Popular Culture Review Vol. 5, No. 1, February 1994 | Page 146

142 Popular Culture Review Throughout "All in the Family's" 212 episodes, Edith was periodically plagued by a host of "women's problems"; these included menopause, suspected breast cancer, and sexual assault. These topics had never been presented on sitcoms before. Some viewers complained that the subjects were too personal to be dealt with on the air. Others, however, believed that it was time to bring them out in the open. Society did not have to further compound the "uncomfortability" that nature had contrived for women. When Edith was sexually assaulted in her own home, she dealt not only with what had happened to her, but also with the notion that it might reflect negatively on her if she reported it to the police. The episode stressed the fact that any woman, young or old, could be a possible target. This episode won considerable praise for its effectiveness from police departments and rape crisis centers across the country. In other episodes, Edith faced menopause and the fear that she had breast cancer. In the breast cancer episode, Edith saw a doctor and learned that her scare was a false alarm. Elated, she jumped for joy; when she landed, she fractured her foot. Having seen the show, scores of American women made appointments for mammograms and community service groups request^ video tapes from the network for counseling purposes (McCrohan 218). A more typical Lear woman evolved from Bunker acquaintances, such as Edith's opinionated, independent cousin Maude Findlay. "Maude" was spun off from "All in the Family" in 1972 and featured Beatrice Arthur in the title role. A wealthy, middle-aged suburbanite, Maude was a political liberal and an outspoken feminist. She was already familiar to viewers from her verbal battles with Archie-'battles she usually won. Her broad-minded, liberalistic harangues were every bit as overbearing as his conservative d iatri^ s. In the series pilot, Maude is already on her fourth husband. Over the next six seasons she would have an abortion (an episode which some CBS affiliates refused to air), experience hot flashes associated with menopause, and exhibit a set of political attitudes that placed her somewhere between George McGovern and Simone de Beauvoir. "Maude" was a radical innovation because, unlike "All in the Family," which focused on a blue-collar household, the show invaded upper middle class suburban life and