IT crowd - Analysis of how Gender is portrayed- how it challenges and reinfroces masculine stereotypes.

The IT crowd challenges the representation of men and how they should be expeceted to act within society. In series 3 Episdoe 2 it focuses on the two main charatcers trying to fit in with other men, due to them having different interests and acting in a way that would not be socially expected or acepted of men. For example, they both do not like football. This challenges the steretypcial represntation of the male gender due to men being repsresented as enjoying sport ecspecaily football and to support a team and to watch or go watch  football macthes reguraly. Howvwer as they do not fit this persona of the typcial man they are challenging this stereotype to reinfroce the idea that not all men enjoy football, and therefore challenging how society will perceive them. The episdoe continues  and shows that if these to men do not act in a way that is socaillly expeeted of them to they would be condifered, outcasts- odd, different, not a typical man. Therefroe, they pretend to enjoy footblall to fit in. This also shows that men have to require these steretypes anf fufill the typial persona of  a male to fit in to a group otherwise they wmay appear not masculine. Which is typcially looked down upon within the masculine society.  It also highlghts how it is importnat ofr  amn to not loose his masulinity as he will therefore not fit in. Men often do this subconscously and will act in a way that is appeared ordinary and acceptableto maintian this persona. This episode also suggets that men must enjoy football as it can be an agressive, powerful , dominant  sport which is smilary steretpyical chaarcteristics of a typical man. This suggets then that if a man does not fufill these charatcerisitcs and hence not like football, he is segregating himself from his expected masculinity, delevating his status.Maurice then goes onto to say ' i want to go back to being weird' He says this in spite of the fact that he dosent like football and other things that men genrally are expected to like. Thi shows that if a man does not like masuline things such as football, he is not molding the pereception of a typcial man and therefore is challenging expectations within society and so casts himself as 'weird'.