Designing Women Goes Looking for a Lesbian
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- Опубликовано: 25 авг 2024
- When we think about gay characters on sitcoms, we usually picture people in big Northern cities. But season four of Designing Women features an unusual southern and conservative take on having queer friends. And it also set the stage for Ellen’s coming out episode, just a few years later.
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I also covered the episode of Designing Women where they talked about AIDS -- way before our own government was ready to do the same: • When Designing Women T...
Honestly I'm just gonna start saying "I can accept you for what you are. I just don't want you to direct it towards me" to every straight men I meet.
FAIR
I am stealing this idea.
That makes me not want to be straight anymore
Good idea. I’m using this too
This was my exact thought as the line was said
I was living in the south when this originally aired. "Whoever heard of a lesbian debutante" was quoted often among my gay women friends. We really enjoyed this episode at the time.
I feel the need to defend Suzanna about 1 thing, yes, she probably does assume every straight man is attracted to her
Yeah as a die hard designing women fan you're right Susan's core character is vain and egotistical
Yeah, she's a lot like Blanche from GG in that way.
She's like you mixed Blanche and Rose into one character
Everything about Suzanne, as a former pageant contestant, is how she thinks people respond to her looks. There is one episode where a blind man flirts with her, and she is freaked out about it because he can't see her, so how can he find her attractive?
Katherine McCormick I was thinking the same thing.
Can we talk about Suzanne’s magic makeup in that steam room?
It looks like oil-based stage makeup -- the same kind of makeup actors are wearing, obviously.
Daisy Chains way not not get the joke man.
Smudged makeup is tragic af.
If you and your partner are both wearing lipstick and don't kiss carefully, you'll both look like cannibalistic clowns. Nothing funny about that.
Daisy Chains my partner and I both wear chapstick.
My first thought. I had a problem listening to the dialogue.
You cut out what Suzanne bellows down the hallway: "YOU GOT BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN LESBIANS IN YOUR SAUNA!" Quote that - in or out of context - hilarious! :-p
Lesbians in your sauna?
That's more of a life goal than a problem really ;)
Richard Ian Tracy hahaha 😂😂😂
@@nuberiffic IKR imagine having your own personal sauna
@@DarkPsychoMessiah Sounds boring
It's great to see how things have improved. Last night here in the UK I was watching a popular game show called 5 gold rings. The program has two teams of two contestants. On last night's show one team of two women were introduced as a married couple. Glad to say they won and when asked what they were going to do with the money they said the would be putting a deposit on a house because they want to start a family. I am proud to be in a country where gay marriage is an accepted part of everyday life.
And for most states here in the US, it's like that too.
Jim Michaud Very glad to hear it.
@@jimmichaud8487
Most states in the US? I don't think you can count Canada's provinces as states.
@@JanetStarChild no, I'm not counting Canadian provinces. Yes, it most states of the US, marriage equality has been greeted with a shrug of the shoulders and people carrying on with their lives. It's only a handful of certain areas of certain states that there's been a big hoo ha.
Oh man, I remember seeing this as a kid and being as confused as Suzanne but also low key happy. Wasn’t allowed to be queer out loud at home. Still not.
Similar. My bio mom puts up with it. But my grandparents and aunts won't even talk to me anymore.
@@Starmadien2019 fuck those people... I have a gay daughter, and a pansexual one. It's your JOB to love them. Love them more in fact because they have to fight the world just to be themselves. If you need family, you're welcome in mine. Uggghhh... This is as stupid as not loving your child for dating someone ugly. Seriously, you don't see what they see in them so they aren't worthy? Fuck all those people.
Starmadien2019 Funnily enough my father is mad about it but his wife is like “LIVE YOUR LIFE HUNTY”
We don’t talk about my mom. She’s...problematic
@@briestoll thanks but I got a wonderful adopted family who always tell me to be happy and love myself and others 😊😊. My bio mom is coming around it's just hard for her to go against her religious teachings.
The Mad Lolita That's not right. I wish people could be more accepting. Honestly, I wish they knew what it's like to have to pretend that they're not straight, & what it's like to hide certain aspects of their personality to ensure that no one suspected them as being straight. I also wish that people would stop hiding behind religion just to continue spreading hate. It's insane, & it's so unfair.
The lesbians in gangster suits, that bar is in The Black Dahlia movie! KD Lang sings Love For Sale.
Oh my Lord it really does look like the world's best bar! ruclips.net/video/yZfeC_jjf8I/видео.html
I sort of want to attend a "Sisters of Detergent meeting." You know that Arm & Hammer Detergent Pods have sort of revolutionized my life...
Blanche really is just an older version of Suzanne, isn't she?
Please do an episode on Northern Exposure. I'm not sure how culturally important it was in anyway or where it hits on any timelines because I was 2 when it finished airing. But I watched it growing up and it felt good seeing a show my parents watched that the town was founded by a lesbian couple in the 1800's and they had a gay couple who lived in the town who were reoccurring characters who ended up getting married and had the whole town at their wedding.
@@MattBaume I particularly liked the flashback episode about the town's early days where all the regular actors got to play 19th century characters (including one historical figure -- I won't say who, because spoilers).
Good LORDT, the bit about Dustin Hoffman as MLK is shit people argue over NOW, and that's sad.
I thought the same thing! How is that conversation STILL happening
I need a Sisters of Sappho chapter in my town.
Try First Tuesday organization 💙🌈💙
O.K... “Gangster suit tango class..." must be code... I feel so lost! 🤪🙃😳🙄
Earlier in the video; description of lesbian bar
@@ArrogantDan and one that I'll be shocked to learn doesn't exist somewhere.
perhaps a reference to marlene dietrich's lesbian kiss in "blue angel"
I love Designing Women because it was so much before it’s time
Designing Women could be heavy handed with their life lessons, but they handled this episode beautifully.
While I agree that the clueless straight is a overused trope, Suzanne is often clueless because of her self-absorption and vanity.
“You’ve probably seen a straight person in denial scene before” yeah, it’s my life. Bisexuals don’t exist apparently lmao
Oh then you must ALSO get "queer person in denial" scenes! Bi erasure is so real and so frustrating.
Someone needs to bring back in fashion those asymmetric glasses. They are faaaabulous.
Honestly I want a Smithsonian wing devoted to everything about Mannequin
Even the sequel?
ESPECIALLY the sequel. I had an argument with James awhile back about how that one ends -- I recalled there being a spaceship and he was convinced I was thinking of a different movie but GUESS WHO WAS RIGHT
@Martin Kronström One of my good friends in high school (Class of '86!) had a pair just like them. Pretty sure there's a photo in our senior yearbook of her wearing them.
Great vlog. Ever see the very first episode of Bewitched? Although it's not about gays it is about accepting people (or witches) for who they are, just as they are. Even Endora has some great "accepting" lines.
Yes! Bewitched is so gay from the very start.
So much love for DESIGNING WOMEN and that episode. Another one we still quote and chuckle about!
Don't know if you do requests but there is a Murphy brown episode episode ''Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are'' in witch Miles thinks he might be gay when he dreams about frolicking with the new publicity guy.
Oh that's a great idea -- I remember that episode! I'll definitely add it to my list.
Corky's test for seeing if someone is gay or not was priceless! If you tell them they have something on their shoe and they bring up their foot in front of them, they're straight. If they bring their shoe up behind them, they're gay!
i look forward to it sometime. i have the ep somewhere on my computer i gotta check it out
OMG, I think about this every time I check for something on my shoe. I couldn't remember where I heard it.
I love the culture cruise.
🌹 Olé! 🌹
Great episode. Always love your work.
Aw thank you!
From now on I'm referring to the 2000's as "the gay nineties"
In the MASH gay ep, the "good guys" don't do gay panic, only the mean Frank and Margaret do. Frank more than Margaret. I think it's important to note that gay acceptance isn't a single progressive path through history. The 70s were more liberal than the 80s in a lot of ways.
I think you might've gotten the date on "The Golden Girls" episode wrong.
ARGH yes indeed, can't believe I missed that
That's okay. Happens to everyone.
If you feel you've seen this type of scene before? You cite a Simpsons episode that aired 7 years after this Designing Women episode. Also, why omit that great line Suzanne exclaims after being chastised for not being hip to gay culture: "well excuse me for not being up-to-date on homosexual history and the latest lesbian lingo!" Sounds better coming out of Delta Burke's mouth. Even better, when Eugenia comes out and Suzanne misunderstands, and one of the women explains to her, "Suzanne, when she said coming out, she didn't mean at a cotillion."
I'm so glad I found this channel. It's fantastic
5:46 I love how the first words out of my mouth was "That sounds amazing!", only for Matt to say the exact same thing two seconds later.
Same! I might send this to my favorite queer bars and ask if they can throw a theme night.
Can you make a video about Chandler from Friends unusual relationship with his upbringing and internalized homophobia?
I am just discovering Matt on RUclips and LOVE it! I remember watching this episode when it first aired. One thing that I think we need to point out is that, Matt is looking at these issues from the perspective of a gay man who's out and comfortable. Back in the 90s, as he pointed out in the episode about Murphy Brown, being out wasn't easy. But, having grown up seeing characters like Uncle Arthur, episodes like those in Murphy Brown and Designing Women, were a start. AIDS, of course, was mentioned in Murphy Brown, but thank goddess the gay character didn't say he had it or didn't. When Ellen came out, I went to my local gay bar to be with my "people", it was such a big deal. Personally, I think Suzanne's reaction is in line with her character. The surprise and denial that Matt keeps mentioning was a real thing. I'm 55. At work now, I've had a macho, African American guy tell me that, "frankly, nobody cares or is put-off by your orientation because it's normal". NORMAL! Matt's not that young, but we have to look at this from the perspective of the 90s and not 2019.
I'm a lesbian and there's this guy at work who keeps being weird and flirty with me (ex. He ONLY calls me "beautiful mama" and "my dark angel" 😒) and I think the line "I accept you for what you are as long as you don't direct it towards me" would work a hell of a lot better for me than it did for Suzanne👍
That should be am HR issue. It sounds like sexual harassment and racism.
I seriously just watched this episode a few weeks ago and thought, "I would love to see a Matt Baume video about this episode." So thanks, buddy!
Haha glad I'm top of mind when family pops up on old sitcoms!
+Matt Baume or anytime I think of intelligent queer theory ;)
Every time a straight guy asks me if I'm into him, and I say no they are immediately offended. "Why aren't you attracted to me!?"
I didn’t know that the series was called culture cruise so I thought you just dressed like that
I love this sieries thank you so much for showing lgbt representation on tv. I didn't even know half these shows. Thank you see you on Patreon 😀
Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them. :)
This is exactly what I need right now
Fun fact, I actually came out to my parents in a sauna! We're Swedish northerners so my parents obviously have their own sauna. My dad and I had played a parents vs. players football (soccer) game in pouring rain so we were freezing cold when we got home and my mom had prepped the sauna for us. This presented a big of a problem, since I'd decided that that day was the day I was coming out, no matter what and there wasn't much time left of the day. Which lead to me coming out to my parents while we were all completely naked (bathing suits/towels aren't a thing when you're in the sauna with your family here).
Love you Matt!
Designing Women is my favorite 80s/90s sitcom. Julia taught me that I can be Southern and a feminist. She was my introduction to feminism.
Suzanne is a I caricature. She is an over blown version of so many southern grandmas, or what our grandmas tried to pretend to be. By laughing at her jokes, and picking apart her views, we are dismantling that type of discrimination..
To be fair Suzanne’s reasons that Eugenia has a crush on her are the same ones straight men use to prove a woman likes them so it’s actually kinda funny. It’s a misunderstanding about signs of romantic attraction.
I don't know why, but Suzanne's "detergent" comment makes me cackle even after all these years!
Actually one of my favorites is Melvin Udall telling Simon in the movie As Good As It gets that he would be the luckiest man in the world if that did it for him .You know what Simon told him he love him.
it showed how much his character had grown by leaps and bounds in the actual movie that knowing people and trying to get to know people and let them in and Simon and his little dog helped him grow as a person more than anything else.
"I can accept you for what you are..." I am not a WHAT, I am a WHO, and not like the Dr Seuss book. "I can accept you for who you are." would have been so much better...
And Matt, you crack me up so much every time you say "Land, Ho!"
Thank you for your work, Matt! I do not want to start poking holes in your videos, but I think there's an error @3:30 in the airdate of that Golden Girls episode.
Your viewpoints here helped me look at this episode from a different perspective. I'd always felt this episode was a letdown when compared to how wonderfully Designing Women tackled the AIDS/Gay focused "Killing All The Right People" episode a few seasons prior. Suzanne's initial attitude to EUgenia didn't surprise me, but I cringe when Julia, Charlene, and Mary Jo keep throwing wide-eyed side looks at one another as Eugenia spoke to them. Just seemed like a disconnect from the accepting tone of "Killing..." And I LOVE Designing Women (first five seasons anyway) - huge fan.
Maybe I'm totally naive, but I took that as more about Suzanne than her friend. They knew she was missing the cues and knew how she'd take it. Especially since this is after Delta Burke had started gaining weight, and started making the character truly eccentric and egregious.
I would go to meetings about detergent.
Same tbh😁
If I remember correctly (only saw this one once, when it first aired), the fancy place with the columns was not an actual Lesbian bar. They'd just assumed that it was because a Lesbian invited them there.
Thank you for this episode! I forgot I even watched designing women as a little kid but that steam room seen somehow stuck with me all these years. I could not figure out where it was from. That old lady was the most overt homophobia I'd seen on TV at that point and it caused me to think a lot.
6:08 k. d. lang's Pullin' Back the Reins is playing in the background.
Always found it significant that Suzanne said she could accept her friend for “what she was”, rather than “who she was.”
Error: that episode of the golden girls came out In 1986, not 77
Great episode! Seeing how its on Hulu now and there are talks of a new season I`d love for you to tackle King of the Hill and its LGTB episode and how if indeed a new season does happen how Hill show runners will tackle this issue.
Hey, Matty,
Would you consider returning occasionally to videos of roast sprouts and cauliflower from your kitchen?
They are missed.
Nice blue hanky, by the way.
Which pocket you wearing it in, sugar?
Suzanne is often the butt of the 'she doesn't get how the real world works', 'my god she's so backward it's ridiculous' jokes ---- it's what she's there for. She's pretty constantly on the wrong side of history and that's sort of the point. She's there to stay the stupid, inappropriate, politically incorrect or insensitive thing so that the show or the characters in the show can correct her and teach the audience something.
Who else thinks Matt should talk about Falsettos?
Oh that would be fun! What's your favorite version?
Matt Baume I gotta go with the 2016 version since it was the first one I heard out of the two and had the biggest impact on me. At the time I had never really seen lgbt characters portrayed as such varied and normal people and of course Andrew Rannalls as Whizzer was amazing! But even so I still love the original!
Just so you know, the early part of the show has Suzanne having an extra ticket to a show and nobody to go with. This premise borrows from the Rhoda show episode, One is a Number, in which Rhoda has a ticket to the theatre but has nobody to go with. She even gets so desperate as to ask Carlton the Doorman to go with her. She ends up going alone. This episode may be the best episode of any sitcom ever, but this Designing Women episode is one of the best ones, too. It may borrow a little bit from Rhoda, and The Golden Girls, but whenever Suzanne is center stage, the show is at its best. (And, btw, One is a Number is on RUclips.)
I absolutely love your show
Will you please watch the entire series of Northern Exposure and talk about how Maurice reacts with Don and Eric. 🙂 And please discuss the entire series as a whole.
PS: the Golden Girls episode in this clip was in 1987, I think, not 1977 (it wasn't on then.) And I think this was the one with an admittedly funny, if clueless, line from Suzanne to Eugenia: "If we can put a man on the moon, we can put a man on YOU!"
Thanks for gapping the bridge
There's a, like, 1982 episode of Gimme a Break where Carl, the police chief, goes on a stakeout with a guy who ends up being gay. Kind of a Very Special Episode feel, but it is from the early 80s.
I’m queer
Talking about the secret knock is interesting because here in Cork City Ireland there was a gay night club that ran at weekends up until about 2005 where you had to knock on the door, sign in a book and it was a dark place with a dancefloor and an upstairs bar and not much else. These days everything is out in the open. I really would have liked that lesbian wine bar where they go. That does look classy.
Is it bad that I thought of the lesbian bar fire exit scene in the Simpsons when the bar came up?
Just realized that I will be busy until November on Livestream days :(
Ahhh sorry we'll miss you for those! But you can always catch up with the VOD and we'll still be going in November.
This was my favorite show in the eighties. It seemed to “get away” with a lot concerning popular culture. If you were there you would know this was groundbreaking stuff at the time. I remember my favorite line from Suzanne in this episode, ”If we can put a man on the Moon, I say we can put one on you!” 😄 It was groundbreaking and thought provoking, & it was done with humor.
Thank you for another great video.
I'm so happy I have found your channel! Your videos are great :D
I am a college student with a focus on Public Relations and the Media. I am enjoying these videos for the images of minorities (L.G.B.T.Q. +) in the media. Thank you.
Great topic...
Designing Women wad not on in 1977.
Okay, seriously, did you ever watch this show, or just cherry-pick episodes. The whole point of Suzanne is that she is as self-centered as a gyroscope. Are we supposed to believe that she just doesn't understand friendship? Yes! The show has spent four seasons establishing that Suzanne lives in a weird little world of her own where things like "female friends" and "people who are not attracted to her" are about as real as a unicorn. But it is that very characterization that allowed her character to have her redeeming moments too, when she comes out of her self-absorbed shell and does something unexpectedly compassionate (for some reason, I now have Terry Saunders singing "Something Wonderful" in my head).
Thank you for your comment Ken. I was thinking the same thing. Typically Matt is dead on in his reviews / assessments, but for this one, I think he really missed the mark. Suzanne's initial reaction is absolutely in line with her character. Besides, without her initial reaction, there would be no redemptive moment for Suzanne at the end.
Omg I want someone to make that club, too!
Is that Erin Grey? She made me realize that I liked the ladies myself! So beautiful!!
I love you, man! Good stuff!
I've been waiting for a video about cartoons, specifically recent nickelodeon shows, but maybe not all grown men watch cartoons. I remember hearing something about shows like Gravity Falls putting little things into episodes to sneak past international sensors and show same sex partners on TV in places like Russia. I guess because they are so minute, it would be hard to make a youtube video about it. Other shows like the Legend of Korra, and Voltron Legendary Defender end up Dumbledoring characters (Ha, ha! Catch the hints? He way gay all along!)
What about the episode I think was season one where they had a friend who was planning his funeral
Actually, I think the joke "the lesbian doesn't find some woman attractive" worked better on Golden Girls than here, because Blanche is self-involved and vain and it usually overshadows every other negative trait. But there is a pretty solid reason not to like Suzanne - nobody likes a jerk. Instant unattractiveness. Voilà
"does Suzanne say that to every straight man that she meets?" Um, I dunno about her, but I would. I'm pansexual, and I trust women, no matter their orientation, more than I trust straight men. Straight men are scary!
WAS THAT OLé AT THE END A REFERENCE TO "THE FIRST NUDIE MUSICAL?!" I almost missed it!
To be fair “ don’t direct it at me” is what I say to every straight man I meet
VERY fair
sooo is it commen in the us to wear bathrobes/ towels in the sauna itself... i mean... sitting on a towel sure.... but completely dressed in one..... here in the netherlands, everybody is naked
no it's not common
Slight error to point out (about a year later, lol): "Isn't it Romantic" first aired in 8 November 1986.
6:40 is what Suzanne has in common with shippers...
As a shipper, I resemble that remark 😅. Actually, shippers just see life through romance love-colored glasses and just want everyone to be in love.
You should do the Gimme A Break episode "The Chief's Gay Evening". Season 2 Episode 7
Suzanne was always my favorite. She was such a jerk!!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I have STR8 male friends I say you'll have your & I'll have mine when we go out together!
"There might have been one or two characters who were OK wit it" -- The Patsy Parisi. Have you talked about how The Sopranos dealth with having a gay character in Season 5? Vito and eventually his boyfriend, Johnny Cakes.
Incorrect date on "Isn't it Romantic" Golden Girls. It was November 8, 1986, not October 9, 1977. One of the funniest scenes from an All In The Family episode ("The Election Story") is when Edith answers the door to greet a man and a woman distributing leaflets.
Man at door: "How do you do?
My name is George Robinson
and I represent the gay liberation front."
Edith: "How do you do?
(then, turning to greet woman at door)
This must be Mrs. Robinson.
"
Woman at door: "No, I'm Cynthia Nash
of the daughters of sappho."
Have you ever discussed the 1984 sitcom “Brothers”?
Not yet but it's on my list! It's just SUCH a big topic to tackle -- a whole show that ran for years, rather than a single episode or film, so I want to make sure I've done enough research on it.
Didn't she also say if they can put a man on the moon why couldn't they put one on Eugenie.
I really like the clueless straight person, it has shows say that they're gay without hiding it, no hinting at all, not up for interpretation
Why are all the lesbians in these old sitcoms so beautiful 😭❤️
The _gay_ 90s, in case anyone wondered, were from March 1994 until September 1997.
The gay 90s was the 1890s.
@@HappyGardenOfLife, yes, but only by the 1890s definition of "gay".
I wonder if it’s occurred to anyone that the characters’ responses, questions, and revelations were all written deliberately to debunk myths about gay people to the audience.
She's very stylish and well-groomed for a lesbian.
Suzanne needs to stop her lesbian panic! I never liked Suzanne. Eugenia schooled Suzanne!
I want a movie about a lesbian debutant, they could call it Coming Out.
I love this show haha
I always thought Meshack played a gay character.
@@MattBaume he's kinda ambiguous. But judging on his comment it appears not. I don't recall him ever having a love interest.