The Unfair Sex examples in American Dad!.
- The episode "Stan Time" is a perfect example. Stan gets some pills from the CIA that let him function without sleep so that he can use the night as personal time since his every waking hour is devoted to taking care of his family. When Francine finds out, she demands that Stan give her the pills as well so that they can spend the night together, yet again robbing Stan of his "me time". When he attempts to put his foot down, Francine abandons the family to discover herself. The episode presents Stan as being in the wrong, and it's up to him to find Francine and apologize for being selfish and taking his loved ones for granted — all because he just wanted enough quiet time to read a book in peace. Punctuated by Francine having almost the exact same Aesop in a later episode. However, while Francine learns to be appreciative of what she has, she is granted a fair compromise and some time to herself, something Stan does not get.
- Stan and Francine are often given similar Aesops. For example, both have had episodes where they check out the opposite sex, and in both cases, Stan is the one in the wrong. Even when it turns out that Francine is just an incredibly selfish lover, Stan is still wrong for trying too hard. What makes it worse is that Francine is treated very sympathetically, even though she was openly lusting after her daughter’s boyfriend to the point of putting her family's lives in danger. Stan, who was merely utilizing the Male Gaze, was villainized, with everyone calling him out for looking at other women when he has such a hot wife.
- Perhaps the most ludicrous case of this is in "The Kidney Stays in the Picture", where Francine is revealed to have had an affair just a day before their marriage. Stan is still the bad guy, to the point the affair is depicted as being for the best because it might have led to Hayley's birth.
- Another exceptionally blatant case of this is "Pulling Double Booty", where we learn that Hayley enters an Unstoppable Rage if her boyfriend dumps her... despite having no hesitations doing the dumping herself. Just to hammer this in, when Francine frantically tells Stan about Hayley breaking up with Jeff, he initially doesn't see the big deal, even noting that Hayley dumps him every other week, and only panics himself upon learning that Jeff did the dumping this time. Hayley is threatened with jail the next time she goes on a rampage, but the episode proceeds to treat any man interested in her as preemptively at fault for having the potential to dump her, never once attempting to address Hayley's temper. It is justified at the end, where it's explained that her reaction to being broken up with is due to unresolved issues with Stan (he has never told her he loves her and she's projecting that on men who dump her). Once she is assured of his love, she no longer goes crazy.
- Downplayed in "Shallow Vows". After Stan casually admits to marrying Francine only for her looks, Francine purposely lets herself go before they renew their wedding vows. Stan's inability to hide his repulsion sets them apart, so he gets his retinas removed. They get along much better until Stan points out that his blindness will require Francine to earn the income now, forcing Francine to admit that she married to have a provider. The ultimate message is that both of them are shallow... but Francine's shallowness only briefly comes up and is not portrayed in such a negative light as Stan's.
- In "Bullocks to Stan", Hayley spends the whole episode switching between Bullock and Jeff and dumping them in the most callous manner (as well as endangering Stan's career and the family's upbringing in the process). The Aesop is about Stan not treating her with enough respect.
- Subverted in "A Whole Slotta Love". The episode seems to go the typical route and paint Francine as rational and innocent and Stan being a Jerkass villain, even though Francine was being an overbearing, paranoid alcoholic who had no moral high ground over her husband. Things take a surprising turn where she actually admits to her wrongdoings, and the episode finally lampshades that Francine was a cocky hypocrite, and it was indeed her fault on why Stan became an unattractive, slot-car racing geek.
- Subverted again in "Wife Insurance". When Francine discovers Stan has a "back-up wife" in the form of their dentist, she immediately gets angry and stages payback by asking Stan's partner Jim to be her back-up husband. This includes having Jim hang around their pool in a speedo to show off his huge bulge and helping him do stuff for his niece. Stan quickly points out he never went that far with Meg Penner, but ultimately decides to "break things off" with Meg (who initially claims she thought Stan was joking) to make Francine happy. Unfortunately, Jim falls for Francine and tries to have Stan killed on their next mission. When Stan returns home to stop Jim, they find Francine being held at gunpoint by Meg so she can have Stan. As Stan and Francine fight against Jim and Meg, respectively, Francine acknowledges she instigated this by trying to make Stan jealous, while Stan apologizes for having set up a backup spouse in the first place.
