The Simpsons: 10 Episodes Probably Made Out Of Spite
9. There’s Something About Marrying
By 2005, The Simpsons was no stranger to talking about homosexuality, back in a time when it wasn’t quite as normal was it is today. This episode certainly continued the show’s trend of showing LGBT people in largely more positive lights.
Around this time the subject of same-sex marriage was a hot button subject in America and the centre of a lot of debate as some states, such as Massachusetts, began to legalise the process. And so, as with many great talking points of the day, The Simpsons used Springfield to explore the issue.
There’s Something About Marrying sees Springfield legalising same-sex marriage to cynically increase its tourism income and, in the lead up to the show, the network announced that a key character would come out as gay. Whilst not necessarily anyone’s favourite character, Patty was a long standing part of the show's cast and a member of the Simpsons family. Her acceptance by others was a large part of the episode's story.
Producer Al Jean said of There’s Something About Marrying that “we don’t take a position as much as explore everybody's positions”. Whilst the episode tended to be apolitical, it was definitely giving the message that those that demonised homosexuality were of an outdated sort.