One of the most iconic sitcoms ever made, Home Improvement is a show everyone loves and adores. But there were times Home Improvement was super flawed.
The Incompetent Husband Stereotype
The concept of a bumbling and clumsy husband that has trouble handling his family life is something we only see in animated shows now. But Home Improvement did it way early as a live action series. Family Guy and The Simpsons only learnt how to further this stereotype from Tim. His clumsiness and incompetence almost got himself and his family killed multiple times. He knew his way around the garage shed but cannot handle an ordinary family life? That’s something Home Improvement is infamous for popularizing first.
Jill Of Home Improvement Became the Nagging Spouse No One Likes
Tim Allen is somewhat known to find himself in the middle of such controversies around his shows. Most of the female characters in his shows somehow adhere to a certain stereotype. Take Jill. Tim’s wife for example. She had her work cut out for her. With a husband that kept going to the ER for the most ridiculous of reasons to a trio of rowdy children who are almost on the verge of running wild. Jill had to be strict and strong. But Home Improvement turned her character into a nagging, suspicious wife that keeps asking too much every time.
Men Are All Beers & Bait. Liking Stuff Like Dancing Or Singing Is For Women
Toxic masculinity is a term used to define social standards for traits and hobbies that ‘define’ a man. For years, we believed that men should act in a certain way and any stray outlier is not “masculine” enough to be a man. Home Improvement showcased that popping a bear bottle open with your teeth and watching the game is what makes you a man. When Tim’s son was practicing his Peter Pan dance in the house, Tim almost fainted because he was thinking his son is turning into a woman.
Pamela Anderson’s Lisa Was All About Female Objectification
Lisa was the hit tool girl that was played by Pamela Anderson in the show within the show – Toom Time. She was basically the person responsible for giving out any tool that Tim needed at that moment. This was before Pamela Anderson’s tenure in Baywatch. The actor had no other role that using her body for objectifying women. The producers just wanted her to be on the show because she was a hit after her Playboy stint. She was literally given zero intelligent things to say in the show.
The Body Shaming In Home Improvement
Body positivity, whether you want it or not, is here to stay. All bodies are beautiful and there’s no other way around it. The ’90s were not that great a time for the body positivity campaign. But that does not excise the excessive fat-shaming that happened in Home Improvement. When Al, who likes to cook, got commented on by Tim, the former took it as a sport. But everyone who was suffering with obesity felt bad. We all stayed quiet but we could have done without the body shaming jokes in Home Improvement.
Commenting On His Son’s Wardrobe Choices Was Not Cool
When the youngest of Tim’s sons, Mark, decided to become the text-book version of a Goth kid, no one was more unamused as his father. Tim kept referring to Mark’s goth looks as just a “phase.” Commenting on people’s wardrobes and to not confirm to established standards is not a crime. And one should never be ashamed to take that road.
