community. One example of this is when the gang plays a game of “is she hot or is she Scott?”
In the game, the crew tries to differentiate cis women from trans women.
Pretty tasteless, if you ask us.
The countless fat jokes (mostly at the expense of women)
It’s shocking how many fat jokes there are, sprinkled throughout How I Met Your Mother. Barney is always bragging about how many women he’s been with, adding with pride, “no fatties.”
It’s safe to say that this sort of humor would never be acceptable in 2020.
