The Transphobia of Married With Children

[@ryanfliegelman3166]

Married with children in its initial seasons was actually a pretty progressive show. It was written with the intent of depicting the antithesis of the families that dominated television at the time which were all idealistic nuclear families. It also in doing so wanted to point out the flaws in american society mostly centered around the effects of capitalism on middle class families and patriarchal structures. The characters bigotry is not the but of the joke but the characters themselves and their shortcomings. There are many episodes that center around the resolution only being achieved once they work through these problems. The people who created the show pretty much all were no longer associated with the project within the first like 3 seasons. After which the show was just under corporate control and took a pretty strong turn.

[@godhimself1128]

Idk about the later episodes but at the beginning there were more women writing on this show than most programs in the 80s. Plus it had a black show runner. The late series episodes took the side of its flawed protagonist way too much and became fixated on being "anti-PC culture"

[@el_mismisimo_sr.x]

They also were pretty foward-thinking with the gay community. They had a very progressive episode about gay man in the early 90's, and another about lesbians in the later seasons

[@jaynajuly2140]

yeah I view it as the precursor of It's Always Sunny tbh

[@stephennootens916]

Yes. Originally you were suppose to laugh at Al Bundy like Archie Bunker but as the original people left it turned to the audience rooting for Al.

[@ma14.27]

I always rather liked the show, but I could never really get rid of the bitter side taste of the later seasons. Sad that it went in that direction, it could have been a great example of progressive shows in the past.

[@bingsus3144]

Honestly, hearing you discuss older shows and movies that presented trans people in general (both favourably and unfavourably) makes me kind of really understand my parents? Both who are cis and straight and have been terrible about me being trans ever since I came out to them. Media really does inform people's perception of anything, so their completely misunderstanding of being trans and confusion and almost disgust, idk I feel like I'm starting to understand it a lot more (not having understood it at all when I was younger since they had taught me to not be bigoted) and i don't think of it well but I do love them much and want to understand them. Thank you a lot for these videos, you do a genuinely amazing job breaking down content and explaining why and how it's harmful or good representation!

[@icarus_norris]

That’s very true. Still remember those things can be unlearned. Especially if you have a trans child whose been out for a longer time. I hope you stay safe and set healthy boundaries. Upbringing is an explanation, not an excuse. 🫶

[@Carlos-bz5oo]

hope you're okay

[@Author.Noelle.Alexandria]

At the time, so little was understood about being transgender that it was confusing even for trans people. It was a transition period between trans people being entirely in the closet and trans people existing in public. Shows like this provided visibility, and an uncomfortable aspect about comedy is that it exists primarily as a way to bring certain topics up in a way that’s light and fun enough for people to be comfortable talking about it. No serious show was going to capture the masses like a comedy, and those that did weren’t the topics of water cooler fodder. In those days, people did gather around the water cooler at work to talk about TV shows, and comedies were the usual topic as a break from the drudgery of work. So shows like this had people talking, and talking at all about people who have otherwise been invisible starts to make them visible. Visibility is a vital step toward acceptance. Acceptance out the gate isn’t happening-the lack of acceptance, or even understanding themselves, kept trans people in the closet. Opening the doors allowed trans people to find each other and to start understanding. What seems regressive now was actually a step forward in that time. If you had been born in the 1960’s, you wouldn’t have been able to come out at all. One day, today’s shows will look backward. A lot of people remember how HIMYM was seen as progressive at the time due to what had come before it, and how backward it looks how due to what’s come after. Married With Children was a step forward, like how All in the Family was a step forward.

[@xaviernew5173]

Revisiting all the old trans eps of sitcoms has been incredibly eye opening for me. Things I didnt understand the first go around because I was a kid when they came out has really shown me why people act the way they do. Thank you for talking about these! (Also I cannot get over how cute your haircut is!)

[@icephoenix174]

I'll try to remember to boot up the 3DS to watch this tomorrow :p I can also stream it on the Wii and Wii u. Get some wild OS going. Although Luma might be a form of Linux or android IDK what it would appear as.

[@juliawolf156]

I don't know Luma, but i am certain that this isn't Linux. I would've found the bash terminal by now.

[@kyrroti]

Imma try getting this running on my 3DS too

[@goobertron9099]

Watching stuff on a 3ds is so peak, I did it all the time when i was a kid

[@origrammar]

FourthTube started failing on me today. What do you use on your 3DS?

[@Itcouldbebunnies]

There's a great essay by José that explains how this show started out great and then went sideways. 10/10, would recommend. I wonder how much the actresses who played Peggy and Marcy were involved in how their characters responded to Thad, considering that Amanda Bearse is out and proud since the early '90s and Katey Sagal has been a vocal ally for a long time now.

[@rudirs3]

Thanks for the video! It's nice to see an old show at least make an attempt to be relatively positive towards trans people. I never watched married with children, but it was certainly on TV around me and inspired a lot of the shows I did watch (like the Simpsons). And about Magic: you should try reaching out to the professor, spice8rack, and other players that are clearly trans inclusive - even if they don't have a way to play with you in person, they might have some tips or connections for you! You should try making videos purely about magic, either about lore and real life situations involving trans/lgbt issues or just game play/decks! Good luck Lily, and thanks for the great video as always

[@stephennootens916]

Married with children was one of the first shows on Fox when it was launched along with Tracy Ullman show which was where The Simpson's came from. The whole idea was that All Bundy was a loser reactionery who longs to relive his glory days as football player in high school. The point was to laugh at him not root for him.

[@FanfallaFox626]

OMG, it would be SOOOOO cool to see Lily on an episode of shuffle up and play!!!!

[@Shadozcreeping]

wow, that was pretty bad... but it was still better than HIMYM, Futurama, or Family Guy. why did tv representation get so much *worse* over time?

[@CreoTan]

Because the dominant oppressors will react more aggressively when they feel the status quo be threatened

[@LadyLunarSatine]

The only thing I have to add about this show is that Amanda Bearse, the actress who played "Peggy's Friend" Marcy, happens to be a proud lesbian (since 1993) and even has a daughter. As for wanting to get on Commander showings, we all know that your best shots are to live in California (lookin at you Prof, Command Zone, and Commander at Hme) or Victoria Island up in Canada (Loading Ready Run). Jolly Balloon Man is a much appreciated tweak to Boros' usual bland strategy of "turn creatures sideways."

[@jessosiyoway]

Surprisingly, or maybe to no ones surprise at all, the split reactions and Us vs Them attitude between Bud and his Buddies and the unified women on this show actually had some clever if depressingly unduring ideas behind that writing. The women watching can identify with the empowering sisterhood attitudes as well as making a mockery of typical man-isms, while the men in the show and the men watching identify with their annoyance and derision of the women's attitudes and superiority. Because it was written in such a way those in the show and the audience both felt a kinship and "win" at each side's living through their respective traditionalist and modern takes on the world it woukd never be clear who is right - that depends entireky on who the viewers feels represented by in any given situation. Makes for a clever way to catch viewers who'd laugh at "those people" in the ahow and their lives, but when you point out how this may have subconsciously informed many cis female/younger/feminine viewers about their attitudes when facing these situations socially. Likewise it reinforced the normalcy of confusion and discomfort from men - because just like i was "zinged" by someone for correcting their use of a gender identifier for someone we both used to know as "oh right, your creating an argument because of feminism thing" it has been subconsciously been established as the domain of "women" to be stirring up "drama" in the name of progress against those "just having a laugh" through their discomforts regarding other peoples bodies. Even though I'm not a woman... I think a lot of newer media tends to feed into just as much "us vs them" stereotyping for the easy payout, but you definitely don't see anymore that duality regarding "people who are us vs them, and there are no winners."

[@marocat4749]

Through malcolm in the middle, way better, and the mom is even realistic and not perfect but not a vilain. Sometimes the show does clever things, and sometimes the show goes people are all flawed and smart things. I know Marcy isnt the most flattering but she is still written as person, that is made fun of, but she is still just a person sucking like anyone else? I guess thats depressing if you dont use it more but consistent characters plying off makes it usually at least engaging. Some episode go somewhere , like the episode where they go invited on a holiday to try to kill ed is funny. Even the ending .

[@jougjimmadome]

a great analysis! I feel like the one category of media you do still see that in today is choice based video games (yes I couldn't bring myself to watch the dragon age video on this channel as it's my special interest and no one can talk about how awful it is except Me, but dragon age comes to mind), because "choosing a side" could result in the player being told they chose wrong, which could lead to them not buying the next game. makes for some very interesting morals in game! bad, but definitely interesting!

[@jessosiyoway]

@jougjimmadome Disco Elysium!!! There's a perfect "choose your side and be critiqued ruthlessly" game. But yeah, as closely as today's TV or streaming comes to US vs Them entertainment feel far too blunt an instrument and oblivious to "the opposition" rather than pandering to all sides. Like... ladyballers, for example. I'd also name more lib to left media, but that at least has the subtlety to mock conservatives subtly enough they tend to think it's not about them (think The Boys). I will have to look into dragon age!

[@dammieleira2647]

In argentina we have our own versión of this series, it's super popular and im just finding out there is a non argentinian version

[@rociochiarini8987]

Comete la galletita Maria Elena!

[@craftypacaderm]

Best of luck with the Magic thing! Would love to hear more about your commander decks, even if they were just like short vids ❤

[@sjd1527]

Yes! Would love to see Lilly Simpson MTG videos

[@FanfallaFox626]

I second this!

[@snow4summer515]

The funny thing about the whole "I hate my husband/wife/kids" trope is that it can be misleading. I go to a book club with couples who are all 65+, and when I first joined, they made super mean-sounding comments to and about each other. Everyone would laugh, but at first, it made me uncomfortable. One day, after the club, I was joking around with my roomate, and we started insulting each other in a playful way. That’s when it hit me-it’s a bit. It’s a cultural divide. They don’t hate their partners; these weren’t actual jabs. It’s years of banter and inside jokes that I’m simply not a part of. I think the reason it seems mean to outsiders is because, in our modern age, people tend to get married later. We’re still figuring out boundaries and what’s okay to joke about. But when they were our age, they’ve been together ten, or more years. That kind of humor becomes a shared language. Of course, some people are just mean, but I don’t think the culture back then was about hating your family. It was about knowing your partner so well that what looks harsh to others is really just deeply familiar humor.

[@Lvestfold4143]

The hate the wife/spouse trope stems from the 1950s TV show The Honeymooners which would inspire the first adult oriented animated sitcom The Flintstones. Norman Leer tried to deviate from this trope with his shows like All in the Family but often fell into its trappings with husband/wife verbal abuse. Late 20th century adult animation sitcoms like The Simpson’s and early Family Guy would take inspiration from both Leer and The Honeymooners with later Family Guy and many 2000s and 2010s animated shows borrowing more heavily from The Honeymooners. The outlier for more recent adult animated sitcoms is Bob’s Burgers which applies a more Addam’s Family style approach or spousal relationships. Which itself was an inversion of the hate the spouse trope back in the 1960s. Because of Bob’s Burgers we now see more wholesome shows that showcase positive families, even ones with a single parent household like The Great North.

[@andrewoliver7095]

Bingo

[@Author.Noelle.Alexandria]

Exactly. Lily doesn’t understand the context and got almost every single thing wrong. For all the Bundys’ barbs at each other, if someone fucked with one of them, they fucked with the entire family. In many ways, the Bundys are more functional than many families. They all poke at each other, the kids are safe poking back at the parents, and they are all there for each other. Barbs and inside jokes are a form of bonding. It’s like the difference between a woman saying to her friends, “Hurry up, bitches!” when they’re going somewhere, and me saying “Hurry up, bitches!” to people I don’t know well, but am in a group with, and they’re taking longer than I want them to. It’s why we’ll see couples married for 60 years who seem to hate each other, who are so tightly bonded that they die within hours of each other. Through jabs and barbs, I’m saying to those closest to me, “I know you wouldn’t be malicious, so I’m going to let you into my emotional and vulnerable space and make light of things that are dark to me,” and those closest to me are saying the same thing. By letting someone we trust to shed light on those things, we feel more secure. Those things become less of a big deal to us. We become comfortable. I hate to use this analogy, but it’s like bogarts in Harry Potter-by being able to laugh at our fears and insecurities, they cease to have the same power over us. That is where we are with those we are close to-we are in a space where those fears and insecurities don’t have that power. These days, there’s this expectation that we treat EVERYONE the exact same. We are expected to use the same language with our closest friends as we would with strangers. We aren’t supposed to bond over inside jokes or knowing each other well enough to know where we can jab. We are supposed to stay surface level and not even talk to our friends about the dark things. We’re supposed to talk to therapists. It is any wonder people are more bonded to their therapists than their friends when that’s who they’re allowed to open up to? You can’t convince me this hasn’t contributed to friendships these days being more surface-level and less strong.

[@DUWANGlai_kangyi]

For a second I thought we were talking about the Argentinian "Casados con Hijos" until I looked at the thumbnail lmao I had forgotten that's not the original version, Married with Children had a LOT of very different adaptations throughout the world

[@quercusquercus532]

Woah - the Kelly equivalent is married to Michael Buble? She's Canadian now! I'd never heard of this.

[@MelodyMute]

I didn't know this episode existed. I think you're right on the money about them wanting to be supportive, but didn't do the research on how. This isn't the only time they handled lgbtq topics. They had an episode where a guy visits Al's home cause Peggy was dancing with his husband at a club. Not boyfriend or partner, he flat out says husband. This was a few months before any big movements for gay marriages to be legally recognized in the US. And no one in the show questions in or even comments on it. Most we get is Al wanting clarification if he heard that right then not caring about Peggy dancing cause he knows if the guy's gay, nothing will happen (ignoring the fact that if his husband went to see Al worried about something happening, that probably meant his man was bi, but the show didn't think of that). It was really progressive for its time, some out of date word choices by today's standards but nothing bad by old standards either. The show was a satire of the average nuclear family sitcom by making the nuclear part actually seen in a "the world sucks, so do we, but I still care for you at the end of the day" kind of way. They were meant to be scummy, but never hateful. Just accepting that they were the butt of the joke in life, might as well embrace it. It went downhill in later seasons, but it tried to be progressive. Shame whether it works or not is a coin toss though. Also yes, we stand by Peggy here. She has and always will be the best character of the show.

[@t221000]

I watched “Married With Children” a lot in my early 20’s. I never 👎 saw this episode. It is nice that Peg and her friend are supportive of The trans 🏳️‍⚧️ woman 👩. I always enjoy a new video from Lily.

[@SugaMot]

Hey besties, on the topic of cis men playing trans women, what's yall's opinion on the trans woman in squid game 2? I thought she was played very well and respectfully and was surprised when I looked it up to find the actor was a cis guy and now I'm conflicted. I'd love to here some outside opinions

[@Kenspiracy664]

Not enough Trans actors in Korea they said so that role should help them in coming out publicly and getting roles in future. I loved it tbh, and I agree, it was handled well, actor did well etc

[@Mldy96]

We have to keep in mind that the show is Korean. Queer representation in a huge mainstream show like this from there is already a great step forward, and a trans rep at that is a hundred times more so. Of course, it would have been best if she was played by a trans woman actress.

[@bellabliss1860]

with all the hateful legislation and perpetuation of hate going on by regular everyday people, i can't really be bothered to dissect the systemic issue of that if it's at least done tastefully. i'd probably have to see for myself but yea

[@Mr.MossyTeacup]

kzbin.infoHs7mgXVG_p4?si=34mOhuCXQcXThQMf I thought Ezra had some interesting points, not that I've actually watched Squid Game. In my opinion, given the circumstances, I think it makes sense, even if the character should ideally be played by a trans actress ❤

[@YeetProductions]

I think that, when a cis man plays a trans woman, as long as it’s a respectful portrayal (which it is, in this case) and it’s clear that the writers don’t view her as a man despite her being played by one, then it can still be good rep (just my opinion, though).

[@persephonekoziol4333]

Great ep as always! I hope your Magic Commander deck KZbin show dreams come true

[@TheoRae8289]

I'm thoroughly interested in your MTG decks. I used to run a sliver deck when I still had my cards. Unfortunately they were among the many things that didn't make it when I moved into my first solo apartment (long story).

[@HyperplanetX128]

I commented this a while back on another video, but I thought I'd leave the suggestion again, partly so it's more likely ya see, and partly because I need to clarify some mistakes with the last time I reccomended it, but anyhow, you should totally do an episode on Zombieland SAGA. Last time I reccomended it, I said there was an episode that focuses on the trans character (Who's also called Lily, because of course she is)'s identity, and I'd like to apologise as I was overexaggerating it a bit. Lily being trans is a rather minor plotpoint in the grand scheme of things, though you've definitely covered shows for less trans stuff before (Spongebob and Gumball come to mind). I still definitely beleive the episode is worth covering though, especially with the whole UK Parliment thing (Iconic tbh) Also I did say it had a badass biker zombie, though she had relatively little to do with the episode I was referring to. I mainly just said that as I assumed you'd check the rest out too, though it was a big assumption on my end, so i'm sorry about that. Also, unrelated to the above, but I feel like it'd be really cool to see you cover some games in the future and how they handle trans representation, as it's a bit hard to find said content other than the same copy-paste feeling video essays that cover all the same characters (Birdo, Poison, Samus despite her not actually being trans, Vivian, Madeline and Bridget, whom the reviewer always treats like the greatest thing since sliced bread), not saying it's bad to cover them or anything but I'm certain they arent the only trans characters in all of video games, y'know? Anyhow, thanks to whoever finishes reading this comment ^^ [Edited bc forgot a whole ass sentance]

[@Topdoggie7]

My sister was taught to respect gays and trans people through this show so I guess it's what you take away that matters most. Still way better than HIMYM.

[@raioh4747]

Wtf this video reawakened memories of me watching this show as an illeagal child immigrant in the US back in the late 90s, I had completly forgotten its existence. There was some weird charm in watching this while not being represented by it, I was outside the culture and laughing at the strange and silly north american families that sorrounded me in that country. idk, to a young latino, the north american lifestyle and culture is really funny by itself, I think thats why movies and shows like this are popular in south america, especially with immigrants on US soil

[@thecatlurking]

Amazing video as always! I was wondering if you had a video on Ugly Betty's trans character Alexa on your list? It just hit me while you were talking about the whole "walking out of gender affirming surgery with long hair and shaved legs" trope that that character was the first time I remember seeing a trans character that got to be a real person, not a joke or a body. I remember really liking her character, because she was powerful and smart and glamorous and wasn't ashamed of who she was. I remember a scene where Alexa meets Betty in an elevator right after coming out post transition, and she has to break the awkwardness by explaining the procedures she had done. (I think there was a running joke in the episode of people speculating whether the surgeon allowed her to keep her penis in a jar? Which is obviously crass and ridiculous.) Betty responds by saying something about just wondering how Alexa had had her facial hair removed, because she wanted recommendations. It was a nice little moment of cis-trans female understanding. Anyway, I didn't mean to write an essay in your comments, no matter what you put out in the future I know I'll be watching!

[@marabanara]

Having grown up with this and similar shows, I really love that you’re analysing some of them. But I also used to enjoy the more lighthearted forms of art that engaged with drag, like the tradition of the Grand Dame in English pantos, or Dame Edna here in Australia (though of course nothing is unproblematic in entirety), or even say Bugs Bunny in various femme outfits or disguises. What I love about these days, for my daughters specifically, is that there is more language now for describing our relationship with gender and how we express gender. One of my kids is quite “meh”, and uses she/they pronouns, is happy being called a daughter or child, and frankly has such a cool personal style, I was a total geek in comparison at that age! The other child is loving expressing a hyper feminine energy at the moment, while still playing with all manner of toys and activities. I just wish things were better for my Trans sisters, brothers & niblings/non-binary siblings. I’m Bi, and brown, but as a cis woman married to cis man, I have huge amounts of privilege. Huge love to you.

[@Vernal_the_Oryx]

I do. I know and love David Kimball, and I still love Y&R as well. But I'm in my thirties, so I'm probably older than most of your audience

[@lasseehrenreich5502]

ok

[@semperfi818]

My friend, I'm old enough to be your dad, and I've been a fan of Lily's channel for a long time now...and I both get the jokes and smile a bit when Lily bemoans her approaching 30.

[@Alhana_E]

Am older, but british, so never heard of the guy still lol

[@Roitame]

I would love to see you on the various Commander shows so much

[@milkkat9992]

I love all ur videos sm. LGBTQA+ representation in media is one of my special interests and it makes me happy to see Lily videos. Thank you so much for all you do. ❤

[@coolegg8489]

Wow! First of all great video! Second, Ive been binging your vids The last couple of weeks and this is by far the best representation I’ve seen of the shows you cover, which is crazy because it’s if I’m guessing, right one of the oldest!

[@hectormancer]

As a trans person who also enjoys magic , I'd love for you to get on Shuffle up and play! Maybe your own dedicated magic video? My wife and I love your content! Happy New Year 🎉 I want to see Emrakul and 30 squirrels !

[@Italiangreenbean82]

Another great video Lily! Love that you're chilling in a comfy robe! That's real af. I enjoy your different fits but in the end I'm here for your thoughts/words not your fashion (I do like that too though). Growing up, my family watched Married with Children and lots of other sitcoms. I was never really much of a fan of them considering the constant use of tired tropes, sometimes they did have humorous moments. Usually it was when those tropes were subverted in some way. My thoughts on Al Bundy are that he's similar to Archie Bunker (they even have the same initials, something I didn't realize until writing this). In that, although he's the main character and portrayed as an "everyman", we're supposed to see that he's an idiot and his views on life are basically wrong (his misogyny and such). We laugh at him and not with him, or that's my interpretation at least.

[@andrewoliver7095]

I don't know anything about MTG and I don't know what a "commander show" is, but I hope you get on one.

[@kosakukawajiri3928]

Ngl, I am super interested in that Emrakul + Squirrels deck. Mind dropping the deck list? (I adore playing eldrazi, and I've seen the stuff my friend can do with his squirrel deck, so the combination deeply intrigues me) (Also! This was an amazing video, keep making absolute bangers Lily!)

[@samthescotsman]

LILY! can you PLEASE do a video about Adam Torres from Degrassi The Next Generation. He is an incredible trans guy character who was sadly played by a cis woman and is killed off in a terrible way but he is still incredible. he is one of my special interests. he is in seasons 10 to 13

[@babykata-dt3ys]

OMG that's the person from the "my dysphoria: you look like this" meme. I had no idea that was a picture of a trans character. I assumed it was some kind of tomboy stock photo.

[@gregcourtney751]

As other commenters have said the show was a satire of the wholesome family based sitcoms of the time as well as society a bit that lost the satire some as it went on. Al for example, is supposed to be a jerk who obseeses too much with past achievements (in football Espiecilly) because his life in general didn't go as planned. He then takes thst frustration out on others in a way thst is deliberately unlikable. Like archie bunker before him, Al might be the protagonist but at least early on was the but of the joke and not supposed to be rooted for. Getting a sad subtext to the plot of this episode is potentially delibrete. As for the family unit, I feel thst despite the bickering they do care for eachother. To me, thry represent q more realistic family than tjose of other sitcoms at the time, dysfunctional but effective. Its notable thst the shows b couple, a more standard knid of sitcom married duo, divorce over cheating while al, from whst I recall, never cheats on peggy fully despite being tempted too. I would say rossanne pulled off the dysfunctionsl.thing more realisticlly though

[@RoninX33]

Marcy did not divorce Steve over cheating, he never cheated. He basically decided to quit his job and become pretty much a hippy and left her. For her she missed the money-grubbing version of Steve. When he returned, she was remarried to Jefferson.

[@boommage314]

Hey Lily, really enjoy your channel; long time listener first time caller. I've been going through the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise the past year and I recently watched the show ∀ Gundam (pronounced Turn A Gundam) which I think could be a good show to cover in this series. I think the biggest hurdle towards covering it is that gender stuff is prevalent throughout the entire show relating to the main character, though there are a couple prominent crossdressing episodes (7 and 18). Watching an entire 50 episode anime is I think a bit out of scope of work of the usual kind of video you do, but it would unfortunately not be a comprehensive overview of the trans elements of the show unless you did. Minor spoilers past this point but: The long and short of it is that a prominent character refers to the main character by a girl name instead of their actual name purely based on vibes, which results in the opposing faction thinking the main character is a girl, which necessitates a couple episodes where he has to learn how to be like a girl and have to pretend to be one for political reasons. It's one of those "not actually trans" pieces of media (like so many you've covered), as the main character explicitly rejects the girl name and identity throughout the show, but it does certainly have some elements to discuss. The reason to watch the whole show over just the two crossdressing episodes is because the misnaming happens throughout the entire show and sparks reactions throughout by the main characters and others, which I think would need to be touched upon to some extent. I really like the show but it is certainly time consuming. Anyway thanks for the good work you do, I enjoyed this video like I do all your output! (Also in terms of Commander KZbin shows, I'm pretty sure Shuffle Up & Play at least has a dedicated budget for flying people to the studio and paying for their hotel so that wouldn't be an issue (also you've collaborated with Spice8rack before on at least one MTG video, so you certainly have some connections to some extent, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of you maybe being able to do something in the future))

[@ks4694]

Hoo boy. Married with Children. I was nervous as soon as THIS episode was dragged out of mothballs. It was definitely bad. Really bad (the trans character was just used for gags a lot of the episode, which is extremely uncomfortable. And "light hearted, casual SA" is just a phrase that... yeah, 80s and 90s. This is where the conversation is.). by the by, the "Why did they cheer" question is answered by a common trope in MwC. The crowd would cheer every time like a laugh-track when the initiator or cause of drama would enter the scene. Their cheer was as predictable as much as it was salaciously uncomfortable. Though, admittedly? That last cheer was actually kind of a pleasant thing, considering how late in the series this was, with Thad getting a sort of happy ending. I will admit? I forgot that Peggy was as progressive as she was in this episode. At the same time, every once in a while MwC was a LOT more progressive than it was meant to appear to be on the surface, and some of the series was a lampooning of the boorish behavior of the majority of the cast, displaying them in the negative light that they should have been seen in. So, there are going to be moments when you might say "Wait... that... this aired on Fox? Because this makes this sort of thing look really bad and X character (frequently Peggy but not always) seems a lot more progressive than I expected." It happens, but it's also still SUPER uncomfortable because of how it played out at times in the 80s and 90s. RE: the avoidance of Trans-athletes in sports not being a topic. That actually is because, at that time? It wasn't even a tenth as big an issue as it is currently. I remember it being mentioned, but this was BARELY a talking point in the 90s. It became one much more prominently almost 20 years after this episode through the 2010s, so I think part of this is not only that it's just a casual pick up game, but also the fact remains that the obsession with trans athletes just wasn't there at the time of writing, because man, MwC would not have shied away from milking that topic, had it been as big then as it is now. Of course, my memory of 1994 is ... uh, dodgy at best when it comes to social activism and I may have been a lot more *ahem* Limbaughite in that era, to my shame. So, I might not remember that aspect correctly. Still, gotta say. This was a LOT less uncomfortable than Seth McFarlane, and that's ... impressive. And returning to old pieces like this is ... informative. I may take a day or two when you post a new one up because I always cringe and say "Oh god, not that episode" (It took me a bleeding week I think before I dared touch the Law and Order SVU one.), but I appreciate these.

[@lookatdemijipers]

Lily, I find this to be a shockingly ill-informed overview of the episode. might I kindly suggest José's longform review of the series?

[@Jasminestealth1]

i appreciate, your re-caps. however at 8:35 you had just stated, the idea of if you do not like the idea of how the other person is... just leave!! WOW! how do you do a series of what the media was palying, and how that was detrimental.. to segway into an idea, of "just leave"! DUDE! this is where we start falling apart! This is when the your side vs my side.. is the problem.. your goal, should be towards.. breaking naratives.. that learning, evolving.. To Leave a relationship... wow! As a person who not only has changed her life dramatically, and sitll held deeply to a marital relationship! DO NOT FOLLOW THIS LIFE IDEA OF "QUITTING" because its easy.. but if you want others to change an grow, you need to as well.. but.. thats just my view of someone who has been married over 30 years

[@marabanara]

I’ve “only” been married for 20 years, and so I understand your point that it can feel that people give up on marriage/committed relationships too easily. However, as someone who had to watch Married With Children back in the day because my parents had it on, you cannot ignore that Lily said “just leave” SPECIFICALLY in response to the horrible way Al and Peg’s relationship was portrayed. You cannot think it’s healthy to constantly put down one’s spouse and joke every single day about how horrible it is to be married to them and show distaste for them constantly. So people do need to take responsibility for their own mental health and happiness, and that’s either fix the relationship, or if you truly dislike your partner, then absolutely leave. The idea you had to stick it out in a frankly abusive marriage is why my parents stayed married much longer than they should’ve until we finally got out and safe. Yet my mother still faced backlash.

[@hannahhannah7002]

It's quite disgusting that you're supporting emotional abuse because "quitting is easy" like ew.

[@Jasminestealth1]

@@marabanara i appreciate that you took time to respond.. i do.. and i will say thats an awesome example of our our personal experiences influence our ideas... it is like that of a relationship of women that has an affair.. and instead of digging deep into the reasons, or searching for how they can better their relationship, simply have the black and white.. you cheated, your a loser, we are done.. I would not give a blank statement to say.. your partner cheated.. ignoring anything and everything that led to that event.. you.. you suck, its all you and we are done..

[@cosmicdust2668]

Peace and love but Lily wasn’t referring to just quitting when things get tough, but to not spending your life with with people you hate because you feel like you have to and she’s absolutely right and the comment is most certainly warranted since shows like married with children contribute to the heavy societal pressure to do things like spend our lives with people we hate because we feel like it’s expected of us and aren’t presented with other options. I get your concern but I think you’ve pretty heavily misunderstood her

[@PotatoKing86]

​@@marabanara real

[@freshface7657]

I love the perspective I gain from watching your videos ^^ You seem to have this vast pool of media knowledge reaching through decades you can compare to. Thank you for sharing that knowledge and your analysis with us in such an approachable way