#Stay Golden

[sidlexz0]

I go from Ye Olde Town Slut 💀

[beldamdoll]

I just know Darry would have me and Ponyboy at the table doing math homework crying writing our answers with our tears while he shouts -

"WHAT IS 8 TIMES 9?!"

[theblackgirlaesthetic]

Stay Golden - 🇿🇦✨

[elerriellee]

The fact that Croatia has played in 366 international games as an independent nation and Luka Modric was in 183, exactly half of them.

[cherrycolalady]

How me and him look when we walk together

[chasingrainbowsforever]

~ Golden ~

[dalusional]

Ponyboy Michael Curtis 🎀

Golden ver >>

[dazed-cherry]

📍 Santa Barbara, CA

[clumsygiri]

Baltimore Caliborn

[super-madi16]

If Stay Golden by Saint Motel isn’t about OJ Simpson then we are going to need to have a major conversation…

[sidlexz0]

It's already October! everyone with their costumes ready? 🎃

[beldamdoll]

Y/n - Why did you crack your phone, Soda?

Steve - He placed last on Dress to Impress.

[gre4zerz]

Why have two normal parents who have a healthy relationship and take care of their kids instead of ignoring them, yelling at them, and hitting them when you could have an older brother that's secretly pissed off that he has to take care of you little shits because his entire college career was thrown down the drain and disintegrated in a burning church AND he has to give an arm and a leg to make sure you're okay and he doesn't have time for himself?

Why settle for family dinners and weekend outings when you could have nights spent worrying about getting jumped by a rival gang or mornings waking up to find your best friend has slept on the floor beside you because he had nowhere else to go? Why have the comfort of knowing you can call your parents for advice when you could have the stark reality of making life-and-death decisions on your own before you even hit adulthood?

Why choose the predictability of family game nights when you could have the chaos of running through dark alleyways, the adrenaline of knowing that every step could be your last, and the bittersweet camaraderie of friends who are more like brothers because they've bled and cried with you? Why have parents who sit you down for heart-to-heart talks when you could have an older brother who, with every gruff word and tough-love action, teaches you more about survival and sacrifice than any parent ever could?

Why have a mom who packs your lunch with a note saying "Have a great day!" when you could have an older brother who works double shifts and still finds time to make sure there's food on the table, even if it's just a can of soup and some crackers? Why choose the safety and stability of a traditional family when you could have the raw, unfiltered experience of growing up too fast, learning too much too soon, and loving too deeply in a world that's always one wrong move away from collapsing?

Why settle for a life where your biggest worry is a math test when you could have a life where you're constantly on edge, where every moment is a test of your courage and resilience? Why choose the simplicity of normalcy when you could have the complexity of a life that's shaped by loss and hardship, but also by an unbreakable bond with those who share your struggle?

In a world where nothing is guaranteed, why choose the easy path when the hard one teaches you everything you need to know about loyalty, strength, and what it truly means to be a family?

[elerriellee]

Serbia losing to Denmark, Czech losing to Turkey and Georgia losing to Portugal seems... viable.

But how in the world is England going to win 3-0 against Slovenia.

[sweetjollylooks]

[rachelkaser]

Stay Golden Sunday: Scared Straight

Blanche's brother Clayton comes for a visit -- and he's got a secret to share with Blanche. Sophia receives an omen of death.

Picture It...

Sophia looks conspicuously depressed on the sofa, incensed that Dorothy is ignoring her. In the kitchen, she says she had a prophetic dream in which her late husband Sal spoke to her. She dreamt he said, "Sophia, you can come now. There's room for you now." She now believes, based on the clock striking nine and Sal wearing his Saturday-only fedora, that she'll die at 9pm on Saturday. Dorothy says she's being ridiculous. Back in the living room, Dorothy compliments Blanche, who got very dressed up for her visiting brother, Clayton.

The doorbell rings and it's Clayton, who is Blanche in male form. She introduces him to Dorothy and Rose. They've obviously got a very close relationship. Later that night, Dorothy returns home to Sophia sitting in the dark. She's still convinced she's going to die on Saturday and tries giving Dorothy some valuables. Blanche enters with Clayton and reveals she's set him up on a blind date with her colleague Lois. He's not pleased, but goes along with it. Blanche coaches Dorothy on how to break the ice with blind dates.

Rose runs into Clayton in the park -- his date wasn't a success, as Blanche doesn't know his type. Rose takes the challenge to pinpoint his type and they sit down to people-watch together. A few women walk by with no reaction from Clayton. Then an attractive man walks by who gets his attention, and it takes Rose a few minutes to figure it out before Clayton confesses: He's gay.

DOROTHY: Ma! What are you doing up? SOPHIA: Someone left the lock off my cage.

Rose asks if he's told Blanche, and he hasn't. He keeps chickening out. Rose asserts that Blanche might be upset at first, but she'd get over it. He agrees to tell her tonight while he's still got his nerve. Back at home, Blanche, Dorothy, and Sophia are all still awake, and Clayton almost immediately loses his nerve when he walks in. He tells Blanche he and Lois weren't suited. Rose pushes him to confess, and Clayton chokes and says he and Rose slept together and runs out. Everyone is horrified.

The next morning, Sophia tells Dorothy she wants to be cremated to Dorothy's frustration. Rose enters and tells Dorothy that Blanche is still upset. She whispers what really happened in Dorothy's ear, and Dorothy is shocked. She tries to conceal it from Sophia, but when Clayton enters the kitchen, Sophia asks him a few choice questions. When he leaves again, Sophia says the immortal line:

SOPHIA: The man's as gay as a picnic basket! DOROTHY: Ma that is . . . that is incredible! How did you know? SOPHIA: I heard him singing in the shower. He's the only man I ever knew who knows all the words to "Send in the Clowns."

Clayton apologizes to Rose later, saying he's really struggling with telling Blanche the truth. Blanche herself enters and barks at Rose for "seducing" Clayton, and Rose storms out saying Blanche is going to come crawling back with an apology. Clayton, upset, tells Blanche she doesn't understand. He says nothing happened between him and Rose. He finally comes out to her, and Blanche initially doesn't think he's being serious. When he keeps telling her it's true, Blanche is stunned and Clayton leaves to give her space.

Sometime later, Blanche follows Clayton to the restaurant where he's sitting and they reminisce about their teenage years. She tells him she's having a hard time reconciling what she's always known about him with the revelation that he's gay. He tells her he's the same person he's always been, and that he's spent a long time lying to himself. He's happy that he can be honest with her, and Blanche, touched, tells him this doesn't have to change their relationship at all. She also mistakes the restaurant for a gay bar.

BLANCHE: You remember the night me and my date parked right next to you and your date? Pretty soon it got to be a contest of who could fog up whose car the fastest. I think you won! CLAYTON: You weren't doing too badly considering you were in a convertible.

Later, Blanche comes back and invites Dorothy out to dinner for Clayton's last night. As it's nearly 9 pm, Sophia goes to the door and Dorothy one more time tries to convince her she's mistaken . . . until the doorbell actually rings. Rose peeps out and sees a fedora. Sophia opens the door and sees her friend Mildred in a fedora -- her lucky bowling hat. Mildred says she yelled through Sophia's window that "you can come now" and "we have room now." Sophia turns and tells Dorothy that she's going bowling.

As they prepare to go to dinner, Rose goes back into the kitchen, and Blanche follows her. She hesitantly tries to apologize and Rose accepts before she has the chance. Blanche dramatically says she had a whole speech planned, and Rose apologizes for ruining it, and they forgive each other and hug it out.

"Sweet Jesus, I've just done the impossible! I converted one!"

First of all, Happy Pride Month everyone! I hope you're all celebrating happily with people who love you! And I'm very glad I waited until we crested June before I published this entry because this episode of The Golden Girls is one of the most notable for its depiction of Clayton, an unapologetic gay man, and his relationship with Blanche. Even as someone who wasn't alive in 1988, when the episode was made, I know enough of the cultural context from growing up in the 90s and 00s to understand what it means and how important it is.

BLANCHE: Rose, honey. There's something I have to say to you. It's just two little words, but they are the hardest two little words in all the whole world for me to say. ROSE: "Not tonight?"

Clayton Hollingsworth is not the first gay character to appear on The Golden Girls -- he's beaten in that regard by Coco from "The Pilot" and Jean from "Isn't It Romantic?" However, he's the first gay character to be related to one of the Girls, which makes his sexuality more immediately relevant to them than Coco's or Jean's (at least until the latter confessed her feelings for Rose). Whereas those two characters were also very open about their sexuality, Clayton starts the episode closeted, at least to the Girls.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: As a white, cisgender, heterosexual woman, I'm not in any position to say what makes an episode like this important or representative of the time period. So I once again leave it to Matt Baume to talk about the importance of this episode (and its future sequel, "Sister of the Bride") for Culture Cruise. Baume's got one of the best video resources I could find on YouTube, covering the cultural context at the time and what it means for a popular TV show to portray a gay man and what it's like to come out:

If I could point to one thing I love about this episode in particular, it's that Blanche's difficulty accepting the revelation is shown to be 100% her problem. She's the "antagonist" of the episode, in that her lack of acceptance causes the issue, but she readily admits, once she's had time to think about it, that she's the one who has to come to terms with it and accept the new normal. She's adamant that this won't affect her close friendship with her brother. She even tries to set him up on a date -- with his preferred gender this time -- though she only succeeds in slightly embarrassing herself.

While Blanche's reaction to the news is the most important for the episode, the other Girls' reactions are also worth mentioning. It's no surprise to me that Rose is the first person to whom Clayton comes out, as she's very accepting and sweet about the situation once she understands it. Dorothy isn't at all perturbed by the news, absorbing it without comment. Sophia isn't bothered, either, simply adding it to her list of things to tease Clayton over -- before her biggest piece of ammo was his Southern-ness.

ROSE: Isn't it nice to see a brother and sister who are such good friends? DOROTHY: It certainly is. I always wished I could have been closer to my brother Phil. You know, go places together, share experiences. Although I did love borrowing his clothes. ROSE: Did you like wearing boys' clothes growing up? DOROTHY: No, but fortunately, neither did my brother Phil.

Monte Markham, who played Clayton, said in Golden Girls Forever that he wasn't the least bit bothered by playing a gay man, saying he would have been in the wrong business if that had been a hang-up for him. He's fantastically cast, not only because he doesn't fit existing stereotypes about gay men, but he also looks like he could be Rue McClanahan's brother. I completely believe Clayton when he says he's as irresistible to men as Blanche is.

The tiff between Rose and Blanche is the one sour note of the episode, though I understand the purpose it serves. Poor Clayton throws Rose under the bus in a panic when he can't come out to Blanche. It gives Blanche someone to have conflict with who isn't Clayton -- I would hate to see her be as much of a bitch to him as she is to Rose. Any Girl-vs-Girl conflict is hard to watch, but at least I think this time it was added for a good reason.

ROSE: Clayton, you're selling your sister short. At times, Blanche can be very understanding and compassionate and forgiving. BLANCHE: *storming in* Get away from my baby brother, you cradle-snatching, empty-headed, two-faced dummy! ROSE: . . . and then at other times she can be a real bitch.

The B-plot of the episode doesn't really merit too much discussion. Sophia has a funny dream that she thinks is her husband summoning her to the afterlife, which turns out to have been her fedora-wearing buddy Mildred inviting her out to go bowling. It mostly just exists to add some laughs to an otherwise serious episode and the thoroughly unserious conclusion helps relieve any remaining tension from Blanche and Clayton's conversation.

Funnily enough, I remember this being one of the first times I ever discussed the concept of "gay" with my mother. I was very small at the time (and we didn't watch the episodes in chronological order, so I saw this episode before "Isn't It Romantic?"), and this episode was a great jumping-off point for her to explain different sexualities and gender identities (or at least so it was understood in the 90s) to me in a compassionate way.

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰🍰🍰 (five cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode

Rose and Blanche both come to terms with Clayton's coming out in . . . different ways.