In this clip of “The Golden Girls,”
Rose volunteered Blanche and Dorothy to be guests on an episode/segment of a
local talk show. None of the women
realized that the show was about lesbians.
Blanche and Dorothy are appalled that it was assumed that they were
lovers and only go through with the show for Rose. Through a series of question and answers,
this clip of “The Golden Girls” reinforces stereotypes of lesbian
relationships.
The political aspect of this clip
comes into play when considering the context of lesbian relationships in the
80’s. At that point in time, those
relationships were somewhat tolerated, but not nearly as tolerated and public
as some lesbian relationships are now.
That’s why the talk show had an episode/segment specifically on lesbian
relationships. They weren’t as public
back then and weren’t something that was frequently talked about. The privacy of being a lesbian is brought up
in the clip when Sophia asks Blanche if she had been treated differently
because she was a ‘lesbian,’ and Blanche replied that most people don’t
know. While this was a comment directed at
the fact that she wasn’t truly a lesbian and that no one knew because it was
false, it also rings true when it comes to effeminate lesbians then, and
now. Unless a woman explicitly states
her sexuality, it is automatically assumed that she’s straight.
Douglas Kellner mentions in his
article, “Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and Media Culture,” that, “the
textual analysis of cultural studies thus combines formalist analysis with
critique of how cultural meanings convey specific ideologies of gender, race,
class, sexuality…(Kellner 12).” In the
case of this clip, the audience asking questions about if there are male/female
roles in the relationship goes to show just how society then, and even now,
view same-sex relationships. When the
audience member asked this question, it was taken seriously both by the actors
and the audience (there was no laughter) and Blanche and Dorothy’s answers were
said to be fascinating, as if it was a normal question to ask any homosexual. The normalcy of this question is due to the
societal belief that in any relationship there must be a male and female, and
simultaneously dominant and subordinate.
Even in a same-sex relationship it is believed that there has to be some
sort of dominant and subordinate configuration.
While this question may be considered ignorant by someone of the LGBT
community, anyone who doesn’t have a basic understanding of same-sex
relationships would find this to be a normal and valid question.
“The Golden Girls” is a comedy, and
the situations the women are placed in are meant to be comical. So, by putting Blanche and Dorothy in this
seemingly awkward situation, the writers have created a sense of schadenfreude
because the audience laughs at how awkward the women feel, and the audience is
also thankful of the fact that they aren’t in that situation. Cases of mistaken identity seem to be the
most amusing to audiences, but it becomes especially amusing when it has to
deal with a characters sexuality because these characters clearly do not want to be specified in that way (based
on their reactions). Debra A. Moddelmog
said in her article, “Can Romantic Comedy be Gay?” that, “[C]loseting same-sex
eroticism in the independent theater and making it comic in the mainstream one
[…] sends the message that same-sex desire is undesirable (Moddelmog
166).” This quote can also be applied to
television because in many cases when a gay person is mentioned, they are the
source of comedic relief. This quote can
also be applied to the clip because when Blanche is introduced as a lesbian,
she hides her face, clearly embarrassed.
This clip also implies that
homosexual relationships have a bad effect on the person’s family. This is seen when Sophia asks Dorothy what
kind of pain and suffering her lifestyle has brought to her mother. It seems to be automatically assumed that the
family members of homosexuals suffer because of their lifestyles, when in
actuality this isn’t always the case. It
also implies that because Dorothy was assumed to be a lesbian and because this
was on television, it would embarrass her mother.
The writers of this show chose this
topic because it would come across as comical to their audience. While they didn’t intend to perpetuate the
assumption that there are gendered roles in same-sex relationships, they were still
mentioned and still made to seem normal.
This shows that these stereotypes are deeply embedded in our culture and
we unconsciously act and think upon these stereotypes.
Works Cited
Kellner, First. "Cultural Studies, Multiculturalism, and
Media Culture." Gender, Race, and Class in
Media: A Critical Reader. Ed. Gail Dines and Ed. Jean M. Humez. 3. Los
Angeles: SAGE Publications Inc, 2011. 7-18. Print.
Moddelmog, Debra. "Can Romantic Comedy be Gay?."Journal of Popular Film and
Television. Heldref Publications, 2009. 162-172. Print.
I agree with your statement that the clip is addressing blatant stereotypes about members in the LGBT community in a comical way. One has to wonder if the writers were feeding into the stereotype or if their intent was to point out how ridiculous the stereotypes are. Given that the show is now over 15 years old it’s sad that a lot of these stereotypes still exist and are relevant; granted, there have been great strides made in recent history but the knowledge that one’s sexual orientation still has the potential of bringing pain to the individual’s family is heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis of this episode of The Golden Girls, and how this show like many other shows reinforces stereotypes of lesbian relationships. One thing that I liked that you raised in your piece, which I find important to understand is dominate and subordinate groups and how people generally categorize someone in each. You stated in your blog that, “unless a woman explicitly states her sexuality, it is automatically assumed that she is straight”. This is the case with al dominate/subordinate groups. For instance, people specify when they say female doctor, male nurse, white rapper, make teacher, and gay man among so many more.
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