Give the pig a break...

No, you're not hallucinating. It's a new post. I was suffering, last week, from my annual, knock-me-flat-on-my-ass illness. It seems every year I have to get really, really sick at least once, requiring me to call in all the reinforcements (including my saintly mother in-law who used up her entire day off shuttling my kids to and from school and activities). H was also extremely helpful, but after day three, his inquiries of "How do you feel?" were heavily laced with a "When the hell are things getting back to normal round here? As there is a marked decrease in cooked food and clean dishes."

So during my recuperation, I actually watched enough TV to get sick of it, which I did not think was possible, and saw, while watching live television (imagine!), several Disney commercials featuring The Muppets. I know everyone has a favorite, I myself am very partial to Beeker, but a thought occurred to me while I watched her style, work ethic and bravada made the butt of jokes, yet again. Miss Piggy gets a bum rap.

Miss Piggy first made her debut in 1974, which was a pivotal time in the history of the American woman. In 1960, the percentage of women (with children) in the workforce was only 29%, in 1974, it was 49%. Miss Piggy was a role model for strong, ambitious, working women, and still is. She takes her career very seriously and has the utmost confidence in her abilities and works tirelessly toward her inevitable rise to stardom. She might be working on a hack show now, but not for long. She is the lone voice of female strength and character in this motley crew. Who else are girls going to look up to? Janice, who has smoked so much pot her eyes are actually closed? I dig her tube top though.

Of course Miss Piggy takes the most flack for her relationship with Kermit. After the relentless pursuit of his love, she spends that majority of their relationship ping-ponging between being saccharine-sweet-in-love with Kermie and brow beating him. Um, wait. Who am I talking about again? Yes, she can be a bit over bearing, but Kermit needs a wake up call occasionally. Especially when dealing with his idiot friends. If he would take some of her advice, this show might actually go somewhere. You know she would suggest Kermit fire Fozzy and tell him he really needs to pursue another career, instead of enabling him in his comic delusions, and overall have a tighter reign on the cast, avoiding his head-thrown-back-waving-flaccid -arms-in-frustration-screaming fits that he resorts to when things get out of hand. Yes, Kermit is whipped, and his friends think she's a total bitch and sometimes wonder why Kermit is with her in the first place, but I believe they really love her, deep down. There wasn't any pre-wedding scene in The Muppets Take Manhattan where Gonzo pulled Kermit aside and said, "Hey man. It's not too late to get out of this..."

And of course, the cherry on the piggy sundae is Miss Piggy's undeniable style. The gloves and huge ring? Timeless and fabulous. And remember that fantasy scene in The Great Muppet Caper? A feather trimmed pink gown? A sequined bathing suit? Oh, yes, she rocks them all. She does seem to be in an unfortunate bang phase right now though, which makes her look like Kim Cattrall. I think she needs to keep it old school and return to the Farrah Fawcett-esque long, curly mane.

So give the pig a break. She's the muscle behind her marriage and the raging bitch among her cast-mates because these idiots force her to be. When you get down to it, she's made the butt of jokes simply because she is stronger (have you seen that karate chop?), smarter, and more talented then the men surrounding her and maybe Jim Henson*, considered such a nice guy, was a bit of a male chauvinist pig. Pun intended.

*Henson-lovers, spare me your hate. I don't need another Folgerberg-gate. I love the man too, but can't help but wonder at his lack of female persepctive.