I am listening to Ron and Fez right now on XM and they’re bringing up a great point: the fact that every single husband on TV sitcoms right now is portrayed as a spineless, stupid, childish moron that is completely controlled by his wife. They can be referred to collectively as the Dumb White Husband.
How many guys are actually witless idiots that do nothing but sit on the couch drinking beer and “watching the game” while neglecting their families and putting off the household chores that they will inevitably screw up?
On every sitcom, you see the following traits common to the DWH:
He is…..
- Afraid of his wife
- Dumber than his kids
- Making less money than he should
- Clumsy and hapless around the house
- Unable to remember any kind of anniversary or holiday
And if the stereotype was true, apparently all wives hate their husbands. To them, there is nothing worse than a husband who wants to go out to play poker with the other husbands. Because of this, the DWH has to come up with an elaborate excuse to go out. Of course, since he’s as smart as a brick, she finds out.
Afraid of the wife
For a few examples, just look at every commercial you see on TV. The Bud Light commercial where the men have built an underground bunker so they can escape their wives to drink beer and do nothing else.
Dumber than his kids
The DWH couldn’t possibly give any advice to his kids- or even help with homework. That would be a disaster.
Making Less Money Than He Should
Sure, he’s got a good heart and he’s a good worker, but he can’t seem to get ahead in life. Of course, he cannot spend any of the money he makes….that would land him in SERIOUS trouble.
Clumsy
The DWH thinks he can fix anything, but always fails.
Forgetful
The DWH will eventually forget an important occasion. It’s going to happen. He will then have to come up with an elaborate apology usually involving a very public, dramatic scene.
Here are some examples:
Everybody Loves Raymond
The King of Queens
Married With Children
Til Death
The War at Home
Home Improvement
Ths Simpsons
Family Guy
This seems like a new trend to me. In the 80s and 90s there were shows that featured the DWH, but it seems like now, if there’s a sitcom, there’s a DWH. Why is that?
3 responses so far ↓
1 Cope // Feb 7, 2007 at 3:24 pm
Great observation and thanks for inspiring a post about t.v. on my blog:
http://www.davecopeland.com/2007/02/p.htm
2 Sarah // Feb 8, 2007 at 9:25 am
Your examples are mostly good, but I take issue with Home Improvement. I think they kept a pretty even keel there on that show between showing him as being bumbling and being a good husband. I think he was supposed to be slightly oafish with the grunting thing, but for the most part was portrayed as a really good husband and dad….I still love that show, I know I’m a huge geek. I was home sick yesterday and watched two episodes in a row on TBS or something.
3 Barry Freed // Feb 8, 2007 at 9:47 am
I’m not saying that the DWH is a bad husband. Not at all. Instead, they’re good in spite of all their shortcomings. But lets run it against the qualifications for being a DWH:
1. * Afraid of his wife
Absolutely. How often did he have to go talk to Wilson and explain that he did something stupid because he “didn’t want Jill to find out?” Many.
2. * Dumber than his kids
Of course. I think you’ll recall the hilarity of Tim trying to help Brad with his homework.
3. * Making less money than he should
This one fits in more with the “you can’t spend” idea of the DWH description. Consider season 5 episode 7 when Jill is angry at Tim for buying expensive tickets to a game.
That’s a stretch though. I can’t remember an episode where there’s a real issue with how much money he makes.
4. * Clumsy and hapless around the house
Dude.
5. * Unable to remember any kind of anniversary or holiday
Again, as previously stated: dude.
So I think it fits.
Again, the DWH is not a bad husband. That’s not what I’m saying.
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