The Common Case of Sitcom Wives

This week in my English AP class I read “I want a Wife” written by Judy Brady. Brady summarizes the impossible demands wives face in her essay. This made me reflect upon the portrayal of wives in sitcoms I watched when I was younger.

Many times, wives are depicted as overbearing, no fun second mothers to their husbands. This is especially common in sit-coms like King of Queens and the Simpsons. Carrie and Marge are the responsible opposite to their irresponsible husbands, Doug and Homer. The control freak wife and the buffoon husband is a trope that was used in virtually every sitcom in the 90s to the 2010s. The irony of the sitcom wives is that they are expected to manage all the affairs regarding the family that the husband is too stupid to do while also being a fun partner. The wives, like Carrie and Marge, were criticized by their husbands for being too controlling or boring, yet the husbands, like Doug and Homer, wouldn't lift a finger to help their family. These impossible standards that the wives can’t please are what Brady discusses in her writing.


Despite negative depictions, there have been positive portrayals of wives in sitcoms. The Addams family and Modern family are sitcoms that portray healthy relationships between the husband and wife. Morticia Adams and Gomez Addams have been an iconic couple since 1964. In contrast to other married couples in TV shows, Gomez adores his wife and Morticia respects her husband. In recent years, Modern Family is a sitcom that has also portrayed happier, healthier marriages. Claire and Phil as well as Gloria and Jay are two couples that don't fall victim to the overbearing wife and buffoon husband trope. The women and men both respect each other and actually enjoy being together. Sitcoms and comedies have a bad history of berating wives, but there are good portrayals that make sitcoms more enjoyable. Too bad I don't like sitcoms.


Comments

  1. Catie KrebsFebruary 13, 2022 at 3:05 PM

    Hey Sydney! I love your blog post this week, especially since I can see that you have thought in depth about how sitcoms have portrayed wife/husband relationships. I liked the comparing and contrasting you did throughout the entire post. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kaitlin CalleFebruary 14, 2022 at 8:11 PM

    I love the creative lense you used while analyzing popular sitcoms with certain gender norms that are often overlooked. I liked how you focused on specific interactions as well and used specific examples of those!

    ReplyDelete

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