113: Marge Simpson Is a Homophobe and a Transphobe
“There’s Something About Marrying” (February 20, 2005)
Gayest Episode Ever would not exist without The Simpsons — mostly because we stole Talking Simpsons’ podcast format and applied it to LGBT episodes of classic sitcoms, and Talking Simpsons would not exist without The Simpsons. But cultural and personal importance aside, there comes a time to point out when a thing you love screws up, and this episode — the one that should be about Marge disapproving about Patty marrying a woman but ends up being a nasty little parable about transphobia — is not the series’ best moment, despite promising bits in the first two acts. We’ve brought in both hosts of the Totally Trans podcast — Ada-Rhodes Short and Henry Giardina — to discuss why Marge really sucks and why the episode’s conclusion is hard for some trans folks to watch even today.
Listen to some of Henry and Ada-Rhodes’ favorite episodes of Totally Trans:
Read the New York Times article “The Secret History of Leviticus” — the "exception that proves the rule" article about the old testament outlawing homosexuality.
Listen to the summer/pride episode of Deep Cuts and Superficial Wounds, Drew’s 80s music podcast.
This episode’s outro track is “Summer Time” by Plastic Mode: Apple Music • Spotify
