A year earlier, Family's producers and writers had done a story called 'Rites of Friendship' about a young man's sexual orientation. This is what you might call the lesbian version of the same story. Again, it involves an outside guest character known by the Lawrence family. But instead of the drama being connected to Willie (Gary Frank), this time the drama is connected to Buddy (Kristy McNichol). For it is Buddy's favorite teacher (played with considerable grace by Blair Brown) who is lesbian, whose secret comes out in the community.
Another guest character, a snooty woman named Mrs. Palmer (Joyce Van Patten), heads up a school committee that Kate (Sada Thompson) and Doug (James Broderick) sit in on. Mrs. Palmer has found out about Miss Jessup's sexual orientation, and she's determined to get the woman fired. It's bad enough that Miss Jessup is teaching a Carson McCullers novel in the school's literature class (gasp!) but she left her previous job at a young woman's college, due to some scandal. Of course, Mrs. Palmer's been burning up the phone wires to convince others they need to circulate a petition and force this perverted instructor out.
Some of the dialogue in the school committee meeting is a tad over the top, but I did like the way Kate and Doug are presented as more liberal minded, willing to hear Miss Jessup's side before rushing to judge and condemn her. The bigotry and homophobia espoused by Mrs. Palmer and her cronies is far from subtle, and of course, she's intended to be the real villain of the piece, not Miss Jessup.
Related to all this is Buddy's difficulty handling the situation. She doesn't seem to have a problem with Miss Jessup's orientation per se, but she is troubled by the other girls (a young Helen Hunt among them) needling her about liking Miss Jessup so much. There is an outdoor school scene where the other girls taunt Buddy that she may be a lesbian herself. Of course, these scenes are ironic since Kristy McNichol would come out as lesbian a few decades later. But in this storyline, we are told that Buddy is heterosexual and likes boys. However, she also has a platonic crush on Miss Jessup and enjoys reading now, because Miss Jessup is a great lit teacher.
My review would not be complete without mention of the dinner scene at the Lawrence home in the second half of the episode. Miss Jessup has been invited over for a meal, but Buddy feigns being sick, since she is now uncomfortable associating with Miss Jessup. At the dinner table, Kate and Doug hear Miss Jessup's side and learn about the scandal that caused her to leave her previous teaching position. They have compassion for her, especially Kate, who had until this point been on the fence about the whole thing.
After the meal finishes, Miss Jessup is allowed to go upstairs to talk with Buddy. I found this scene to be very unrealistic. First, even a liberal minded couple like the Lawrences would probably think that it could be inappropriate having Miss Jessup go up to Buddy's bedroom alone (where Miss Jessup attempts to touch Buddy's shoulder). Wouldn't responsible parents, not worrying about Miss Jessup but still worrying about Buddy's frame of mind, choose to have their daughter come down to the living room for this heart-to-heart, instead of sending Miss Jessup up to an impressionable young girl's bedroom? It just felt like an odd choice by the writer.
One thing that did ring true to me was the unsung work of hardworking teachers. Sexual orientation issues aside, the Miss Jessup character is a good instructor, and the community is lucky to have her employed at their school. Incidentally, Kristy McNichol would later work as an acting teacher. So in a way, it feels like her teenaged self is preparing for her later role in life as an open lesbian educator.
Another guest character, a snooty woman named Mrs. Palmer (Joyce Van Patten), heads up a school committee that Kate (Sada Thompson) and Doug (James Broderick) sit in on. Mrs. Palmer has found out about Miss Jessup's sexual orientation, and she's determined to get the woman fired. It's bad enough that Miss Jessup is teaching a Carson McCullers novel in the school's literature class (gasp!) but she left her previous job at a young woman's college, due to some scandal. Of course, Mrs. Palmer's been burning up the phone wires to convince others they need to circulate a petition and force this perverted instructor out.
Some of the dialogue in the school committee meeting is a tad over the top, but I did like the way Kate and Doug are presented as more liberal minded, willing to hear Miss Jessup's side before rushing to judge and condemn her. The bigotry and homophobia espoused by Mrs. Palmer and her cronies is far from subtle, and of course, she's intended to be the real villain of the piece, not Miss Jessup.
Related to all this is Buddy's difficulty handling the situation. She doesn't seem to have a problem with Miss Jessup's orientation per se, but she is troubled by the other girls (a young Helen Hunt among them) needling her about liking Miss Jessup so much. There is an outdoor school scene where the other girls taunt Buddy that she may be a lesbian herself. Of course, these scenes are ironic since Kristy McNichol would come out as lesbian a few decades later. But in this storyline, we are told that Buddy is heterosexual and likes boys. However, she also has a platonic crush on Miss Jessup and enjoys reading now, because Miss Jessup is a great lit teacher.
My review would not be complete without mention of the dinner scene at the Lawrence home in the second half of the episode. Miss Jessup has been invited over for a meal, but Buddy feigns being sick, since she is now uncomfortable associating with Miss Jessup. At the dinner table, Kate and Doug hear Miss Jessup's side and learn about the scandal that caused her to leave her previous teaching position. They have compassion for her, especially Kate, who had until this point been on the fence about the whole thing.
After the meal finishes, Miss Jessup is allowed to go upstairs to talk with Buddy. I found this scene to be very unrealistic. First, even a liberal minded couple like the Lawrences would probably think that it could be inappropriate having Miss Jessup go up to Buddy's bedroom alone (where Miss Jessup attempts to touch Buddy's shoulder). Wouldn't responsible parents, not worrying about Miss Jessup but still worrying about Buddy's frame of mind, choose to have their daughter come down to the living room for this heart-to-heart, instead of sending Miss Jessup up to an impressionable young girl's bedroom? It just felt like an odd choice by the writer.
One thing that did ring true to me was the unsung work of hardworking teachers. Sexual orientation issues aside, the Miss Jessup character is a good instructor, and the community is lucky to have her employed at their school. Incidentally, Kristy McNichol would later work as an acting teacher. So in a way, it feels like her teenaged self is preparing for her later role in life as an open lesbian educator.