Patty Bouvier

Patricia "Patty" Bouvier is the younger of Marge's cynical chain-smoking twin sisters, who works at the Department of Motor Vehicles or (DMV). Like her twin Selma, she has a strong dislike for Homer. Patty is a lesbian.

Biography
Despite the similarities between her and Selma, Patty has been shown to be more jaded than her sister, particularly towards relationships. Marge once said Patty chose a life of celibacy, but Selma had it thrust upon her. Patty's decision to not have relationships has been implied to be due to her then-closeted sexuality. She is more vicious to Homer than Selma is, and unlike Selma, who experiences brief moments of kindness to Homer, Patty has no pity for Homer's well-being. Two exceptions occurred, however. The first was when Patty came out of the closet as a lesbian, sucked up her pride and asked Homer (legally allowed to perform marriages) to perform the ceremony. The second was when both Homer and Patty were disgusted Selma got into a relationship with Homer's father Abe, and they decided to work together to break them up.

Relationships
Patty came out of the closet as a lesbian (She exclaims "you could see it from space!"), and hints of her sexual orientation have been dropped many times; as she is seen coming out of a burlesque house. She is also seen saying "There goes the last lingering thread of my heterosexuality", when Homer runs past her, naked and screaming, and hiding in a closet with Smithers on a parade float in a gay pride parade where the two of them chanted, "We're gay! We're glad! But don't tell Mom and Dad!" When Homer heard about Patty's coming out, he sarcastically exclaimed "Patty's gay? Here's another bomb. I like beer!"

Seymour Skinner
Patty once dated Seymour Skinner after he was brought home by Homer. He is initially intended to date Selma, but he fell for Patty instead. Skinner planned to propose to Patty, but she refused, preferring to stay with Selma, on a date with Barney. It is unknown why she dated Skinner, though it could be she was formerly bi-sexual.

Others
After Patty comes out of the closet, Marge is hurt that Patty hid her sexuality for years (though there were obvious signs), but learns to respect her sister. Patty wooed a tenured professor of Yale University away from her husband. It is shown she is attracted to Edna Krabappel, Edna once "experimented" with Patty. Selma says "I can't face prison" and Patty replies "I can." Long before coming out, Patty dated Principal Skinner. She refused to marry him, claiming she was too devoted to Selma as a sister to leave her alone. However, she did consider Principal Skinner a gentleman and seemed to take it hard she could not marry him, ending their relationship with the words "Good night, sweet principal." Patty, like Selma, also had an honest sexual fixation on MacGyver for many years, although this aspect of her personality was phased out in later years.

Patty's only notable relationship with a woman, however, was with Veronica, a professional golfer. However, it was later discovered by Marge and revealed during Patty's wedding Veronica was in truth a man. She did start a relationship with Verity Heathbar but it is unknown what happened to this.

Personality
Both twin sisters tend to be cynical and are noted for their addiction to tobacco smoking. They have a strong, mutual (and reciprocated) dislike for their brother-in-law. She (along with her sister) was born before Homer and Marge, but their birthdate has not been given. It is presumed they are 41.

Unlike Homer, who usually makes a perfunctory (if not particularly sincere or committed) effort to be polite to his sisters-in-law out of respect for his wife, Patty and Selma have no hesitation in treating Homer with open rudeness and contempt. There were several instances where they did not seem to care when Homer faced a life-threatening situation. For instance, when Marge rushes to the hospital after receiving a telephone call Homer suffered a heart attack at work, Patty and Selma (instead of going to the hospital and comforting Marge in her time of need) remain seated at the kitchen table, continuing their activity of cutting coupons, gasping in amazement at a five cent discount and behaving as though nothing was wrong. They later attempt to set up Marge with a (rather sleazy) friend as a replacement for Homer, regardless of the fact Homer was still very much alive. Her bad traits have not gone unnoticed by the populace of Springfield and even their family, her mother even stated "[they're] a sort of evil", having raised them her whole life.

When Homer fakes his death, and Patty and Selma show up holding a tombstone inscribed with "Homer J. Simpson. We are richer for having lost him." This gift as well as the fact they been saving for this since Marge's wedding causes her to angrily throw them out.

Patty's favorite brand of cigarettes is identified as "Lady Laramie 100s", and her habit started "before they were even born". The sisters share an apartment at the Spinster Arms apartment complex and work at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Usually sticklers for rules, they have, on occasion, acted unprofessionally in the course of their jobs, usually when Homer is involved. They commonly punish and ignore applicants, forcing them to stand in endlessly long lines while they do other things. They once allowed Otto to regain his driver's license during Otto's brief tenancy with the Simpson family due to their mutual dislike for Homer.

Once, when Homer had to apply for a chauffeur's license to become a chauffeur so he could pay off a debt he owed them, they purposely failed him to show how much of a loser he was. On this occasion, however, Homer had the last laugh; saving their jobs by pretending their cigarettes were his when they were caught smoking on the job by their superior. Homer forced them to wipe the debt clean to repay the favor, thus negating his need to earn a chauffeur's license and removing the power they had of Homer.

Like her twin sister Selma, Patty is an avid (and sometimes maniacal) fan of the 1980s TV series MacGyver. Regardless of her orientation, she also seems to be erotically aroused by the show and the character, euphemistically needing a cigarette after each viewing of the show. Jay Sherman once tells Patty and Selma MacGyver is gay; they respond by suspending him from the Simpson home gutter by his underwear. When Richard Dean Anderson tells them he hated playing MacGyver, they kidnap him but eventually grow tired of him and get him to leave.

Patty also had one hint of being a transsexual, as evidenced by Otto asking "Are you always a chick? I mean, I don't want to offend you, but, you were born a man, weren't you? You can tell me, I'm open-minded."

Patty and Selma drive a 1973 or 1974.

Patty is also known to be a major enthusiast of fiction books, "enough to choke a hippogriff", and helps write one - The Troll Twins of Underbridge Academy. She is fluent in "every imaginary language, from, to ".

Future
In the future, Patty gets a fluffy tail, because of plastic surgery. Patty and Selma still live together and are apparently both still single, as hinted by Selma threatening to stuff Edna Krabappel's hat down her throat if she catches the bouquet at Lisa's Wedding. It is presumed they both die early, as they are both heavy smokers.

Bart vs. the World
Although Patty does not make an appearance in the game Bart vs. the World, she is mentioned in the question round. Question: "What does Patty do for a living with her sister Selma?" A: Nothing, she is unemployed. B: They work at the Department of Motor Vehicles. {correct answer}. C: They are co-owners of a beauty salon.

The Simpsons Game
Patty and Selma appear in the level NeverQuest in the form of a two-headed dragon who attacks the Hobbit-like forms of Rod Flanders, Todd Flanders, and Ralph Wiggum. They also appear earlier on in Mob Rules as people Marge can use to protest the sales of the Grand Theft Scratchy video game to minors.

The Bouviers and the Simpsons
As children, Patty and Selma were apparently domineering towards Marge and ridiculed her ambition of becoming an astronaut, as well as stuffing her in her dollhouse when she told them "no" which resulted in her having difficulty with telling anyone no. Their relationship seems to have improved over the years. As adults, the Bouvier twins have a friendly relationship with their sister and frequently visit the Simpsons. They seem relatively fond of their nieces and nephew, but seem to like them more when they were younger: "The older they get, the cuter they ain't." They, on occasion, watched the kids when their parents were out of town. However, Bart and Lisa would rather not be around when their aunts visit. Their idea of bonding with Lisa includes tutoring her in the belief men are pigs, using Homer as the prime example.

Their relationship with Homer remains one of mutual dislike (although Selma gradually grows to become more tolerant towards Homer and often experiences brief moments of kindness) which involves a continuous exchange of insults from day one. They unfavorably compare their brother-in-law to a caveman, suggesting him capable of trading Maggie for beer and a nudie magazine.

Selma and Patty occasionally expressed their common hope Marge will eventually divorce Homer. They are often quick in pointing out his attempts at infidelity, and unsuccessfully offered to help Marge find a replacement for Homer (although Selma eventually gave in and helped Marge find Homer after seeing how truly unhappy she was). The twins once went so far as to have a billboard built trying to convince voters to have Homer kicked out of Springfield.

Their dislike towards Homer even led to push Homer off a bridge, although they halfheartedly claim they did this in order to get him to his surprise party, conveniently on a boat passing under the bridge at the time.

Homer also openly calls them ugly. One such incident is when Homer sees them working out and calls the sight nauseating. He once said he was blindfolded and "two sobbing trolls" threw him on the lawn. Homer also called them "Penis curling she devils" during a party Marge threw. Homer is known to show little care to what happens to Patty and Selma, except if it happens to Marge it upsets her, like when the reaper killed Patty with no remorse, and when Patty and Selma foiled Homer to get his license, he smoked their cigarettes to save them from getting fired, but only did it because Marge was upset.

Character
Series creator Matt Groening said he suggested Kavner voice Patty and Selma as characters who "suck the life out of everything...." Al Jean said Kavner makes Patty's voice more masculine and a lower register, while Selma's voice is a little sweeter.

Creation
Groening also said he named the Simpsons after his own parents and two younger sisters; he has an older sister named Patty who is an art dealer.