Fat man, Thin woman

[Evan3]

I still dont like the fact shows do this. I find it very condescending to both genders.

Another show is I Love Lucy, look at Fred and Ethyl, even Ricky was kinda big caompared to Lucy. This seems to have been going on forever.

[AndyC]

Can't forget Ralph and Alice, on whom Fred and Wilma were based. Probably has less to do with a conscious pairing than a show built around fat Jackie Gleason. Maybe the success of that show simply led to imitation, and now the fat husband is simply accepted as funny for no reason anyone remembers. Maybe it's just that there have been a lot of funny fat guys.

[BoyScoutKevin]

This goes way back.. Indeed, back to 1964, but thin man, John Qualen, was married to fat woman, Minerva Urecal in The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao."

[dean]

it's a conspiracy plain and simple!

 that and the fact that many writers haven't had an original thought in decades

and just on another note, pretty much everytime when the woman is overwieght, she is a smart alec, full of sharp one liners [eg drew carey show and roseanne, even gilmore girls, don't ask how i know that one]

is this suggesting that all fat women need to have this sort of personality in order to either get a man or to deal with the fact that they are fat thus keeping people at a distance

if so, this is very damaging, as is the idea that all fat men are stupid goofy, but loveable fools

[Bernie]

What bugs me about these shows is that no one ever notices or mentions that the slim hot woman is married to a beached whale.

At least in the (otherwise unfunny) Jim Belushi show "According to Jim" they make references to the looks discrepancy between him and his wife (forget her name, the one who played "Georgia" on Allie McBeal).  I think (I don't watch the show but have caught it flipping channels) it may even be a running gag motif.

This at least is tangentially (right word?) realistic.

[AndyC]

I wouldn't say it's unreasonable that a fat guy could have a shapely wife. Their friends would have to be pretty superficial to consider it worthy of speculation.

If I remember correctly, the situation in Dr. Lao was of a fat, overbearing wife and a thin, submissive husband. That's an old trick of making the wife bigger to emphasize her dominance over her henpecked husband. She can bully him physically as well as psychologically.

In the case of Jackie Gleason, or of Fred Flintstone, they were that much bigger than their wifes, with oversized bodies and oversized egos, yet it was always clear that the "little woman" was really in charge. I think making the husband fat and homely is not really significant in itself, but part of having a competent, level-headed wife, and a husband who is a bumbling goofball, and source of most of the laughs. It's a formula that works, and they've stuck with it.

There is also a certain simple humour to be found in a mismatched pairing, such as a really tall woman dancing with a really short man.

[JohnL]

>(forget her name, the one who played "Georgia" on Allie McBeal).

Courtney Thorne Smith

[Chopper]

hey i got a beer gut - WHERE'S MY WOMAN AT!

[Bernie]

Thank you!

[eclipe]

For me I"M average build woman And I prefer men that are average build or thin.  NOt really attractive to guy's that are overweight. Take roseanne she arint not thin girl.  Roseanne star of her show she not no thin thing eigher  or is her tv husband john goodmen. Only thing right  now come to my head I can think of is according to jim Is where jim overwight and his weight thin.

[Jim Hepler]

I want to see a sitcom where the husband is smart, kind, and his wife is an overbearing, domineering b***h who always does stupid things.  It'd be a nice change of pace.  

It gets tiring of women always being right on TV.  We all know they're always wrong in real life, don't we?

[abner]

also family guy and the flintstones

[Kory]

I'm totally with you on this- it's a major pet peeve of mine.  I do have *one* example of the reverse though:

Days of Our Lives (stop laughing) had a handsome doctor named Craig who was married to a HUGE woman named Nancy (seriously- probably a good 350 pounder).  But alas- they are no longer on the show.

[Desslar]

The explanation for this phenomenon is simple.  In the examples cited the male is generally a comedian and gets by on his quick wit even if he has a big gut.  His female partner on the other hand is cast more for looks, although comedic ability is important she will usually be stuck playing the straight man to her wacky goofball partner anyway.

[trekgeezer]

What about  weight loss commercials ? They are quick to show a fat man needing Slim Fast or whatever, but the ladies are always  slender.