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Slide 4 of 5

Predatory Behaviour

Let's just face facts: Joey is a womanizer. It's his character's main quality. In almost every episode, he talks about how many women he's slept with, and Joey's girlfriends rarely appear in more than one episode. He sees every woman as a sexual conquest, as an object for sex. It all starts with his classic catchphrase, "How you doin'?" and ends with him abandoning the women after getting what he wants. From Rachel's little sister to future 18-year-old Emma (Ross and Rachel's child) via a video message, Joey spares no woman and regularly comes off as predatory.

What makes this quality even worse is that all of his friends just go along with it, never criticizing Joey's behaviour. Even when Joey fantasizes about having a threesome with the female characters, out loud, in front of them, Monica, Rachel, and Phoebe (and the audience) laugh it off. He even searches for a female roommate with the sole intention to sleep with them; Joey's only requirements on the apartment posting are female, nonsmoker, and nonugly.

The characters also don't understand the concept of consent. We see this issue arise with Ross more than once. When Ross catches a glimpse of Rachel walking around her apartment naked from his window, he immediately assumes that Rachel wants to sleep with him. In reality, she was just enjoying being home alone. This is echoed in another moment when, in college, Ross thinks it's acceptable to kiss Rachel when she's asleep.

Image Source: Everett Collection