'Are You Being Served?' from 1977 - Class and 'Cat'astrophe: Mrs. Slocombe’s Baby Bombshell

The Problematic Gaze

This week on The Problematic Gaze, we dive paws-first into the fur-covered chaos of Are You Being Served?’s infamous 1977 episode “Mrs. Slocombe Expects.” It’s pregnancy panic at Grace Brothers when Mrs. Slocombe’s feline-related misunderstanding leads to a scandalous stir—and some jaw-dropping innuendos that would never make it past the censors today.

We unpack:

• The smirking sexism behind the staff room banter
• The not-so-subtle class digs and gender politics
• And the complicated legacy of Mr. Humphries — allowed to mince, wink, and flounce across the screen, but never allowed to be gay. John Inman’s performance is iconic, but what does it mean when queerness is only palatable as long as it stays in the realm of innuendo?

Was it cheeky fun or a problematic time capsule? Hit play and find out why this episode is still raising eyebrows nearly 50 years later — and what it says about how far we've really come.

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