Fat man, Thin woman

[Evan3]

Have you noticed this, on almost every television show with married couples, there is a fat (usually eccentric) man and a skinny (usually calm and collected) woman. Some examples are:

The Simpsons
Drew Carey Show
King of Queens
Seinfeld (when George married that woman)


Now why is it that I dont ever recall seeing a heavy woman with a buff or thin man. Never! The only movie I can think of where this is the case is My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Bridgette Jones' Diary (and even these women were not hugely big.

Does this mean that it is only acceptable for a woman to marry and love a fat husband, but all fat women are to be shunned? It bothers me.

[Ash]

You know...I was thinking about writing a post about this sooner or later as well.

It's not only on TV sitcoms but on most TV commercials as well.

They always contain a mostly unattractive, overweight dumpy looking guy who has a hot thin wife.

And they always seem to show that the wife has a great ass!
Have you noticed that?  They always get at least one shot of her from behind.

Whenever I see a TV ad like that I want to yell out loud, "Yeah right!  Like she would EVER be with him!"



Post Edited (07-08-03 19:11)

[Ash]

Maybe they do it because that's how men and women's brains are wired up.

Men are visual creatures by nature.  We go by what we see and are stimulated in this way.

While women are more emotional by nature and tend to look for a mate with financial resources who can provide for her and any young she may produce. (though this doesn't apply to all women)

Women will often be more willing to look past physical appearance if it means the male has good economic stability.
After all...if you're a single guy haven't you noticed that most women will ask you what you do for a living within 5 minutes of meeting them?

As to why they seem to show an overweight guy with a thin beautiful wife with a great ass in TV commercials....I would venture to guess that they're trying to get away from the typical TV ad that shows only ultra good looking people.

But they haven't got it quite right yet.



Post Edited (07-08-03 23:25)

[Dunners]

maybe they were thin when the married?:)

[Newt]

Yup, I have noticed it too, and it has always bothered me - and I am a slim woman married to a man who is much larger now than he was when we met...

[AndyC]

I suppose it's related to the tendency in TV shows and commercials to make the men goofy and inept, while the women are on top of things.

Might also be appealing to some of the couch potatoes watching. Good looking woman with a guy like themselves.

Surprised Evan's list didn't include Family Guy. Peter Griffin is the ultimate example of this: morbidly obese, stupid as hell, and practically insane.

[The Burgomaster]

Of course, sometimes it works the other way, with the woman being bigger or fatter than the man:

* GOOD TIMES

* MAUDE

* THE JEFFERSON'S

* ROSEANNE

[George]

The answer to this is simple:

CHICKS DIG THE FAT GUYS!!!!!

I've noticed this too but never really gave it much thought.

[Evan3]

The Burgomaster wrote:

> Of course, sometimes it works the other way, with the woman
> being bigger or fatter than the man:
>
> * GOOD TIMES
>
> * MAUDE
>
> * THE JEFFERSON'S
>
> * ROSEANNE
>
>


I know in at least Jeffersons and Roseanne, both people were overweight, Tom Arnold is certainly not thin....

I know TV shows also use equal sized partners, but never have i seen Fat woman, thin men.

Thanks AndyC I totally forgot the Family Guy.

Maybe it is a 15th commandment for men to balloon out once they marry.

[The Burgomaster]

Evan3 wrote:

> I know in at least Jeffersons and Roseanne, both people were
> overweight, Tom Arnold is certainly not thin....

In the Jefferson's, George Jefferson (played by Sherman Hemsley) was a very small, scrawny man. His wife was fat in the early episodes, but lost weight later on.

Tom Arnold was overweight, but Roseanne was a fat tub of goo. Much more disgusting than Tom.

[AndyC]

In the Jeffersons, they were fairly equal about it. There was skinny George married to the more ample Louise, and across the hall were fat Tom and his slim wife (can't remember her name). On the other hand, George was a short, scrawny, balding loudmouth who had only recently become rich, so he was extremely lucky to have Louise. There's a little more to it than fat and thin.

Roseanne was actually married to John Goodman on the show, who was a little more in her size range than real-life husband Tom.

[The Burgomaster]

AndyC wrote:

> Roseanne was actually married to John Goodman on the show, who
> was a little more in her size range than real-life husband Tom.

You're absolutely right! My mistake. John Goodman was a fat bastard.

[JohnL]

Let's not forget Fred and Wilma!

[yaddo42]

The two couples on the stupid, unfunny but highly rated sitcom "Yes, Dear" are both fairly evenly matched in terms of physical size.

[ErikJ]

It doesn't matter if one was larger than the other we always had a phrase for it:

Spaghetti  and Meatballs

And for the record the wife and I fit into that, from the day we were married to today.