[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Only Marge and Lisa are portrayed as more or less sane people (Patty and Selma, also, though living in despair).

Really? Lisa is portrayed as a self righteous, self centered, pretentious little jerk who thinks she is much smarter then she is. Patty and Selma are stuck in low paying dead-end jobs, friendless and often are rescued by Homer from their latest round of stupidity. That is when they are not trying to take advantage of Homer and having the whole thing back fire.

Mrs. Lovejoy is a hypocritical gossip. Maud Flanders was the neighbor from hell.

Crusty is not an evil clown (That would be Sideshow Bob) and Apu is a loving father and husband who does his best to care for a (very) large family. Marge and Ned Flanders are more or less normal because you have to have someone to make a contrast.

Sorry but if you try to build an essay around "men are unfairly portrayed" using the Simpsons you are going to have to look at the whole picture.

[aruanan]

Really? Lisa is portrayed as a self righteous, self centered, pretentious little jerk who thinks she is much smarter then she is. Patty and Selma are stuck in low paying dead-end jobs, friendless and often are rescued by Homer from their latest round of stupidity. That is when they are not trying to take advantage of Homer and having the whole thing back fire.

I think this is how we would perceive Lisa. I'm not sure the creators of the show perceive her that way. Our seldom, if ever, seeing Patty and Selma in the company of friends doesn't indicate they're friendless, but, even then, this doesn't mean they're stupid or being portrayed as stupid relative to Homer (who has morphed from vicious and stupid in the earliest episodes to lovable and stupid in the later episodes). At least one of them works for the state, so it's probably not a low paying job and will have a comfortable pension.

Mrs. Lovejoy is a hypocritical gossip. Maud Flanders was the neighbor from hell.

This is true, but Maud, she dead. And neither had as much facetime as the others I've mentioned.

Crusty is not an evil clown (That would be Sideshow Bob)

Sideshow Bob is evil, but he's not a clown. And Crusty is always selling his name and image to market unsafe devices, unwholesome food, and other such things for his own gain.

Apu is a loving father and husband who does his best to care for a (very) large family.

True, but his primary focus is on selling, selling, selling.

Marge and Ned Flanders are more or less normal because you have to have someone to make a contrast.

Sorry but if you try to build an essay around "men are unfairly portrayed" using the Simpsons you are going to have to look at the whole picture.

The preponderance of the evidence in the portrayal of males versus females in The Simpsons still supports my argument, secondary qualities of some characters notwithstanding.