Gender stereotypes are constantly around us in today's society and are something we virtually cannot escape. Some individuals may learn gender stereotypes from their family or peer influence, but one of the biggest contributors to this that sometimes goes unnoticed is the media. An analysis of the television program The Big Bang Theory reveals an important aspect of the media: the messages it conveys about gender. Stereotype is the belief that all individuals with a common characteristic are equal in some respects. There are many different forms of stereotypes including race and ethnicity, but one of the biggest is gender. Gender roles have formed an important part of our society for long periods of time, gender role theory suggests that individuals socially identified as male and female tend to occupy different roles in the social structure. It also manifests itself in children because they learn these stereotypes and classify themselves by gender around the age of 3. While gender stereotypes can be learned through many sources, one of the largest in today's culture is the media. The media presents women as an object for men, simply something to be looked at; Sigmund Freud calls this the concept of “the gaze” where men give it and women receive it; It's common in advertisements. In television there has been a shift in how genders have been portrayed throughout history. Years ago, around the 1970s, women on television had the role of housewives who stayed at home to take care of the family while men were the bread winners. With the advent of the 1990s there was a notable change in the way gender was portrayed on television. Women now had roles other than housewife; females and m...... center of sheet ...... with Howards. She, unlike Penny, is a character with more of a career ahead of her and is studying for a PhD in microbiology. Although she is portrayed as intelligent and hard-working, there is still a hint of gender stereotypes in Bernadette because she has a pink-collar part-time job and works as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory. Her relationship with Howard also sends the message that the husband is the breadwinner rather than the wife because he is the mechanical engineer who makes more money than the wife who still needs a part-time job. (Butt, 2012) Throughout history the television industry has improved by representing men and women more equally. Overall, the television show The Big Bang Theory sends a general message to its viewers that males are more successful than females and provides multiple examples of evidence of gender stereotypes..