The sitcom Two and a Half Men featuring Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper and Jon Cryer as Alan Harper is rich in revealing how gender and relationships play out among the characters. In a season one episode viewed in rerun, "Just Like Buffalo," the sexist nature of Charlie's relationships and the more conventional nature of Alan's relationship with his ex-wife is revealed.
In "Just Like Buffalo," we see Charlie's sexist views of women. Charlie is always the dominant one in his relationships, treating women as objects for his sexual gratification. The episode begins with Charlie telling Alan that he'll never settle down and "get married," because he's already got someone to "sleep" with, someone to "clean" his house, and that he doesn't need to marry someone who can take "half" his stuff (Schiller 2003). Charlie's sexist views of women equate to seeing women as housekeepers and sex partners but also as a material threat. Charlie only views women as sex objects.
Charlie's brother Alan is seldom the dominant one in his relationships. He maintains an arm's-length relationship with his ex-wife, Judith, while the two share custody of their son, Jake. When Jake repeats what Charlie said about marriage in front of Judith and her support group, she refuses to give Jake back to Alan if they go to Charlie's. She finds his sexist behavior harmful for Jake. She is portrayed as a woman hurt by love and unwilling to be manipulated or dominated by men. She is the antithesis of the type of woman Charlie seeks, but Alan still loves her and tries to meet her half way. When Alan and Charlie have breakfast without Jake, Charlie laments that women are "just like buffalo," even envisioning his maid, mother, and the girl next door who loves him genuinely as buffalo (Schiller 2003). We see Alan adopts a different view of women when he reminds Charlie it is the same kind of "sexist" behavior that has the
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