The Golden Girls & Me: 30 Years of Laughs
My favorite show of all time and I both turn 30 this year, a fact that neither of our vanities take pleasure in commemorating publicly. But a milestone is a milestone. The Golden Girls premiered 30 years ago tonight on NBC, forever changing the television landscape for the better. In fact, it’s a show often and rightfully credited with creating a premise all its own. It’s a premise that has been duplicated over and over again (see: Designing Women , Living Single , Sex and the City , even HBO ’s Girls ). Much has been said and written about how “ground-breaking” and “revolutionary” of a show it was to display four women living and loving (perhaps over-loving) well into their golden years. And that is all true and inspiring in and of it self. But very little has been written about its massive influence on the gay community both then and now. Back in the mid-80s, The Golden Girls were shedding light on a community beleaguered by stigma and hate. In the context of