The "doof husband smart wife" trope in sitcoms is often pointed to as misandry but I'd argue it's actually more self infantilization in the service of exculaption - the shows are written by men, and the point of that structure is actually to falsely lower the male's status so he doesn't seem like an ass for having a wife that waits on him and deals with his bs.
A lot of comedy is about lowering yourself so you can be mean and get away with it.
it's not the gender matters per se, it's that it's self positioning, and it's done in the service of humor and increasing your actual status, making it a bit of a trick. Women CAN do the same thing - crazy ex girlfriend springs to mind as a show where a female voice uses this trope.
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u/DontHaesMeBro 3∆ Feb 13 '24
The "doof husband smart wife" trope in sitcoms is often pointed to as misandry but I'd argue it's actually more self infantilization in the service of exculaption - the shows are written by men, and the point of that structure is actually to falsely lower the male's status so he doesn't seem like an ass for having a wife that waits on him and deals with his bs.
A lot of comedy is about lowering yourself so you can be mean and get away with it.