99½: Rest in Peace: Phyl Petrillo, Dorothy Zbornak’s Trans Sister

”Ebbtide’s Revenge” (December 15, 1990)

Heads up: This episode revolves around a funeral for a character that we are reading as trans. The humor had at the expense of the deceased may be difficult for some audience members to hear. 

If you’re reading this episode title and saying, “I’ve seen every Golden Girls, and I’m pretty sure Dorothy doesn’t have a trans sister,” we’ve got a guest to respond with “Are you sure about that?” Dr. Ada-Rhodes Short, mother of robots and co-host of the Totally Trans podcast, joins us to talk about trans lesbians and why a few TV characters, Phyl Petrillo included, speak to a trans experience, and why Phyl’s funeral speaks to a trans nightmare.

Listen to our previous Golden Girls episodes:

• The Golden Girls Meet a Trans Man (with Ada’s co-host, Henry Giardina)

• Glen Writes a Golden Girls (a.k.a. “Vince Meat”)

• The Golden Girls Had a Gay Live-In Cook

• Blache’s Homo Brother Wants to Get Gay Married

• Blanche’s Brother Is a Homo

• Dorothy’s Friend Is a Lesbian

You should subscribe to Ada’s podcats, Totally Trans! Do it now!

And listen to the Totally Trans episodes we mention in our talk:

• Ariel from The Little Mermaid is a trans girl

• Pinocchio is a trans boy

• That time Golden Girls was totally transphobic

Also have a listen to the Bone & Sickle episode about Medusa that Drew somehow found a way to bring up.

This episode’s outro track is “Don’t Treat Me So Bad” by Linda “Babe” Majika: Apple Music • Amazon Music • Spotify