The Golden Girls Scene That Aged Poorly
In many ways, "The Golden Girls" remains one of the most progressive and enlightened sitcoms of all time. Right from the premise, the series follows four older women sharing a house in Miami, Florida. Together, they get into all kinds of mishaps, never letting their ages define what they're capable of.
As the show went on, the show tackled a litany of controversial subjects with grace and a fair amount of raunchy humor. For example, the show led the way when it came to public acceptance of single motherhood with Blanche's (Rue McClanahan) daughter deciding to undergo artificial insemination. While Blanche is reluctant of the idea at first, she comes around to it and goes on to support her daughter.
The show tackled numerous issues in a positive and hilarious light, including the AIDS epidemic, assisted suicide, nuclear war, and homelessness, to name a few. It's a big reason why it remains such a beloved show all these years after it came out. However, the show wasn't always on the right side of history, and certain aspects of it haven't aged as gracefully.
The Golden Girls engaged in far too much slut-shaming
"The Golden Girls" excelled in showing how life doesn't end at 50. There are still plenty of opportunities to make new friends and go on adventures, and older age doesn't necessarily mean you have to slow down when it comes to romance, either. All of the girls had their fair share of partners over the years, especially Blanche, which makes it so odd when considering how progressive the series was in some areas that it fell short when it came to Blanche expressing herself.
It became somewhat of a running gag on the series for the other three women to refer to Blanche as a "slut" throughout "The Golden Girls," and that's a big issue by modern standards. It shouldn't matter how many people Blanche has been with. It's her body, and she has a right to sleep with whomever she wants. But apparently, not everyone saw things that way. One of the most horrendous examples of this came in Season 1, Episode 21, titled "Flu Attack." When discussing how healthy she is usually, Blanche says, "You don't have to worry about me; I'm very healthy. I treat my body like a temple." After that, Sophia (Estelle Getty) responds, "Yeah, open to everyone, day or night." It's wholly unprompted and seems to solely exist to make fun of Blanche for her more promiscuous nature.
That's far from the only example of the girls being mean to Blanche, but it might just be the most egregious. Still, for the most part, the show managed to balance pathos and bathos exceptionally well, and it's perhaps better to reflect on all the ways "The Golden Girls" touched you rather than the ways it made you cringe.