Between men and women, why does size matter? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Frump · 02-17-2013, 06:11 PM

Ok this is similar to my post about male and female villains, but it's a little different so I decided to make another thread about it.

Have you ever noticed on tv and in movies that whenever there is a tiny, small petit woman, 9 times out of 10 she's always aggressive and dominant as hell, she usually controlls and bosses around ppl 5 times her sizeas and ppl seem to really fear her and act totally submissive, obedient and scared of her.

HOWEVER when there is a tiny little petit GUY, it's just the opposite, not only do ppl not fear him nor are the obedient to him BUT they always push him around and pick on him and look at him as a joke. And if he does have a rare moment of courage and stands up to someone bigger than him, they usually slap him down and put him in his face really quick, and he backs down which usually gets a big laugh from the audience.

So why are tiny little women looked at as ppl you BETTER be scared and obidient to, but tiny little guys are looked at as wimps and wusses.

This is the funny thing. If you're a guy and you want to be feared you have to be big, strong, muscular and BRUTE, and the bigger and stronger you are the more you are feared, respected and the more dominance you have.
But for women it seems just the opposite, if you're a woman, it seems like the smaller, tinier and scrawnier you are the more you are feared and reguarded as a tough, powerful, dominant being.

In fact it seems like tiny little petit women on TV are seen as ppl to be feared and more intimidating than women who are physcially bigger and stronger.

And usually when they want a male villain who's powerful and domineering they won't even CONSIDER getting a small guy to play they role, b/c they say he will come off as a joke. Usually a male villain is required to be at least 6'0 or more. In the Nightmare on Elm Street remake EVERYONE complains how the new Freddy is not scary b/c he's only 5'5, but if it were a small female villain ppl prolly wouldn't have ANY problem seeing her as scary, look at the Witch of the West who was only 5'0.

I have seen cases like where a bigger stronger woman tries to order a guy around and they guy will just tell her to "Shup up!" or "Get lost!" like he would another guy, BUT if a tiny little petit woman starts to boss him around, he's usually like, "Yes ma'am, whatever you say, just don't lose your temper, PLEASE!"

In fact it seems like when a role calls for a mean, dominant, super powerful female villain, they always make it a point to get a tee-tiny, super-small little woman to play they part.

So why is it the only dominant, powerful ppl usually tend to be big strong men, but when it comes to women, it's the OPPOSITE extreme, it's always a tiny little petit woman?

E.g.s I can think of right off.

Women:

Granny from the Beverlly Hillbillies.

Carla Carletti from Cheers

Kristin Cheneworth*I'm sure I misspelled that* But she is usually always in some powerful role.

*The tiny little woman in one of the CSIs, I can't think of now, but she pretty well orders around the whole police dept.*

Again there's more but I can't recall them all now.

And here are the men:

Barney Fife, which no one takes serious, everyone laughes in his face.

Screech from Saved by the Bell, ppl love to intimidate him everytime he opens his mouth.

David from Roseanne, everyone loves to make a wimp out of him.

Anyway just something I'm curious about that never has really made sense to me.

JamesG · 02-17-2013, 07:52 PM

Since you mentioned many tv characters as your examples, I moved this here from the Movies board.

MRPITT · 02-17-2013, 08:41 PM

Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo is another small tough woman.

Ron Palillo as Horshack was a smaller guy who was kinda made fun of.

Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson and Ernie Sabella as Twinkacetti comes to mind as being lil guys who were strong and Bea Arthur as Maude was a tougher, taller woman.

Ryan Chamberlain · 02-17-2013, 11:52 PM

Larry on Perfect Strangers was made fun of because of his height (or lack of) more than a few times.

dougiezerts · 02-18-2013, 05:10 PM

TAXI--Danny DeVito was a little guy who pushed everybody around!

02-17-2013, 06:11 PM	#1
Frump Member Senior Member Join Date: Feb 06, 2003 Location: McMinnville Posts: 1,206	Between men and women, why does size matter? Ok this is similar to my post about male and female villains, but it's a little different so I decided to make another thread about it. Have you ever noticed on tv and in movies that whenever there is a tiny, small petit woman, 9 times out of 10 she's always aggressive and dominant as hell, she usually controlls and bosses around ppl 5 times her sizeas and ppl seem to really fear her and act totally submissive, obedient and scared of her. HOWEVER when there is a tiny little petit GUY, it's just the opposite, not only do ppl not fear him nor are the obedient to him BUT they always push him around and pick on him and look at him as a joke. And if he does have a rare moment of courage and stands up to someone bigger than him, they usually slap him down and put him in his face really quick, and he backs down which usually gets a big laugh from the audience. So why are tiny little women looked at as ppl you BETTER be scared and obidient to, but tiny little guys are looked at as wimps and wusses. This is the funny thing. If you're a guy and you want to be feared you have to be big, strong, muscular and BRUTE, and the bigger and stronger you are the more you are feared, respected and the more dominance you have. But for women it seems just the opposite, if you're a woman, it seems like the smaller, tinier and scrawnier you are the more you are feared and reguarded as a tough, powerful, dominant being. In fact it seems like tiny little petit women on TV are seen as ppl to be feared and more intimidating than women who are physcially bigger and stronger. And usually when they want a male villain who's powerful and domineering they won't even CONSIDER getting a small guy to play they role, b/c they say he will come off as a joke. Usually a male villain is required to be at least 6'0 or more. In the Nightmare on Elm Street remake EVERYONE complains how the new Freddy is not scary b/c he's only 5'5, but if it were a small female villain ppl prolly wouldn't have ANY problem seeing her as scary, look at the Witch of the West who was only 5'0. I have seen cases like where a bigger stronger woman tries to order a guy around and they guy will just tell her to "Shup up!" or "Get lost!" like he would another guy, BUT if a tiny little petit woman starts to boss him around, he's usually like, "Yes ma'am, whatever you say, just don't lose your temper, PLEASE!" In fact it seems like when a role calls for a mean, dominant, super powerful female villain, they always make it a point to get a tee-tiny, super-small little woman to play they part. So why is it the only dominant, powerful ppl usually tend to be big strong men, but when it comes to women, it's the OPPOSITE extreme, it's always a tiny little petit woman? E.g.s I can think of right off. Women: Granny from the Beverlly Hillbillies. Carla Carletti from Cheers Kristin CheneworthI'm sure I misspelled that But she is usually always in some powerful role. The tiny little woman in one of the CSIs, I can't think of now, but she pretty well orders around the whole police dept. Again there's more but I can't recall them all now. And here are the men: Barney Fife, which no one takes serious, everyone laughes in his face. Screech from Saved by the Bell, ppl love to intimidate him everytime he opens his mouth. David from Roseanne, everyone loves to make a wimp out of him. Anyway just something I'm curious about that never has really made sense to me.
	__________________ Frump

02-17-2013, 11:52 PM	#4
Ryan Chamberlain Return Of The Silverburg 2018! Forum Regular Join Date: Mar 10, 2011 Location: Still hiding in Miles Silverburg's closet. Posts: 663	Larry on Perfect Strangers was made fun of because of his height (or lack of) more than a few times.
	__________________ *Despite my username. I am a chick. I go chirp. But, what does the fox say?* Night Court, The Simpsons, Pre-Cartini General Hospital, Step By Step, Murphy Brown, Three's Company and Perfect Strangers fan forever! "You can't put a porcupine in a barn, set it on fire, and expect to make licorice" -Dana Carvey *You robbed an international house of pancakes. How waffle-Harry T. Stone. <3* Goodnight, sweet prince. Harry Anderson 1952-2018

02-17-2013, 07:52 PM	#2
JamesG Freakshow Moderator Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 01, 2008 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 57,070	Since you mentioned many tv characters as your examples, I moved this here from the Movies board.

02-17-2013, 08:41 PM	#3
MRPITT Member Senior Member Join Date: May 14, 2011 Posts: 1,678	Estelle Getty as Sophia Petrillo is another small tough woman. Ron Palillo as Horshack was a smaller guy who was kinda made fun of. Sherman Hemsley as George Jefferson and Ernie Sabella as Twinkacetti comes to mind as being lil guys who were strong and Bea Arthur as Maude was a tougher, taller woman.

02-18-2013, 05:10 PM	#5
dougiezerts Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Feb 20, 2012 Location: Silver Spring, MD Posts: 204	TAXI--Danny DeVito was a little guy who pushed everybody around!