Ross Geller is one of TV’s original nice guys, but a closer look at the show reveals Ross as an example of male fragility. He’s a guy who is so focused on proving his masculinity that he often overcompensates, and hurts others in the process, yet still ends up with his dream girl. So, here are some toxic takeaways from Ross’s story:
1. Protect Your Masculinity At All Costs
Ross is a classic example of a guy who believes his masculinity to be under perpetual attack. He constantly demonstrates territoriality towards the women he dates. For instance, he makes a rival out of his ex-wife Carol’s new partner. Likewise, he treats Rachel’s other romantic interests and male coworkers with grudges and distrust.
2. Your Fulfilment Matters Most
When we first meet Ross, he’s reeling from his recent divorce. But Ross isn’t really missing Carol; he just wants a woman to fill the role of his wife. So, when Rachel walks into Central Park in her wedding dress, Ross takes it as a sign. He immediately sets his sights on her and uses her to complete his idealized version of himself.
Throughout their on-and-off relationship, Ross gets upset whenever Rachel does something that challenges his idea of her being solely his. Even when they’re not together, he continues to get in the way of her dating other people. He can’t stand the thought of Rachel ever becoming unavailable to him, even as he dates and marries other women.
3. You Don’t Have to Change For Anyone
Over the course of the show, most of the group changes as they’re all finding new careers, partners, and figuring out who they are. But Ross does not.
In the season finale, Rachel’s decision to go to Paris was rooted in her genuine need for growth and change. Ross could have realized his true feelings towards Rachel and used them to reprioritize his life. He had been teaching long enough to have taken a sabbatical and gone to Paris with Rachel or could have moved there to be with his daughter. Ross could have changed for someone else, but ultimately, that’s not Ross.
To conclude, Ross’s deep insecurities and unwillingness to face his flaws is his toxic combination of traits. Ultimately, the fact that he gets the girl is the show’s most toxic takeaway. In the end, Rachel has given up her dream job just to stay with someone who’s manipulated her repeatedly, who’s only professed his love for her because of the fear of losing his agency over her, and who shows no signs of changing.
love your blog! Perfectly structured, seamless, and precise.
On one hand, Ross embodies certain stereotypical traits associated with traditional masculinity. He is often portrayed as competitive, possessive, and protective, especially in his relationships with women (not forgetting how he cheated several times). I like how you point out the getaway of "getting the girl" even after cheating (leaving the "we were on a break" debate aside :p). He feels the need to assert his dominance and control, particularly in his romantic relationships, which can be seen in his possessiveness towards Rachel and his jealousy towards her other love interests.
Ross also exhibits a more sensitive side, as he is portrayed as intelligent, academic, and emotionally invested in his relationships. He…
Whoa, you've really opened my eyes here. When I saw your title, I thought you would talk about his reaction to his son Ben playing with a doll. Never thought of the ending it was so beautiful and emotional that it covered up the actual toxicity of the reality, and Ross's jealousy was shown to be so funny but it was really annoying at a point and to look back and see it through the lens of this post, that was insane.
Ross reminds me of a term I classify a lot of similar characters under i.e. a manchild. Its strange how such characters get so much hype through the show that individuals begin to develop such character traits as the norm, ignoring rational thought because they think it'll get them the girl. The saddest part is that Friends manages to bring such characters to the screen with comedy that never really hits the mark, at least not personally. Ross seems like the kind of character that would fit in a psychopath story narrating his thoughts best the more i think about him in this context.
Okay, I confess - I watched Friends at a time when these things didn't seem so odd, or maybe I was too young to perceive them critically. It was just for laughs. But reading your post has made me rethink the cost of said humor because, looking back, I can't help but remember Ross' intentional and quite obvious show of discomfort and confusion at his ex-wife and her partner's presence - every single time! It always felt as if he took his wife's brave step towards exploring her sexuality as an insult to his own masculinity. Constant reminder of this "offense" to Ross now feels like a conscious effort on the writers' part, and makes one wonder what kind o…
I completely agree with how problematic Ross's character is! Even the reason that Ross and Rachel take a break is because of Ross's obsession with the fact that Rachel's work partner is only helping her because he wants to sleep with her. It's not only a problematic idea for Ross' character but for generally stereotyping all men by saying that, "Do men ever help a woman for no reason at all? No." And I think this very line says a lot about his mindset and what the character thinks of both men and women. There's another episode where Rachel explains that Ross tried to force kiss her in highschool and ended up defending himself by saying it's because he "needed…