MEdia: How Suzanne Sugarbaker Shaped Me

Lessons I learned from watching Suzanne Sugarbaker on Designing Women

Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment

One show that had a profound impact on me was Designing Women. First airing in 1986, I likely started watching a bit after it began, but by the time I was in high school in 1988, I was a regular watcher. Sisters Julia and Suzanne Sugarbaker (played by Dixie Carter and Delta Burke, respectively) had an interior design firm along with their friend and head designer Mary Jo Shively (Annie Potts) and office manager Charlene Frazier (Jean Smart). Meshach Taylor rounded out the cast as Anthony Bouvier as the delivery man who later becomes a partner. (Season 6  swapped out Jean Smart and Delta Burke for Julia Duffy and Jan Hooks, and in season 7, Duffy left and was replaced with Judith Ivey. I definitely checked out of the final two seasons quite a bit, even though I do love Hooks.)

While I am a full Yankee (I was born in Gettysburg, PA and visited those battlefields many times growing up), I always connected with the women of Designing Women. I loved the way that they fought amongst themselves while always loving one another and wanting what was best for each other. I loved the way that they talked about various social issues with heart and humor. As I mentioned in last month’s post, this was an 80’s show, so it centers white voices and experiences, but there is definitely a desire to engage beyond the second wave feminist lens. 

I was originally going to group all of the women together into one post, because each had a fairly significant effect on me. But as I started outlining that, I realized it was going to be an unwieldy beast of a post, so they will each get their own posts. This month is devoted to the eternally gorgeous Suzanne Sugarbaker.

Source: The TVDB.com