Who dressed Nancy McKeon?

[Coffee Florence]

The wardrobe person on the facts of life really played up Jo being a lesbian or wanting to dress like one. Some of her clothes and hair are still popular in the lesbian community today. The ties and feathered hair. It wasn't just 80s. It was very lesbionic. What also was up with Jo looking turned off whenever college men hit on her? If she was supposed to be straight. it made no sense how they wrote in the script how surly and turned off she would get by any man even looking at her romantically. The times she responded warmly to men were when they wanted to do buddy things like go to movies or repair motorcycles. The writers/directors did not have many scenes in later seasons where she appreciated men making romantic passes. Along with the ridiculous manly clothes-- male suits and ties, and over-sized clothes hiding her female body completely--it seemed like the producers were conspiring to make Jo some kind of lesbian stereotype. Then there was the episode where she wanted to become a nun. I mean how many lesbian experiences could they put in this this character and still claim she was supposed to be straight.

[Glennboy]

ITA! Jo showed no interest in men at all. Sure, there were a few, and she almost got married in the earlier seasons, and did towards the end, but to me Jo just seemed very uncomfortable with men. Most teenage girls have their hormones going crazy for boys....not Jo. I also picked up a lesbian vibe between her and that female teacher who was leaving Eastland because she had cancer.

[Coffee Florence]

Originally Posted by Glennboy

ITA! Jo showed no interest in men at all. Sure, there were a few, and she almost got married in the earlier seasons, and did towards the end, but to me Jo just seemed very uncomfortable with men. Most teenage girls have their hormones going crazy for boys....not Jo. I also picked up a lesbian vibe between her and that female teacher who was leaving Eastland because she had cancer.

I am so glad it wasn't just me Glenn. They really went overboard on making Jo conform to every lesbian trait. Yes that teacher, who was later on the show Just the Ten of Us, was kind of another "special" emotional relationship Jo had. The writers only once or twice wrote her having tender relationships with a male character-- like that photography professor she dated at Langley (God I know too much about this show thanks to YouTube!). After Eddie in the early seasons, there was not much in the scripts besides convincing disinterest in and impatience with men (and Nancy played it way too well). But what gets me most is the over the top masculine way they wardrobed her. It was weird, because the question remains: Did the writers want her to be a lesbian character but couldn't because it was the 80s?

[Impressions]

Yeah, and she only wore a dress when she was forced to or if it was for a special occasion. Although, the fashion, in the 1980s for women was very masculine; shoulder pads, pant suits, so it wasn't just Jo. It was the style back then. I agree that Jo had no chemistry with other men as far as relationships go, so it came as a huge surprise when Jo married Rick. Oh, and let's mention, that the writers even exaggerated her lesbian-tendencies with the episode where she would only marry this guy so he could get his green card! I don't think the public was quite ready for a lesbian role-model, and that's why we didn't really see lesbians on TV until after the show ended. Facts of Life was supposed to be a groundbreaking show, it's too bad it couldn't have had a special episode on lesbianism (well, the pilot had a subtle reference to it), but they could have had it been more prominent.

[StephJ4]

I actually disagree. The way I see it Jo didn't like the guys hitting on her because she wasn't interested. Not because she was a lesbian but because she didn't want to date at the time.

I mean her first love was Eddie. Things didn't work out the first time they dated and the second time he cheated and lied to her about it. So at that point she was probably turned off guys and only wanted them as friends. I mean, she usually only hung out with Natalie, Blair, Tootie, and Mrs. Garrett so I wouldn't blame her for wanting some testosterone in her life.

Plus, most of those guys were cocky, very forward, and overly confidant. Let's not also forget that she was basically sexually harassed/assaulted in Season 2 when she went to the dance at the Country Club with Blair's friend instead of Blair so that could have left an impression on her psyche which left her guarded.

As for the clothes I just saw them as her being a tomboy and then later through the years as she opened up more she was more open to a few girly things. I mean Nancy herself is pretty girly. However, Nancy did say in an article that she preferred Jo in her tomboy style versus her wearing dresses a pink because it was more true to her character.

[Coffee Florence]

I respect your perspective, and since this is a fictional story, I agree there is more than one way to interpret it. I think Jo did have issues with her father walking out on them, so in that regard, there was an explicit background to her not trusting men. She also grew up seeing her mom sexually harassed by men in her job as a cocktail waitress. Jo, being a strong personality, maybe was intended to be reacting against that. She hated the way men treated her mother in her waitress role as an object and wanted to avoid being an object. She may also have taken on some of her tough traits since she was the protector of her mother in her wayward father's absence.

Still, she did have hair like a member of Montley Crue! Some of her styles were so incredibly butch. So I have to wonder if some of it was not inspired by real-life lesbian styles.

Her tough and masculine look -- like the ties and masculine jackets and matchy pantsuits from the last few seasons-- also could have been done for comic effect-- to give her interesting color and contrast set against the other women--as much as to make a statement about who Jo is/was. So in other words, no lesbian subtext or lesbian identity may have been intended at all.

[PartyOfOne]

Originally Posted by Coffee Florence

The wardrobe person on the facts of life really played up Jo being a lesbian or wanting to dress like one. Some of her clothes and hair are still popular in the lesbian community today. The ties and feathered hair. It wasn't just 80s. It was very lesbionic. What also was up with Jo looking turned off whenever college men hit on her? If she was supposed to be straight. it made no sense how they wrote in the script how surly and turned off she would get by any man even looking at her romantically. The times she responded warmly to men were when they wanted to do buddy things like go to movies or repair motorcycles. The writers/directors did not have many scenes in later seasons where she appreciated men making romantic passes. Along with the ridiculous manly clothes-- male suits and ties, and over-sized clothes hiding her female body completely--it seemed like the producers were conspiring to make Jo some kind of lesbian stereotype. Then there was the episode where she wanted to become a nun. I mean how many lesbian experiences could they put in this this character and still claim she was supposed to be straight.

I would say yes.

[Gemini_89]

Originally Posted by StephJ4

I actually disagree. The way I see it Jo didn't like the guys hitting on her because she wasn't interested. Not because she was a lesbian but because she didn't want to date at the time.

I mean her first love was Eddie. Things didn't work out the first time they dated and the second time he cheated and lied to her about it. So at that point she was probably turned off guys and only wanted them as friends. I mean, she usually only hung out with Natalie, Blair, Tootie, and Mrs. Garrett so I wouldn't blame her for wanting some testosterone in her life.

Plus, most of those guys were cocky, very forward, and overly confidant. Let's not also forget that she was basically sexually harassed/assaulted in Season 2 when she went to the dance at the Country Club with Blair's friend instead of Blair so that could have left an impression on her psyche which left her guarded.

As for the clothes I just saw them as her being a tomboy and then later through the years as she opened up more she was more open to a few girly things. I mean Nancy herself is pretty girly. However, Nancy did say in an article that she preferred Jo in her tomboy style versus her wearing dresses a pink because it was more true to her character.

Do you know where i can find this article?