Peggy serves as a girls' gym coach who jumps through the hurdles of sexism to get Connie on the boys wrestling team.
Tropes in the episode
- Bait-and-Switch: A Flashback to Peggy's childhood has her going to baseball practice and has her hitting a home run. The coach walks up and asks her if she can run as well as she can hit, to which she says yes, but then the coach gives her money and sends her to buy soda.
- Cat Fight: Bill watches excitedly Luanne and Minh practice wrestling moves to teach Connie, which Hank yells at him over it, but Bill just says he was only listening.
- Death Glare: Kahn and Minh both look like they're about to tear Principal Moss apart after he suggests Connie take gymnastics because she's Asian and she should excel at it because she has "tiny feet."
- Double Standard:
- Peggy deals with a lot of this coaching for the girls, being forced outside when Coach Kleehammer wants the gym for himself. She can't even get new basketballs as the funding goes to ticket holograms, resulting in having girls blow up the balls during practice. It takes some legal threats from Kahn just to get Connie a tryout for the wrestling team.
- This also applies with Hank to a lesser extent, as he doesn't take girls' gym class at all seriously like he does boys'.
- Halfway Plot Switch: The first half of the episode has Peggy dealing with the sexism at the school, where she and her class get pushed aside for the boys' class and also not having proper equipment. All this gets push aside when Connie joins the wrestling team and with Peggy training her.
- I Have No Son!: Kahn says this as a threat to Connie (Yes, he even said "son" as it was clear he wanted a boy) when she tries to back out of the wrestling match.
- I Was Beaten by a Girl: Discussed. After the wrestling coach pits Bobby and Connie for tryouts for the wrestling team, Bobby faces the dilemma of beating Connie, or having be beat by her. No matter the outcome it would jeopardize their friendship, but if he won he would have hurt a girl, but if he lost he would be known as the boy who lost to a girl, with the other boys trying out for the team telling Bobby not only would they make fun of him for losing, but implying they would beat up for being a sissy. Thankfully Bobby and Connie find a more creative way to get out of their predicament (see Take a Third Option below).
- Innocent Bigot: With Peggy and Minh and Kahn fighting with Connie to give her a chance to wrestle, Principal Moss suggests she to go into gymnastics, as Asian girls have tiny feet and would excel at the sport, but they have none of it.
- It's All About Me: While Peggy is at least remaining impartial when forced to choose between Bobby or Connie to coach, Minh just bluntly tells her that Bobby is not her problem and to choose Connie. Multiple times.
- Jerkass: Coach Kleehammer is incredibly sexist and to get revenge for Peggy getting Connie a chance to wrestle, he has tryouts where he matches up Connie and Bobby together, knowing it'll be a lose-lose situation. If Bobby wins, everyone will look down on him for beating a girl and will also jeopardize Connie's chances of getting a better education, but if Bobby loses, everyone will look down on him for losing to a girl. Luckily, Bobby and Connie Take a Third Option.
- Kayfabe: Bobby and Connie employ several tricks in their wrestling match, which includes, Bobby "breaking her back", Connie giving him a Groin Attack and hypnotizing him into a trance and "hurting his eyes", with Bobby faking the effect with a ketchup packet.
- Morton's Fork: After the wrestling coach pits Bobby and Connie against each other, Bobby either has to become known as the boy that beat a girl, or the the boy that got beat by a girl. Luckily they come up with an alternative solution (see Take a Third Option below).
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: In the days leading up to the wrestling team tryouts, the other boys tell Bobby that he better beat Connie and become part of the team, or they would beat him up for, essentially, being a sissy.
- Sadistic Choice: Coach Kleehammer plans tryouts and one of the matchups is Bobby vs. Connie, knowing it would make Bobby look bad if he beat or lost against Connie and would also jeopardize Connie's future. Fortunately for the children, they managed to find a way for both to win. (See Take a Third Option below.)
- Stay in the Kitchen: The reason why the girls' P.E. department is so underfunded, is because neither the school's administration nor the parents, such as Hank, deemed it as much a priority as the boys' P.E. department.
- Take a Third Option: When Connie and Bobby are matched up for the try-outs, it's a situation where no one really wins: if Connie wins, Bobby will be looked down upon for losing to a girl; if Bobby wins, not only will he be labeled a girl-beater, but it grants a victory to the sexist male authority figures that are a theme in this episode while also jeopardizing Connie's chances to enhance her college application. Instead, Bobby and Connie both come out winners by having a Professional Wrestling-style match which entertains everyone.
- You Go, Girl!: Subversion. Peggy fights for Connie to get her a spot on the wrestling team, but her plan backfires when Coach Kleehammer has tryouts where students have to matchup and the winner gets a spot on the team and one of his matchups are between Connie and Bobby. This leaves Peggy conflicted on whether she should root for the girl she was trying to push equal rights for or for her own son.
