Abstract
Does art imitate life? Is that an important explanation for why certain television shows have developed a following, even years after the show moved from prime time to syndication? Beside their entertainment value, what else do we find in the episodes? This paper offers a sociological analysis of a shared housing arrangement as modeled in the popular sitcom, The Golden Girls. The author addresses the question of what it takes sociologically to build a successful, liveable community on the micro level of a single household comprised of four older very different women who decide to share a house by pooling financial and other resources. Through laughs, disagreements, late-night talks over cheese cake, and sometimes tears, Dorothy, Blanche, Rose and Sofia become like "family" and discover a much more meaningful and sustaining life together than they had imagined.
Recommended Citation
Ruggiero, Josephine A.
(2016)
"The “Golden Girls”: A Sociological Analysis Of One Model Of Communal Living For The 21st Century,"
Sociology Between the Gaps: Forgotten and Neglected Topics: Vol. 2.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/sbg/vol2/iss1/2