Jeff Gray sits sandwiched between two girls. In fact, he is the only male in the dark room. The soft glow of the television beckons his attention inward as his weekly regiment of watching Grey’s Anatomy begins.

Gray, a junior in industrial engineering, said he first chose to watch Grey’s Anatomy as a result of shows like E.R. getting too medical and serious. He said he now watches Grey’s Anatomy and House because they pertain to his interest in medicine while remaining comical and fun to watch.

In addition to the medical side of Grey’s Anatomy, Gray said he likes the real-life situations it presents. He said they are also littered with sexual references.

“What guy doesn’t like that?” Gray said.

Still, males think shows like Grey’s Anatomy, Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives are just too girly, according to Steven Fisher, a freshman in aerospace engineering.

Fisher said he thinks if men would just get over their prejudices and sit down to watch those shows, they would find them interesting. Fisher said he doesn’t understand how men can badmouth something they haven’t even experienced.

“They don’t watch it, so they don’t know,” Fisher, who also watches Grey’s Anatomy, said.

Even though all males aren’t watching the shows, it doesn’t stop them from teasing their friends who do, according to Fisher.

Gray said he is constantly the butt of jokes from his friends for watching the show. Fisher said his friends incessantly tell him things such as, “You are such a girl. You watch Grey’s Anatomy.” But he said he is able to handle these jokes.

“You have to be secure with yourself,” Fisher said.

Fisher and Gray said they remain optimistic through the jesting of their male friends. According to Gray, the jokes are harmless and don’t affect his friendships.

“We are still Facebook friends,” he said.

Gray said if women were the ones mocking him, it would “cut a little deeper” than the jokes his male friends make.

Shows like Desperate Housewives and Sex and the City seem more “glamorous,” according to Curtis Driver, a freshman in civil engineering. He said he watches Desperate Housewives each week with 15 of his male friends.

Unlike Gray and Fisher, Driver said none of his friends really gives him a hard time about his choice of shows, even though they all laugh at themselves for watching them.

Driver also said the fact he is gay might have a lot to do with his show choices. Another show he said he enjoys watching is Will and Grace — which he said is one of the few programs that features a gay character as one of the central characters.

“There are elements [in Will and Grace] I am more likely to pay attention to than a heterosexual guy,” Driver said.

The social aspect of watching such shows is one of the reasons Driver said he watches them. He said he and his friends have a tradition of going to one of their houses and eating pizza while watching the show.

It is also important for groups to get a male perspective of such shows, according to Gray, who said he enjoys discussions about Grey’s Anatomy with his close friends.

Because these shows have reoccurring themes of love, most men find them unattractive, according to Fisher. He said that is the reason most guys don’t tune in to them. Gray said he agreed most males don’t like to talk about love — at least not publicly.

“Girls are more open than guys,” Driver said.

Another reason Gray said girls seem to be the primary audience for shows like this is the main characters are women. He said he couldn’t really think of any television shows geared toward males that featured a female as the main character.

Grey’s Anatomy is also very addictive, according to Fisher. He said if people miss an episode, they will become lost, but thankfully the episodes are online, which is helpful for the crazy, unpredictable lives of college students.

According to Gray, most guys don’t have strict schedules based around television. He said most guys — including himself — like to just sit and watch sports. He also said this is why most shows aimed at men do not require keeping up with every episode.

“If guys took the effort to watch, they would like them too,” Gray said.