Controversial Topics Beautifully Discussed Over Cheesecake on The Golden Girls

In the first season of The Golden Girls, episode 22 "Job Hunting," Rose loses her job at a grief counseling center and has difficulty finding a new job as an older woman. In season five episode four, "Rose Fights Back," Rose receives a letter stating that the bank has decided to cut off her late husband's pension, which means she'd no longer be receiving pension checks to help with her expenses. After having trouble finding a job, she goes to a local reporter known for fighting back against discrimination hoping that he'll investigate on her behalf. While there, Rose hears about a job opening and asks if she can apply. The reporter tells her that she's too old and Rose takes a stand and of course, lands the job.

Even though interracial relationships weren't the taboo they were in the '50s, people still have issues with people dating outside of their race. In season three episode 23, "Mixed Blessings," Dorothy's son Michael makes an impromptu visit with big news — he's getting married. While Dorothy is still trying to digest the news, Michael adds that his new fiancé is black. Dorothy quickly processes but when she meets Lorraine, the fiancé, the 20-year age gap between the two takes precedent over her race. But, when Lorraine's family arrives, their concerns switch from the age gap to the fact that Michael is a "skinny white boy." The episode didn't get too deep into racism, but considering its air date, we'll give it points for honorable mention.

In season five episode three, "The Accurate Conception," Blanche's daughter Rebecca pays her a visit and drops the bomb that she's ready to have a child and has decided to be artificially inseminated. Trying to wrap their head around the idea, the girls go to visit a sperm bank to get more information on the process. Hard to understand why Becky doesn't want to conceive a baby the old-fashioned way, the episode ends with Blanche accepting Becky's choice of starting a family the way she wants.

Whether you've seen one episode or 30, you'll quickly notice the running joke between Dorothy and Sophia about Shady Pines, a retirement home Dorothy checked Sophia into after she had a stroke. Sophia is known for joking about how horrible the facility was while Dorothy would use the saying, "Shady Pines, Ma," to keep Sophia in line when being rebellious. In season four episode 22, "Sophia's Choice," Sophia learns that her friend Lillian has been moved to Sunny Pastures, a retirement facility that made Shady Pines look like five-star resort. After a visit, Dorothy confirms that the facility is ill-equipped. Sophia tricks Rose into breaking Lillian out of Sunny Pastures, but finds that she doesn't have the ability to give Lillian the care she needs. When Dorothy and Sophia went to complain to the manager about the conditions of the facility, the manager agreed and told them that unfortunately, due to budget cuts, there's nothing that he can do to make things any better for his residents.

When the girls come home from a Madonna concert, they find their home has been broken into. Everyone seems to be recovering from the incident except for Rose, who gets so scared she goes out and buys a gun. In season one, episode eight, "Break In", Rose struggles with the post-trauma of the incident that left her feeling unsafe.

Blanche meets a handsome caterer in season two episode 22, "Diamond in the Rough." Although she's absolutely head over heels, she refuses to take him as her date to one of the year's biggest social events due to his low social status.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic hit close to home in season five episode 19, "72 Hours." Rose receives a letter in the mail from the hospital urging her to come in for a blood test. During her gallbladder surgery, Rose received a transfusion and the blood used might've contained HIV antibodies. Rose's head spiraled for the next three days, and while lashing out at everyone, she implies that Blanche should be in her shoes due to her sexually active lifestyle. Meanwhile, Sophia battles her paranoia of contracting the disease while coming to terms with the fact that she may or may not have to live with someone who has HIV.

Addiction first surfaces in season four episode 20, "High Anxiety." Sophia accidentally knocks a bottle of Rose's pills down the drain. The next day, Rose is on edge displaying behavior totally opposite from her normally pleasant demeanor. After she gets her pills, she's back to normal, and Blanche and Dorothy discover that Rose has been taking those pills for over 30 years. A season later, Dorothy relapses in her gambling addiction after a trip to the race track in season five episode 24, "All Bets Are Off." After flaking on her job interviews, she finally hits rock bottom when she tries to steal Rose's money. Both episodes end with rehab.

We see that even the most confident women can fall victim to abusive relationships in season six episode 13, "The Bloom Is Off the Rose." Blanche is dating a man who is rude and disrespectful. Dorothy tries to caution Blanche explaining that not all abuse is physical, but Blanche ignores all the signs until she sees her date get angry and grab Dorothy.

Fans of the show know that Blanche has never been shy about her sexuality. Her character has always been a vibrant, sex-positive woman who enjoyed the company of men. In season three episode seven, "Strange Bedfellows," a politician the girls were campaigning for lied about having an affair with Blanche. Instead of believing their friend, Rose and Dorothy ignored the truth and imply that sleeping with a married man wouldn't be a surprise considering her promiscuous past.

During the show's run, there were two episodes that touched on the unwanted sexual advances that women deal with on a daily basis. In season six episode six, "Feelings," Rose comes home from a dentist appointment shaken with the thought that her dentist might've deliberately touched her breasts during her exam. In this episode, Rose's dentist preyed on her naiveté, and in season one episode 20, "Adult Education," Blanche's professor uses her reputation against her. After class, Blanche goes to her professor for extra help in her psychology class, and instead of helping her, he attempts to use her sex-positive personality to manipulate her into sleeping with him to get an automatic A in the course.