Why Do We Like The Golden Girls?, Part 2

Reason #2: The “Foursight”

Even today, some shows remain pretty removed from the political side of things. We stand in awe of some shows like Glee or Futurama take on topics like homophobia and gay marriage—topics addressed by Dorothy, Sophia, Rose, and Blanche two decades earlier. This post will highlight just how ahead of its time The Golden Girls managed to be in the 80s and 90s.

In 1991, Blanche’s brother Clayton visited the girls in Miami to announce his commitment ceremony:

It speaks to the timelessness of this show that this scene still resonates and to the times that this message is still needed. That said, there are plenty of issues brought up on the show that seem rather dating based on the topics.

Here’s a list of topics and episodes both timeless and dated:

• Sexual harassment in “Adult Education”
• HIV/AIDS in “72 Hours”
• Age discrimination in “Job Hunting”
• Illegal immigration in “Dorothy’s Prized Pupil”
• Alzheimer’s Disease in “Old Friends”
• Transvestitism in “Ebbtide’s Revenge.”
• Subsidized healthcare in “Letter to Gorbachev”
• Relationship abuse in “Blanche’s Little Girl” and “The Bloom is Off the Rose”
• Artificial Insemination in “The Accurate Conception”
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in “Sick and Tired”
• Drug Addiction in “High Anxiety”
• And, of course, lesbian crushes and Lebanon in “Isn’t it Romantic”:

I really wish conversations like this in Utah happened like this in Utah.