Was TBBT's Sheldon Actually Misogynistic - or Just Plain Misanthropic?
Sheldon Cooper made a lot of adversaries during the twelve-season run of The Big Bang Theory, mostly due to his offensive comments. One of his earliest was fellow physicist Leslie Winkle after saying she should abandon her work with high-energy particles for laundry and childbearing.
Sheldon often spoke like this to women – whether it was colleagues, his assistant, or his friends' significant others. He compared women to an egg salad sandwich on a hot summer's day – full of eggs and only appealing for a short time. He's often ask women if they were on their period after they'd understandably react to his antics. He'd constantly point to the biology of a woman as a force of their decision-making, thinking they're slaves to their hormones.
Fans of the show asked the question: Is he a misogynist?
Is Sheldon a Misogynist or a Misanthrope?
Some fans believe he is simply a misanthrope who sees himself above all of humankind. Everyone else, besides him and a few of his idols, are simply a slave to their biology. One fan quoted his mother, Mary, when she said that he doesn't look down on women; he looks down on everyone.
Other fans said that his behavior is specifically targeted at women. Yes, he does insult men too, but not for their natural biology. He never makes stereotypical comments about how all men behave, while he does just that with women. He thinks that all they think about is shoes and clothes and that their behavior is completely predictable according to their menstruation. He insults women in a vastly different way than he does men.
He Simply Doesn't Get Women
At the very least, many fans believe that he is a misogynistic character, but it's not malicious. It's not that he necessarily thinks less of women; he simply doesn't understand them.
What he knows about men is limited to what he knows about himself and what his father taught him. Therefore, he can only bond with fellow geeks and has stereotypical views about jocks and other men similar to his father.
What he thinks he knows about women is limited to their biology. He knows the scientific difference between him and women and therefore believes it's those difference that define their gender.
His Misogyny and Misanthropy are Separate
Ultimately, most fans think that both arguments are true. He is a misanthrope who thinks of himself as better than everyone – including women. He is also a misogynist who doesn't understand the opposite sex. While it's not intentional, his actions still offend the women around him.