Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  NIGHTSPOTS

The Bijou Chronicles Steven Toushin
Tribute to Edith Bunker, wisdom of the heart
by Steven Toushin and Madame Bubby
2013-06-26

This article shared 3697 times since Wed Jun 26, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Antenna TV (you know, the station for old-timers who still read newspapers and use landline phones) recently ran a memorial tribute to Jean Stapleton, the actress known for her iconic portrayal of the much-loved "dingbat" Edith Bunker. The station aired legendary, ground breaking episodes centering on Edith that addressed then-taboo subjects such as menopause, homosexuality, sexual assault, and euthanasia.

The gay episode, "Cousin Liz," is famous enough to warrant a Wikipedia entry, and it's pretty much a given that the left-leaning Norman Lear may have been influenced by the Briggs initiative in California that would have banned gays and lesbians from the teaching profession (fought by Harvey Milk), as well as the Anita Bryant "Save Our Children" campaign.

Edith's cousin Liz, a schoolteacher, dies, and Edith, as her closest living blood relative, stands to inherit a valuable tea service. Archie in his usual churlish way wants to sell the set and use the money for a vacation to California. Liz's roommate Veronica (really life-partner, as she and Liz because of their jobs were obliged to live in the closet) feels a sentimental attachment to the tea set and asks Edith if she can keep it. In doing so, she feels she has to tell Edith the true nature of her relationship, as a marriage.

Edith, obviously not the smartest cookie, takes a while to process it (her voicings of "oh" are priceless here), but as the viewer comes to realize throughout the series, Edith may not be the most booksmart, but she displays time and time again the deeper wisdom of the human heart. She doesn't reject Liz at all, not because she is familiar with or even would subscribe to gay or women's liberation ideologies or any of the counter-cultural movements of the seventies. She pierces with the arrow of true Christian love to the living heart of the matter. Veronica is Liz's next of kin. Love transcends blood and ideology. Of course she can have the tea set. And how sad to love someone and not be able to tell anyone about it.

But of course she is up against Archie who threatens to sue Veronica. How often many have decried Edith with her "Awchie! Here's your beer" attitude as representing the worst of an oppressive patriarchal marriage. But Edith doesn't confuse humility with humiliation, forbearance with cringing, in the deepest parts of relationships. For example, in one episode, she revealed that she was ready to leave Archie with the infant Gloria unless he got help with his gambling addiction. And, similarly, in this case of Cousin Liz, she responds to Archie's typical stereotypical judgment with courage and wisdom:

Archie: People like that teaching our kids, I'm sure God's sittin' up there in judgment!

Edith: Well, sure he is, but he's God; you ain't! Archie, listen, you wouldn't want to be the cause of somebody losin' their job!

Archie: Ohhhh.....

Edith: Archie, she's all alone in the world now and she's got no one to take care of her like I have. And she can't help how she feels. And she didn't hurt you, so why should you wanna hurt her? Archie, I can't believe you'd do anything that mean.

Archie, of course, defers with his unique "oh" response, but not before he admits that he doesn't understand how a beautiful woman like Veronica wouldn't want a man. Veronica graciously (having experienced the grace that came from Edith) accepts that typical foot-in-the-mouth remark as a compliment.

Edith the true Christian is so, so on target here. Yes, God is God, not man and what man thinks God should be loving or hating. And there's more going on here than just "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Edith has got to the root of the Golden Rule, of course, but even more than that, she understands, not because of any conscious analysis, that the holy haters who want to compartmentalize everyone by race, religion, gender, and orientation and set up unjust hierarchies who oppress the marginalized are the ones who try to make God in their own limited image.

Here, in this ground-breaking episode, the Jewish Norman Lear and his Christian character Edith Bunker embrace with love the heart of the Judeo-Christian ethic the current culture warriors against same-sex marriage use so wrongly as a weapon of ignorance and the scapegoat mechanism.


This article shared 3697 times since Wed Jun 26, 2013
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

COBRAH slithers into Chicago and brings Feminine Energy 2024-03-08
- COBRAH snaked her way into Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St., for two nights March 7 and 8 for her Succubus Tour. This Swedish-born talent has a way with naughty words and ...


Gay News

Asians and Friends welcomes the Year of the Dragon 2024-02-26
- On the evening of Feb. 25, Asians and Friends kicked off the Lunar New Year with their annual dinner and celebration at Pho Viet Vietnamese Restaurant. This year's event was focused on this being the Year ...


Gay News

Looking back at Chicago LGBTQ+ community's stand against Anheuser-Busch 2024-01-30
- As conservatives across the country boycotted Anheuser-Busch products for Bud Light's partnership with trans woman Dylan Mulvaney in 2023, LGBTQ+ bars in Chicago removed their products for a different reason. Following the deeply negative response to ...


Gay News

Berlin Nightclub closes after nearly 40 years, following boycott 2023-11-21
Decades of Photo Archives below - After nearly forty years, Berlin Nightclub, 954 W. Belmont Ave., officially closed its doors Nov. 19 following a months-long fight between its owners and unionized workers. Owners Jim Schuman and Jo Webster officially announced Berlin Nightclub's ...


Gay News

Happy Hail-loween: Rough weather doesn't get the better of Haunted Halsted revelers 2023-11-03
- The 26th annual Haunted Halsted Halloween Parade returned for the 26th time on Oct. 31. Attendees were challenged by a mix of rain, snow and hail as they marched down Halsted Street from Belmont Avenue towards ...


Gay News

Berlin Nightclub workers urge customers to boycott as they fight for fair contract 2023-10-31
- Berlin Nightclub workers are calling for people to boycott the LGBTQ+ club while they push for their first contract, which they hope will include increased wages and access to healthcare. Berlin Nightclub workers unionized in April ...


Gay News

MIR's Intergalactic Rubber celebration soars to a suburb not too far way 2023-10-27
Photos by Joseph Stevens - Mister International Rubber (MIR) 27, this year themed as Intergalactic Rubber, took off Oct. 19-22 from their new location at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton in Skokie. MIR26 Pusckatt Pumera Onyx stepped down and passed their ...


Gay News

GAY HISTORY MONTH In the '60s, drag found a home in San Francisco's Glen Park 2023-10-02
- Special to Windy City Times. To mark Gay History Month, this article appears courtesy of the Bay Area Reporter. During the '60s most LGBTQ nightlife in San Francisco was centered in the northern neighborhoods of the ...


Gay News

Nobody's Darling celebrates expansion into adjoining property with soft opening event 2023-09-24
- In the little over two years since its opening, Nobody's Darling in Andersonville has emerged as one of the premiere inclusive spaces to gather in Chicago. Nobody's Darling has become so successful that co-owners Angela Barnes ...


Gay News

Chicago musician, producer and DJ Don Crescendo killed in Avondale stabbing 2023-09-20
- Chicago's LGBTQ+ nightlife community and allies have rallied around the family and close friends of local longtime musician, producer and DJ Rodney Donovan Taylor, a.k.a. Don Crescendo, in the wake of his death by stabbing last ...


Gay News

MUSIC Kylie Minogue to debut Vegas residency this fall 2023-07-28
- The Venetian Resort Las Vegas revealed details surrounding its new 1,000-seat nightlife space, Voltaire, with the announcement of its first headliner—pop sensation and LGBTQ+ ally Kylie Minogue, a press release ...


Gay News

Bears, cubs and their admirers return for Illinois Bear Contest 2023-04-11
- Visitors and Chicagoans gathered at Charlies Chicago, 3726 N. Broadway, on April 7 to kick off the Illinois Bear Contest weekend, the first since 2019. The contest itself took place the following evening at Leather Archives ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Trans musicians, NHL, 'Queen Charlotte,' Jinkx Monsoon, Anderson Cooper 2023-04-08
- The Face published an article about five trans musicians who should be on people's playlists. British queer nightlife legend Mya Mehmi said that those musicians include New York's Ms Boogie, London-based Harve, Arca, Ms. Carrie Stacks ...


Gay News

Winners chosen in the International Puppy and Trainer Contest 2023-04-03
- The International Puppy & Trainer Contest was held in Chicago the weekend of March 31 to April 2 for the first time since 2019. The contest's Meet & Greet was held at Cellblock on March 31. The contest was hosted the ...


Gay News

PASSAGES: Visual artist, Chicago nightlife scene drag performer legend and hairdresser Jojo Baby 2023-03-16
- Visual artist, Chicago nightlife scene drag performer legend, doll-maker and hairdresser Jojo Baby died March 14 of liver, lung and stomach cancer. They were 51. Baby was born April 10, 1971, in Chicago and grew up ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor
Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.