Amy Farrah Fowler/Mayim Bialik: A Character Who Has Really Blossomed

[TravisNelson76]

I am admittedly only an occasional viewer of BBT.  And when I do watch, I usually fast-forward through everything that doesn't involve Sheldon, Penny, or Amy.  I have a question, though!

My question is: what's the deal with Amy's sexuality?  What are the creators going for with that?  Again, I haven't seen everything.  Admittedly.  But from what I've seen, there is both longing-for-Sheldon's-touch Amy and making-awkward-lesbianic-references-toward-Penny Amy.  Is the character… MEANT to be bisexual?  Just sexually confused?  Or is this just weird and inconsistent writing?

[Lisin]

My question is: what's the deal with Amy's sexuality?  What are the creators going for with that?  Again, I haven't seen everything.  Admittedly.  But from what I've seen, there is both longing-for-Sheldon's-touch Amy and making-awkward-lesbianic-references-toward-Penny Amy.  Is the character… MEANT to be bisexual?  Just sexually confused?  Or is this just weird and inconsistent writing?

It seems like they're going for something along the lines of Lilly on How I Met Your Mother when she constantly fantasizes about making out with Robin but with more sexual frustration added in. I don't know that they're doing the best job of it, but I think it's supposed to be that she's tremendously sexually frustrated and that she also has a bit of a hero worship/girl crush with Penny. Does that make sense?

[TravisNelson76]

OK.  That does make sense.  It's just one of those things where I feel like I missed a season or something that would clarify the situation.

[Lisin]

OK I'm glad I helped, though you're right in that I shouldn't have needed too. They don't do the best job of making it clear that it's a Penny specific thing. 

[Lisin]

She's so great.

[ari333]

"The uterus quivers, does it not?"

So much word to her aversion to soiled hosiery. :) And don't get me started on her beckoning pelvis.

[Lionne]

In season 5, Amy developed a "girl crush" on Penny. Some of her comments were very innocent at first, and really non-sexual, more complimenting Penny's golden hair or flawless skin in a way that suggested Amy kinda worshipped her and was really in awe of being friends with the beautiful, popular girl. The comments got a lot of laughs, though, and then the writers ran with it and made them creepier and more sexually inappropriate. Then the audience stopped laughing at them, and they started to get written out and pretty much suddenly vanished altogether. At Comic Con after the 5th season, the writers were asked about the "gay for Penny" stuff coming out of Amy's mouth, and Steve Molaro looked particularly guilty and said it was a joke which got taken too far and that it got axed fairly quickly when audiences stopped laughing at it.

Amy was always meant to be portrayed as having a girl crush on Penny, but moreover, it was supposed to be an extension of the fact that Amy never had any friends in her life (It would seem she was extremely isolated by a very over-protective mother) so when she became "besties" with the very definition of the beautiful, blonde, popular girl, Amy finally felt she fit in somewhere and in some ways let the joy of having real friends for the first time in her life go to her head. It was never meant to suggest that Amy was a lesbian, or bisexual. It's been clear Amy was meant for Sheldon from the get-go, and is heterosexual. (In fact the first time she seemed to have gotten turned on is by Zack.) The writers just got a little loosey-goosey with a joke and then had to reign themselves in later.

[KYBlonde]

I maintain that until you have experienced Amy Farrah Fowler's rendition of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" on the harp?  You have not lived!

[cosmic1]

She really is a great character. I loved that episode with her beckoning pelvis and she and Leonard were awesome together.

[MaryMitch]

Was Amy imagined as an ongoing character from the start?

 

[rose313]

I named my car (yes, my car) Farrah, after her.

[rose313]

I quite liked the references, they added to her awkwardness. Even the time she had a picture painted of her and Penny and mentioned that they were originally going to be painted without clothes...that was great. I didn't feel like it was taken TOO far, but definitely more than before when it was virtually nonexistant. I think they should keep the references, and not do away with them entirely, just don't make them distracting or out of character.

[Abra Came]

Thanks for the explanation, Lionne.  I had thought that some of Amy's remarks had reached an overly risque level, and were occasionally a little too creepy--even for a socially awkward person like Amy.  The more innocent compliments seemed to show Amy's efforts to initiate (and later cement) a friendship.  It was almost as though by complimenting Penny, she was hoping (longing) for someone to notice and remark upon her own long beautiful hair or glowing skin or excellent posture.

[TheGongOfDoom]

I found it odd how squicked out Penny was by Amy's various lesbian suggestions since it's pretty clear that Penny has had more than her share of girl girl guy threesomes as well as girl on girl encounters. Amy grates on Penny sometimes.

[Lionne]

There is one line where Penny asks if she picks up a guy, and the guy picks up another girl, and then they all leave the bar together - did she pick up the girl? Bernadette asks her if that really happened, and Penny kinda brushes it off with an implication it might have. Other than that, there is no evidence that Penny has had a large share of 3somes nor ever had a purely lesbian encounter. I think that at first you can tell she likes Amy's compliments (she's particularly pleased when Amy suggests that Penny would fetch a unicorn for her downry) but gets squicked out at other times.

The episode with the painting has some great moments in it, but Amy's comments about the sponges and them originally being painted nude is actually one of the jokes which I felt went a little too far. I think whether Penny looked pleased or grossed out is what sold or didn't sell the joke, really, and they had Penny look disturbed too much at Amy's innuendos. I was glad when they ended, personally, but then they got replaced by Amy focusing on her sex life with Sheldon instead.

All in all, the picture which has actually been painted for me is that Amy is too inexperienced to know anything about the realities of sex. I thought it was adorable when Sheldon kisses her on the train that she lifts her hands in that whole "oh, I'm being kissed! Hey, I have hands! What do I do with these?!" sort of way that you do when you're inexperienced and young and have never been really kissed before. Amy is more of a talker than a doer - she makes flattering and sometimes inappropriate comments to Penny and Sheldon and worships them (a bit more than she should sometimes), but when things get real she's as awkward and unsure of herself as you would expect.

[NoWillToResist]

I can't help but wish that TPTB had kept her as a female Sheldon; someone completely disinterested in sex/romance and utterly baffled by the actions of those around her.

I find her "romance" with Sheldon utterly unfunny, bordering on offensive, so it's unfortunate that the pairing is so popular. I derive no enjoyment from her panting after Sheldon and bemoaning his behaviour. Every miniscule 'step forward', usually greeted by the media with great enthusiasm, makes me want to hurl. It would be different if I ever really got the sense that Sheldon GAVE A FUCK ABOUT HER and was just struggling to express himself. But I've seen enough instances of him not giving a shit about her or her feelings that I just can't root for them. He's an asshole to her and she doesn't have enough self-respect to look elsewhere. I'm honestly not sure how much more of it I can take before I have to stop watching the show altogether.

The last time I found Amy genuinely enjoyable was when she and Howard were rocking out to Neil Diamond.

[Midru]

My thought always was that it was a joke gone too far, but they did so many that I really started to wonder. I'm thinking it started in the fourth season, about ten episodes in. 

So my take on her sexuality is she is inexperienced, awkward, frustrated. And after so many jokes I believe she at least has some attraction to Penny. Let's not forget her "harmless experimentation with lesbianism" involved barging into Penny's room and molesting her. 

[Midru]

I agree with everything you said, No Will to Resist! I don't want them to be couple. That she still wants to be a couple with him, knowing it would be a life of being emotionally abused, makes me completely lose respect for her.

I really don't even want her to get horny- I seem to be alone in finding that Horny Amy makes me cringe a lot more than she makes me laugh. 

It amazes me how many casual/new fans of the show tell me that Amy is her favorite character. I think she speaks to lots of people because of how she wants to fit in, also how her cold nature puts people off in a way she doesn't intend. Anybody else able to explain how the last cast member added has become so popular?

[NoWillToResist]

 

I really don't even want her to get horny- I seem to be alone in finding that Horny Amy makes me cringe a lot more than she makes me laugh.

Yeah, horny and frustrated Amy is the worst Amy, IMO. I think TPTB have gone back to the 'Sheldon says something about Amy not understanding what it's like to want something so much and be denied (about something utterly unrelated to them) while Amy makes either a bitchface or pining face in his general direction' well a few too many times.

I much prefer Amy when she's kind of giddily excited about simple things and/or chatting about science.

I seem to recall enjoying her and Leonard attending someone's wedding back in the day; just two people hanging out and having fun...no awkward pining or romantic fuckery (just like Howard and Amy re: Neil Diamond). It's a shame that women are only there for romantic/sexual humour and situations. Girls and guys just can't be friends with common interests, I guess...?

I kind of wish they'd experiment with Raj and Amy. They are both romantically insecure but they are capable of giving a lot of emotional support to others. I think they'd be an interesting duo, boosting each other up and increasing their self-worth.

Edited April 2, 2014 by NoWillToResist

[riley702]

"I'll avoid the netheryaya!"

[catmsw]

Having listened to recent lengthy interviews with Mayim, I can't see her as being comfortable portraying someone who is bisexual or lesbian due to her religious values. She's someone who has to go take a milk bath jacuzzi after a period before a husband is allowed to touch her.

[minivanmom]

That would be a mikvah, not a milk bath jacuzzi.

[AmyFarrahFowler]

As you can likely tell, I am a huge AFF fan.

 

I agree with the poster above who wished they had left AFF's character as she was originally portrayed. The storyline had a cuteness factor due to both Sheldon and Amy only dating to please their mothers. I foresaw many great episodes on that alone.

[DkNNy79]

I can't help but wish that TPTB had kept her as a female Sheldon; someone completely disinterested in sex/romance and utterly baffled by the actions of those around her.

Its such a stark difference anytime I watch one of the earlier episodes.  I don't particularly care for how much they've changed her.

 

Sheldon has always been disinterested in sex/romance, so for me he's still true to character.  Yes, Sheldon can be a jerk to Amy, but that's how he is to everyone, that is his character.  I don't find it to be malicious.  I can't find fault with him if he can't provide the romance that Amy is looking for.  She knew that about him going into the relationship, so its up to her to walk away if he can't provide her with what she needs.

[Kalliste]

I'm just above finished season 5 now and still like Amy but wish she'd look to someone else for a romantic relationship if that is what she is really after. If Sheldon can't deal with her dating Stewart then he needs to step up and give her the relationship she wants or step back and only be her friend.

 

I also agree that the show basically centres around having girlfriends, girl worship etc. Apparently these guys are just unable to be friends with women and that makes me sad. I have a few 'nerdy' male friends and I've never felt that they're only friends with me because one day they anticipate that I'll lower myself to their level and have sex with them.. Other than Sheldon, the show also suggests that nerds all have low self esteem and that no one would be willing to stoop so low...

 

.. if they happen to though it's like a christmas miracle! Blarg.

[jjj]

This morning the Mayim Bialik episode of "What Not to Wear" aired, which I had not seen since she joined TBBT.  It first aired in May 2009, so a full year before her first appearance on TBBT in May 2010.  Although I had never seen "Blossom," I remember back in 2009 being quite impressed with Mayim's attitude toward being made over (and she really had been wearing wooly baggy clothing and hightop sneakers before then).  I loved it when she said, "I need this so much, I'll pay for it myself, so you can give the money to someone who needs it more."  Seeing it again, she really is fun to watch in her reactions, and in her intelligence as she analyzes what works for her and why she had stopped focusing attention on herself (babies!).  (Seriously, AFF is several steps higher in style.)  Everyone is kind and helpful, and she seems to end up in clothing that is completely suitable to her young-mother lifestyle.  If it cycles around again, or is available online, I recommend it! 

[Kalliste]

Thanks for the mention jjj I looked it up on youtube.. is this show scripted? I feel so embarrassed for Mayim if not.. she took the ambush very well and the hosts are pretty snarky, I assume they're always that way?

[jjj]

For a reality show, it is more unscripted than many.  Many of the subjects are actually ambushed without warning, as we heard sometimes firsthand on the former TWoP forums.  I got the impression from interviews she gave at the time that she knew a makeover was going to happen, but not necessarily when.  The actual makeover -- shopping by herself and then with the hosts -- did seem not to be scripted.  I thought there were a lot of genuine moments in the makeover.  And those "secret footage" before videos had to have been taken by her friends without her knowledge, because who would let themselves be photographed in such poor posture (leaving aside the clothing!). 

 

Her episode was MUCH less snarky than other episodes! 

Edited September 21, 2014 by jjj

[Kalliste]

I only could find half of it... It was in parts on youtube and I got to see part 1 and 2 but the others don't exist it seems. I felt sorry for her having to look at them suggest clothes with 'sex' when apparently she had mentioned that based on religious beliefs she has certain clothing restrictions and they didn't follow her wishes anyway.

 

If her episode had less snark than I'm really sorry for the other contestants :P

 

In relation to Malim as Amy.. I think I only watch it for her now, although they basically changed her character completely I love seeing goofy, happy Amy because Mayim has a lovely smile. Also, it seems like they use her actual clothes choices for the show.. if that secret footage from WNTW is anything to go by :P

[HyeChaps]

People change.  Amy changed.  She's got friends now and she's met someone with whom she's fallen in love.

[chocolatine]

I loved Amy's assertiveness in the episode where Sheldon came to "work" in her lab and she kicked him out for being an ass and wouldn't accept any of his backhanded/insincere apologies. I wish she acted like that outside of the lab as well.

 

I also hope the show finds a way for Amy to move on to another relationship and still keep her involved with the core group. Amy obviously wants sexual fulfillment and Sheldon is obviously asexual, so I don't see a happy medium there. Maybe they can have her take a permanent job at CalTech so Sheldon could be her "work boyfriend", and she could get an actual boyfriend that likes to get physical.

[Rhetorica]

Yeah, Amy's in love. She's also in a dysfunctional relationship. I want the feisty Amy back. I've never seen her joyful except for her scenes with Howard singing Neil Diamond.

[Kalliste]

I suppose they progressed to kissing on date night.. I thought it was strange that Sheldon felt obligated to do it as he obviously liked kissing her on the train.

 

I liked Amy's assertiveness during the PS4 vs xbox One discussion when she just wanted him to hand her the butter :P 

[Hecate7]

I suppose they progressed to kissing on date night.. I thought it was strange that Sheldon felt obligated to do it as he obviously liked kissing her on the train.

 

I liked Amy's assertiveness during the PS4 vs xbox One discussion when she just wanted him to hand her the butter :P 

 

Sheldon has me baffled. He seems not to care about Amy, but I think he does. He didn't want her to see him down. His kiss on the train seemed really passionate, and the body language made me think Sheldon might be beginning to open the door to a more physical relationship with Amy. So much so, that when he said "I want to have coitus with Amy when we get home," I actually fell for it. 

 

I think we were meant to fall for it, which means we are probably going to get another layer soon. I hope so.

[AmyFarrahFowler]

Yeah, Amy's in love. She's also in a dysfunctional relationship. I want the feisty Amy back. I've never seen her joyful except for her scenes with Howard singing Neil Diamond.

Don't forget the tiara scene!

[Rhetorica]

Don't forget the tiara scene!

Oh, that's right! That scene was gold!

[Drusilla]

Don't forget the tiara scene!

put it on me put it on me! Sometimes I wish Amy Farrah had her own spin off.

[QuelleC]

I'll have to see if her What Not To Wear episode is on YT! I'm old enough to have watched Blossom and that's because I remember her playing Bette Midler as a child in Beaches. 

 

She does such a great job I'm sure she'll have more jobs in the future but I'm pissed she (and Melissa) are getting 10% (60,0000-100,000) of what the 3 are earning, and Simon and Kunal are said to be making around $750,000.  I could see the show going on without Melissa Rauch but there's only One Amy for Sheldon.

 

ETA I only found parts 1 and 2 out of 4 on you tube and couldn't find it anywhere else :(  It

It's S7E1 But I did watch the Mindy Cohen makeover.

Edited October 23, 2015 by QuelleC

[CherryAmes]

I find it sad that Mayim had to post this on her Facebook page.  I bet if she had said nothing there would have been people tearing her apart for that too,

 

I can't even believe I have to say this but for a lot of young followers, it needs to be heard: expressing dismay over the tragedy in Brussels does not mean no one cares about the other tragedies in the world. There are so many hostile comments I'm getting, being accused of being a racist, and all of this nonsense. For the love of God, I try to cover as much as I can as one small human being here. I'm not a news agency.

[ari333]

I find it sad that Mayim had to post this on her Facebook page.  I bet if she had said nothing there would have been people tearing her apart for that too,

 

I can't even believe I have to say this but for a lot of young followers, it needs to be heard: expressing dismay over the tragedy in Brussels does not mean no one cares about the other tragedies in the world. There are so many hostile comments I'm getting, being accused of being a racist, and all of this nonsense. For the love of God, I try to cover as much as I can as one small human being here. I'm not a news agency.

 

I don't do FB. Can you tell us more ? TIA

[PinkRibbons]

Emmy noms are up and Mayim didn't get one this year. Have to say I'm kind of blue -- the rest the show hasn't been near up to its old standards, but I thought Mayim really had a chance this year. She was phenomenal in The Opening Night Excitation.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mayim Bialik talks about her new book "Girling Up: How to Be Strong, Smart and Spectacular" on Build:

[MaryMitch]

Mayim is going to be on Steven Colbert tonight (Thursday May 11)

[Driad]

Thank you. Hoping someone can find and post a link tomorrow, because I have to get up at epsilon o'clock in the morning.  :-{

[fliptopbox]

On 9/10/2014 at 6:17 AM, Kalliste said:

I also agree that the show basically centres around having girlfriends, girl worship etc. Apparently these guys are just unable to be friends with women and that makes me sad. I have a few 'nerdy' male friends and I've never felt that they're only friends with me because one day they anticipate that I'll lower myself to their level and have sex with them.. Other than Sheldon, the show also suggests that nerds all have low self esteem and that no one would be willing to stoop so low...

I had nerdy friends like that, it seems like almost all of them had some sort of crush on me at one point or another. At one point I moved in with my best (nerdy guy) friend and after a few months he kicked me out because I had a few dates while I was living there and after 11 years of being BFFs he couldn't handle the fact that I didn't share his feelings. He originally said it was because the rent was going up and he didn't think I could afford it...but a few days later he wrote me this crazy 7 page letter detailing how awful of a person I was because I had "friend zoned" him, taken advantage of his generosity (cos he let me watch whatever I wanted on tv!!), that I am a maneater, and that I led him on...which never happened. I always treated him the same way I treat all of my friends. It was ridiculous, and basically the whole time we were friends he had various relationships with other girls, and I had my own relationships too. I knew he always had some kinda feelings for me but I had no idea that it would eventually tear our friendship apart. It's been 7 years now and I haven't heard from him once. A few years ago I even called and left him a message saying I hoped he was doing well and it might be nice to grab a drink and talk, and maybe fix our friendship. He never responded. Oh well, his loss.

[Snarklepuss]

52 minutes ago, fliptopbox said:

I had nerdy friends like that, it seems like almost all of them had some sort of crush on me at one point or another. At one point I moved in with my best (nerdy guy) friend and after a few months he kicked me out because I had a few dates while I was living there and after 11 years of being BFFs he couldn't handle the fact that I didn't share his feelings. He originally said it was because the rent was going up and he didn't think I could afford it...but a few days later he wrote me this crazy 7 page letter detailing how awful of a person I was because I had "friend zoned" him, taken advantage of his generosity (cos he let me watch whatever I wanted on tv!!), that I am a maneater, and that I led him on...which never happened. I always treated him the same way I treat all of my friends. It was ridiculous, and basically the whole time we were friends he had various relationships with other girls, and I had my own relationships too. I knew he always had some kinda feelings for me but I had no idea that it would eventually tear our friendship apart. It's been 7 years now and I haven't heard from him once. A few years ago I even called and left him a message saying I hoped he was doing well and it might be nice to grab a drink and talk, and maybe fix our friendship. He never responded. Oh well, his loss.

Wow, I had a very similar relationship with a guy I used to call "my geek friend".  He was about 12 years younger than me.  We met through a chat board that had group gatherings.  Since he only lived about an hour and a half from me we used to get together alone every few months.  I made it clear (I thought) to him that I wanted it to be "just friends", and when we spoke on the phone we used to discuss our dating lives (or lack thereof).  He was a 30+ year old virgin and his room (he lived with his mom) was straight out of BBT - Action figurines, etc.  He was socially awkward, perhaps with highly functioning Asperger's.  He used to ask me to explain the things he couldn't understand about people's reactions, etc.  I knew he had a "thing" for me but he was very sure (he told me) that he could handle the fact that I didn't return his feelings.  For years he was OK with it, then suddenly he got a new job and I got back together with my ex and I think it hit him that he was never going to get anywhere with me.  So what did he do?  Pull away from me suddenly and one day called me to tell me he thought it would be best if we weren't friends anymore - no explanation even though I asked for one.  I thought he would think about it and get over it eventually but he wrote me out of his life completely.  It was like I never existed.  He deleted everything about me and I never heard from him again.  I also called him once to ask him to reconsider, but he never responded.  This after 8 years of friendship!

[Cowgirl]

On 10/21/2015 at 9:31 PM, QuelleC said:

I'm old enough to have watched Blossom and that's because I remember her playing Bette Midler as a child in Beaches. 

I loved her in Beaches!  (And Blossom too, for that matter.) It's fun to see her play such a reserved, socially awkward character after seeing her be so outrageous in Beaches and so sunny in Blossom.

[rmontro]

On 6/14/2017 at 0:30 AM, Snarklepuss said:

 For years he was OK with it, then suddenly he got a new job and I got back together with my ex and I think it hit him that he was never going to get anywhere with me.  So what did he do?  Pull away from me suddenly and one day called me to tell me he thought it would be best if we weren't friends anymore - no explanation even though I asked for one.  I thought he would think about it and get over it eventually but he wrote me out of his life completely.  It was like I never existed.  He deleted everything about me and I never heard from him again.  I also called him once to ask him to reconsider, but he never responded.  This after 8 years of friendship!

I understand your side of it, but look at it from his perspective.  It was probably painful for him to continue to see you, so he probably figured it was healthier for him not to see you.  Maybe he thought that if he didn't get away from you, those feelings would never go away, and maybe he was right.

[PinkRibbons]

This week's issue of Entertainment Weekly did a Blossom Cast Reunion, which got me thinking about the inevitable casting of Amy's family for the wedding. I thought it was very strange that they suddenly mentioned Amy's father in the first episode of the season after never saying a word about him before. (I tend to subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Amy and Howard share an absentee father.) Now I'm wondering if they're setting up bringing Ted Wass (Blossom's TV dad) in to play Mayim's dad again.

I'd love if they could bring in the rest of the original Blossom cast as family members, but it's a shame that Amy canonically had no female friends until Bernadette and Penny, because if they brought on Jenna von Oÿ (Six on Blossom, and who I would frankly give my left foot to see together with Mayim again on screen) as family she'd most likely be playing an antagonistic role to Amy, like some awful cousin of hers.

[shapeshifter]

On April 12, 2018 at 5:30 AM, ZuluQueenOfDwarves said:

Mayim’s clothes are still bright, modern, and flattering, none of which can be said of Amy’s clothes. 

Wow. A seriously different look from Amy:  https://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=mayim+  and: https://rank.ezvid.com/hottest-pictures-of-mayim-bialik

Given how difficult Sheldon is and how odd his preferences tend to be, I'm kind of glad they didn't hook him up with "a hot chick."

Edited April 14, 2018 by shapeshifter