The ’90s were a much different time.
A lot of controversial subjects that wouldn’t fly today were shown on TV. Things like homophobia, racism, and stereotypes.
There was also a lot of sexism, mainly towards women. With forward-thinking a prominent part of our day and age, here are 10+ beloved shows from the ’90s that are now being called sexist.
1. *Married… with Children*
There were so many anti-feminist moments on the hit sitcom due to the main character, Al Bundy.
Whenever he wasn’t sexualizing women, he was being mean to them. In one episode, he was angry that the women in his life had their periods.
Katey Sagal, who played Bundy’s wife, even spoke out about Bundy’s mistreatment of women.
“The women were portrayed completely exploited on that show,” she told AOL’s Build Series .
“That was part of Al Bundy’s thing — he liked hot women, and they showed them all the time.”
2. *Baywatch*
It’s hard to argue that the show isn’t sexist when there was a constant barrage of scantily clad women running in slow motion down the beach.
Meanwhile, the men around them often got to wear full outfits.
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3. *Everybody Loves Raymond*
The show often played into female stereotypes. Debra was the nagging wife, while Marie was shown as the overbearing mother-in-law.
The women were also often in competition with one another. Why couldn’t they get along?
4. *Cheers*
A lot of the show’s elements have not aged well. This especially includes the sexism, which viewers mainly saw with the character Carla.
She would constantly put other women down in her viewpoint that she was “not like other girls.”
She saw feminity as women degrading themselves.
At one point, she even got disappointed in Sam when he claimed that he didn’t want to live the “player” lifestyle anymore by sleeping with many women. Who hurt you, Carla?!
5. *Dawson’s Creek*
The show featured a feud between the characters Joey Potter and Jen Lindley.
While it was nice to see the girls makeup, it was the opposite of “girl power” when they said, “We don’t have to, like, wash each other’s hair and do each other’s nails, do we?”
6. *Saved by the Bell*
Zach Morris, the main character, said a lot of sexist things that would never fly today.
He also constantly objectified women, like when he had a cardboard cut-out of Kelly in his room when he wasn’t even dating her.
7. *Sex and the City*
Sexism goes both ways! In the beloved HBO show, the main characters were often shown trying to figure out men, while bashing them in the process.
At one point, Samantha made this sexist quip: “Men aren’t that complicated. They’re like plants.”
8. *The King of Queens*
Like Debra in Everybody Loves Raymond , Carrie was often shown as the nagging wife to Doug.
He also had unrealistic expectations for her, like when he wanted her to learn pole dancing so she could perform nightly shows for him.
In one episode, Doug put limitations on what Carrie eats after learning that the women in her family tend to gain weight as they get older.
This was a rude double-standard since he himself wasn’t at a healthy weight…
9. *That ’70s Show*
Viewers watched as the main female characters, Jackie and Donna, were constantly sexualized, despite sticking up for themselves.
That’s not all. Eric’s sister Lori was shown as lacking depth, as she was self-absorbed in her looks and promiscuity.
It’s pretty ironic that one episode was titled, “Battle of the Sexists.”
In it, the gang was freaked out over Donna beating Eric at a game of basketball.
Instead of supporting Donna, her female friends said that her athleticism is a turn-off to guys.
10. *Seinfeld*
This beloved sitcom is quite problematic. In addition to its lack of diversity and stereotypical depiction of minorities, it was littered with sexism.
One such example was when the gang got Elaine to show cleavage in front of George’s boss to prove that cleavage is easily visible.
11. *Home Improvement*
This beloved show needs a lot of improvement. The main character Tim’s love of masculine things often led to sexist storylines.
This includes the time he refused to let his sons learn ballet with their mother by taking them to a basketball game instead.
In another storyline, there was the “Tool Time” girl, who served as an annoyance to the guys whenever they weren’t busy ogling her.
Her character was often objectified, as she wore provocative clothing instead of proper clothing to build things safely.
12. *Friends*
Stereotypes, fat-shaming, sexism, and homophobic storylines make this beloved show actually very problematic.
In one episode, Ross tried to stop his son, Ben, from playing with Barbie dolls since he was uncomfortable with the idea.
In another episode, he got the male nanny named Sandy fired.
He was uncomfortable having his child around a sensitive man.
There were also female stereotypes on the show, like Rachel being the typical spoiled daddy’s girl.
