Why Miss Piggy is a Comedy Icon

When it comes to female characters there appears to be an odd belief that there are few examples of them in comedy, specifically examples who could be held up as comedic role models. I seem to have some extra time on my hands right now and rather than rearrange my wardrobe I have decided to dedicate an essay each to the fictional girls and women who deserve more recognition for their comedy.

I am trying to remember if my first encounter with Miss Piggy was as a cartoon in Muppet Babies (I still get that theme tune in my head, welcome to today’s ohrwurm) or as the puppet on a TV rerun of The Muppet Show. It doesn’t particularly matter either way, because to be honest, I don’t remember there being a time before Miss Piggy. This is why I decided to take Mariana Feijó up on her suggestion of Miss Piggy for this week’s comedy idol.

It’s not just because Miss Piggy is much, much, much, much older than me (I’m just asking for a karate chop, and I’d love every minute of it) that I can’t remember a time before Miss Piggy, it’s because she is A) such a babe* and B) groundbreaking.

There’s no question Miss Piggy is a babe but how can a puppet be groundbreaking you ask? Uh, well let’s break it down. I was going to say Miss Piggy is officially the most popular muppet but when I fact-checked this I found out that Kermit is actually number one. Guess where Miss Piggy ranks. I’ll wait. It’s 11! I bet you can’t even think of three other muppets let alone nine to fill the popularity gap between Kermit and Miss Piggy. But somehow, in spite of allying herself with Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy falls below Gonzo (forgivable) Animal (…meh) and RIZZO THE RAT. Can you believe that, HE’S NOT EVEN A MUPPET BABY! If ever people question the existence of sexism in comedy I shall now refer them to this poll as proof. The Swedish Chef gets a higher ranking than Miss Piggy, he hasn’t even had a book published.

The core muppet team (of which Rizzo’s membership is questionable) is a total felt-sausage-fest. Yet Miss Piggy doesn’t let this faze her, she’s still top dog in her eyes and she demands to be treated as such. Hell, she’s even bilingual, how many of the other muppets can speak French? NONE.

Another skill Miss Piggy possesses is karate. Those who don’t offer her the respect she deserves get a high kick. While we don’t condone violence here at Funny Womenn you have to admit very few muppets have such a wide ranging CV, sure they can all sing, act and dance but Miss Piggy is way beyond a quintuple threat at least. Not to mention all the roles she has taken on in the Muppet films and sketches.

Miss Piggy is also very open minded, not once does she think there might be something inappropriate about a frog and a pig embarking on a romantic relationship. Effortlessly funny AND stylish, it’s no wonder this little piggy has her own perfume (called Moi) and is this week’s comedy icon.

*no Babe jokes

If you have a character you’d like to suggest for this, then tweet me @funnywomened

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