Summary5 min read

The Bert Show

Episode: Vault: Do Women Have Problems With Dating Skinnier Men?

Date: March 25, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode tackles a provocative question: “Do women have issues dating men who are skinnier than they are?” Prompted by a striking statistic reported by Glamour magazine—60% of women won’t date a man skinnier than themselves—the Bert Show team opens an honest and often humorous conversation about attraction, body image, and traditional dating preferences. With candid personal insights and lively listener calls, the cast explores why many women place importance on their partner’s size and how these dynamics affect relationships.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction to the Statistic (01:15)

Bert (Host) introduces the topic by referencing last week’s conversation about women feeling secretly upset over their male partners’ weight gain.
He’s surprised to learn that, per Glamour magazine, "6 out of 10 women won't date or even look at a man who is skinnier than they are." (02:05)
The female hosts react with total agreement, stating that this is a norm among themselves and their friends.

Reasons Behind the Preference (02:50)

The cast—especially the women—discuss why many women desire a partner larger or more “brawny” than themselves:
- Kristin: "We want to feel small with a guy... We want to feel protected. It’s a whole protection thing.” (03:30)
- There’s a consensus that dating a skinnier man might make women feel less attractive or even “inadequate.”
- “A man should not be able to wear your jeans.” (04:10) - delivered lightheartedly, underlining a physical distinction as important for attraction.

Variety of Experiences (05:00)

Not all share the same view:
- Some on the show mention preferring “skinnier,” more effeminate guys, and reflect on how personal experiences and sexuality influence attraction.
  - Cassie: "The girlier the guy was, the more I wanted to date him." (05:20)

Listener Calls: Real Stories (06:15–13:00)

Stacy calls in (06:30)

Describes being with a tall, very skinny husband, despite her being heavier.
Shares frustration with his high metabolism: “He will go to McDonald's and get like three double cheeseburgers, two large fries, and a large sweet tea. And still it’s so skinny. Drives me crazy.” (07:20)
Talks about the desire for protection and physical comfort: “Like when you’re snuggling, you want to be able to be in their arms and not be smothering them. Like, you're the pancake.” (08:00)
Humorously struggles to describe intimate concerns without being explicit: “If you’re doing anything non-traditional, then you don’t want to... crush anybody as a woman.” (09:15)
Group laughs: “Get off! I can’t breathe!” as a line no one wants to hear during intimacy. (09:40)

Nikki calls in (10:25)

She and her boyfriend are opposites: “He is five foot eleven, about 135, 140 pounds. I’m 5’2” and a big old gal... There’s a lot of insecurities that come with that.” (10:40)
Expresses worries about attractiveness and insecurity: “Is he cheating on me because I'm not attractive enough? And the whole thing, like you were just talking about in the bedroom. Am I hurting you? Are you okay?” (11:10)
Adds humor: “What’s the safe word? I can’t remember the safe word.” (11:30)

Surprising Male Perspective (12:15)

Bert muses that dating as a skinny guy may be harder than as a short guy, an insight that takes the crew by surprise.
“If we asked skinny guys if they’d had a harder time dating than short guys, they might almost have a harder time. Seriously? I would never have predicted that.” (12:50)

Notable Quotes

Kristin: "We want to feel small with a guy... We want to feel protected. It’s a whole protection thing.” (03:30)
Female host: “A man should not be able to wear your jeans.” (04:10)
Cassie: "The girlier the guy was, the more I wanted to date him.” (05:20)
Stacy (Caller): “Like, when you’re snuggling, you want to be able to be in their arms and not be smothering them. Like, you're the pancake.” (08:00)
Stacy (on intimacy): “Get off! I can’t breathe!” (09:40)
Nikki (Caller): "There’s a lot of insecurities that come with that... Am I hurting you? Are you okay? What’s the safe word? I can’t remember the safe word." (11:10–11:30)
Bert: “I would guess if we asked skinny guys if they had a harder time dating than short guys, they might almost have a harder time. Seriously? Yeah.” (12:50)

Important Timestamps

| Time | Segment | |-----------|----------------------------------------------------| | 01:15 | Introduction of topic and statistic | | 03:30 | Female hosts discuss protection/attraction reasons | | 05:20 | Cassie’s take: preferring effeminate guys | | 06:30 | Stacy’s call: living with a much skinnier husband | | 08:00 | Physical comfort in relationships | | 09:40 | Group laughs on intimacy and physical size | | 10:25 | Nikki’s call: insecurities dating a skinnier man | | 11:30 | Humor around intimacy and safe words | | 12:50 | Bert on challenges for skinny vs. short men |

Tone & Noteworthy Moments

The conversation is upbeat, authentic, and peppered with laughter, self-deprecation, and playful jokes.
Listeners and hosts openly acknowledge insecurities and societal pressures, but also poke fun at their own hangups and awkwardness discussing sensitive topics.
The interplay between hosts, their varied perspectives, and callers’ stories make for both relatable and humorous radio.

Summary

In this episode, The Bert Show examines the stigma and personal experiences around women dating skinnier men. With a mix of honest confessions, teasing banter, and real-life stories from listeners, the cast explores societal expectations, feelings of attraction, and emotional (sometimes physical) discomfort with dating dynamics that challenge familiar norms. The show’s unfiltered and funny style ensures an engaging listen around a surprisingly universal subject.

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I'm always a little reluctant to ask you guys to call in this early because I know you're busy trying to get the kids off or whatever, get into work, but I'm gonna try anyway this morning. Cause I read a statistic yesterday that, to me, was overwhelming. And it also contradicted everything we talked about a couple of times last week. Cause last week we were talking about women and how they were more upset about their men gaining weight. Then they led on to their men. Like, maybe dudes put on £50 in four years or whatever, and their wives haven't said anything. And they were calling us up on the voice disguiser last week and emailing us saying, yeah, you know, I've never told my husband this or my boyfriend, but I think he's gross because all the weight he's gained. Right. Then I read this in Glamour magazine. It says 6 out of 10 women won't date or even look at a man who is skinnier than they are. Oh, yeah. Most of my friends are that way. Seriously. Maybe as a guy, I was shocked by that. I'm not. Well, I could not date a guy smaller than me. Really. It would make me feel inadequate. Six out of 10, that means more women won't date a skinny guy than would if they're skinnier than you. Yeah. Because, I mean, from my friends and I that have talked about this, they're like, we want to feel small with a guy. Yeah. Really? Yeah. We want to feel protected. It's a whole protection thing. A man should protect a woman. So you want a guy that's bigger than you. And it's an attraction thing too. You want to feel attractive to them. And so if you're bigger than them, you feel. I think I would feel less attractive. I do. And also I would agree with that because really. Because a man should not be able to wear your jeans. Well, that's extra. Extra jeans be too big on them. Yeah. Like a real, A real man doesn't wear skinny jeans. I was really surprised by this. Maybe just because I'm a guy. But yeah, to you guys, it's like no big deal. It's like, it's a no brainer. Yeah. Total no brainer. Yeah. Because some of my friends won't date guys not only. Yeah, not only like shorter, but also width wise. Like, it's almost like a comparison of their shoulder width. Yeah. Like they want a guy who's got more brawn. Really. So they'll take an instant look at him. And based on his brawn or his thinness, I knew. Lord, no one knows more about short than I do. So I knew that, but I didn't know skinny. That is so funny because Katie and I have teased about this. Back when I did date guys, I would only date the skinny guys. Like, I didn't want to date the guys that were brawner or meatier. But of course I was gay, so I ended up, I wanted to date the girlier the guy was. The more I wanted to date. I was like, huh, Think about this. He kind of looks like his mom. How weird. And he's got such nice skin. A little effeminate. Yeah, a little effeminate. And it turns me on. Weird. That's awesome. 404-741-Q100. Yeah, I thought this was going to be shocking. Not at all. Not for you guys. Hey, Stacy. Good morning. Hey. My husband is actually. He weighs more than I do, but he's taller. He's a lot skinnier than I am. And I'm 18 months old. So it's trying to keep up with him. It drives me crazy because he will go to McDonald's and get like three double cheeseburgers, two large fries, and a large sweet tea. And still it's so skinny. Drives me crazy. Really? Yeah. Yeah. This is one of these gender things where I read it yesterday and I'm like, this is really shocking information. Yeah, not so much because, like, I don't know, like when you're like laying down or you're like snuggling or whatever, like you want to be able to like, be, like, in their arms and not be smothering them. Like, you're like the pancake. You know what I mean? You want to feel, I don't know, protected. Yeah. You want bigger protected? It's just. I want to hug something. You don't want to hug yourself? Yeah. And then, like. Well, it's too early to talk about that. Go ahead. No, just be good. Be good about it. Well, if they're, you know, you're intimate, I'm trying to figure out how to describe it without it being too much for this early. And I haven't had enough coffee yet to make my brain fire that fast. You don't want an intimate partner who you're dominating. No, that's not. She was gonna say. Not the right choice of words, chef. But there's certain. Well, it's hard to describe. There's certain. Well, I. I can't say. I can't figure out how to say it. Never mind. Tell me. You gotta say it now. Hold on. Thanks. Hold on. Game show music Game show music If. If you're doing anything non traditional, then you don't want to, you know, crush anybody as a woman. Okay. So you don't want the guy to be so fragile that. Get off. I can't breathe. Get off me. I can't breathe. Yeah. And if anybody says that to you, then you're not gonna feel sexy. Thank you. Or skinny. Right. Yeah. I think you broke me. Is generally not a line that's gonna turn you out of bed in any way, shape or form. Good morning, Nikki. Yeah, Women always wanna feel small and petite. Hey, Nikki. Hi. Good morning. You guys are so funny. My boyfriend and I are like Jack Spratt and his wife. He is five foot eleven, about 135, 140 pounds. Whoa. Yeah. I'm five two and a big old gal. You know what I mean? So. But it is. There's a lot of insecurities that come with that. You all. I don't. I don't know about other women, but, you know, is he cheating on me because I'm not attractive enough? You know, and the whole thing, like you were just talking about in the bedroom. Am I hurting you? Are you okay? What's the safe word? What's the safe word? I can't remember the safe word. Yeah. Not shocking material. I looked at that and I'm like, no way. Yes. Yeah. I would guess if we asked skinny guys if they had a harder time dating than short guys, they might almost have a harder time. Seriously? Yeah. 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