# Boobies: Penny vs Bernadette **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371 "2014-07-29T23:40:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Belrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed655f/32.png) [@Belrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Belrix)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/1 "2014-07-29T23:40:06Z")
So, much is made about Penny, Kaley Cuoco, and her boobs on The Big Bang Theory. “Drinks are on these”, she says on a taxi ride to the bar (gesturing to her chest). Bernadette, Melissa Rauch, is, IMO, the true beauty of the show. She’s positioned as “nerdy but cute” while Penny is positioned as “sex bomb”. Could Kaley Cuoco have something in her contract about “being the sex object” or do you think the decision to keep Bernadette covered-up is just a creative one? Kaley: [![](http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34900000/Kaley-3-kaley-cuoco-34960110-500-699.jpg) ](http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34900000/Kaley-3-kaley-cuoco-34960110-500-699.jpg) Melissa: [http://www.becauseiamfabulous.com/wp-content/uploads/Melissa-Rauch-in-Romona-Keveza-dress-2014-Golden-Globe-Awards-.jpg](http://www.becauseiamfabulous.com/wp-content/uploads/Melissa-Rauch-in-Romona-Keveza-dress-2014-Golden-Globe-Awards-.jpg) [Many images of Kaley Cuoco](https://www.google.com/search?q=kaley+cuoco+maxim&espv=2&tbm=isch) [Many images of Melissa Rauch](https://www.google.com/search?q=melissa+rauch+esquire&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/2 "2014-07-29T23:46:45Z")
To keep Bernadette covered up? If they’re trying to keep her covered up, they need a new wardrobe person because they’re not doing a very good job of it. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/3 "2014-07-29T23:47:45Z")
I’ll take Kaley. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/4 "2014-07-29T23:50:33Z")
Kaley is hotter but that doesn’t mean Melissa Rauch isn’t, or that she isn’t giving Kaley a good run for her money. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/5 "2014-07-30T00:09:25Z")
I don’t think it’s a contract thing, but it is part of the character. Bernadette just isn’t the type of person to show of her sexiness so much, and, when she does, it’s in nerdier ways. There are several pictures of Raunch that show that she is naturally much hotter than Cuoco, even by conventional standards. They seem to actually make Cuoco look sexier on the show. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/6 "2014-07-30T00:12:04Z")
Bernie for me. Penny is cute, and I wouldn’t kick her out of bed, but still, how in the hell did Howard Walowitz get Bernadette?? He doesn’t even have a PhD. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/7 "2014-07-30T00:18:00Z")
I don’t know about the contract, but for me, the 6" in height difference makes all the difference in Kaley over Melissa. Rauch, while quite comely, is simply too short. > [@BigT](#): > > There are several pictures of Raunch… Freudian slip? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/8 "2014-07-30T00:33:47Z")
Bernadette Peters. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/9 "2014-07-30T00:40:06Z")
Of the two, Rauch is more up my alley. It’s not the boobs, I just prefer her face. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/10 "2014-07-30T00:48:37Z")
I haven’t seen the show in ages, but isn’t Bernadette the one with the really annoying voice? While that’s not quite a total dealbreaker for me, it would take a lot of getting used to. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/11 "2014-07-30T00:56:02Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I haven’t seen the show in ages, but isn’t Bernadette the one with the really annoying voice? While that’s not quite a total dealbreaker for me, it would take a lot of getting used to. That isn’t her real voice. Her real voice is high but no where near as squeaky. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/12 "2014-07-30T01:06:12Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Bernadette Peters. That was my choice and first thought when I saw the title. Then again, I had just seen her get blowed up REAL good on _Farm Film Report_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lQKWn6oPj-c/maxresdefault.jpg "SCTV Farm Film Celebrity Blow-Up") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQKWn6oPj-c) ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/13 "2014-07-30T02:38:26Z")
I think, looking at them neutrally apart from their characters, Cuoco is somewhere in the tomboyish/girl-next-door/bro-girl type. Rauch, on the other hand, seems much more “sexual” in that sort of “naughty librarian” type way (I will admit that her eyes sans glasses look a bit pinched to me, probably from being so used to seeing her with glasses on the show, so it’s impossible to completely divorce my view from the show). I wouldn’t really say one is hotter than the other, just… different styles. Depends on what you’re looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/14 "2014-07-30T03:54:32Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Bernie for me. Penny is cute, and I wouldn’t kick her out of bed, but still, how in the hell did Howard Walowitz get Bernadette?? He doesn’t even have a PhD. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Of the two, Rauch is more up my alley. It’s not the boobs, I just prefer her face. When you’re making a TV series you have to work with the types and tropes that people expect. Tall and blonde means you’re the object of the main character’s affection. Short and cute (no matter how cute) means you practice your squeaky voice. The real world has no such constraints. Another vote for Bernadette. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/15 "2014-07-30T04:25:41Z")
Kaley’s character Penny was written for Penny to be the “sex object.” Bernadette was introduced in Season 3 and became a full time cast member in Season 4 and she was written to be the sweet, cute one with the occasional airhead moments. And I think she nicely fills the gap between the extremes that Penny and Amy represent. And personally, I think Rauch has a prettier face than Penny. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/16 "2014-07-30T05:18:03Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Bernadette Peters. Thank you. I’ve performed with her up-close, and everything about her is beautiful. Of Penny vs. Bernadette, there’s a difference between cute and beautiful. Bernadette is the true beauty. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/17 "2014-07-30T05:20:43Z")
Never seen the show. That being said, from the links provided Melissa by a clean mile. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/18 "2014-07-30T14:34:52Z")
I noticed that none of the pictures of Melissa show her in profile. That nose of hers is pretty big. She’s still as cute as a button, and Bernadette is by far the best dressed of the three on the show. Amy apparently shops at the House of Frump and Penny is a bit on the sloppy side. I’ll take Penny over Bernie, but not by a landslide. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/19 "2014-07-30T15:03:17Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > I noticed that none of the pictures of Melissa show her in profile. That nose of hers is pretty big. She’s still as cute as a button, and Bernadette is by far the best dressed of the three on the show. She needs to give the dress/sweater thing a break though. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2014, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371/20 "2014-07-30T15:15:56Z")
Can’t ignore the personality part, if you’re looking for somebody to spend time with. Penny is a dumb slut but friendly, while Bernadette is screechy and bitchy. That said, I’d still take Kaley over Melissa, the real persons, since she’s closer to my height. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boobies-penny-vs-bernadette/694371.md?page=2)