Boys on the Side
Throughout the movie we can see the possibility of interracial friendship and lesbian love. All through the movie Jane is friends with white people. Also everyone in the movie is ok with the fact that Jane is a lesbian. She even had a little fling with Holly at one point in their past. There are differences between the women but they form a bond even though Jane is black and a lesbian. The only time in the movie where the girls aren't getting along is when Jane and Robin have a falling out over the idea of Jane being in love with Robin. We also see in the movie a little bit of homophobia and rascism when Robin's mom comes to visit. She is apalled that Robin is living with a black lady and a lesbian. However, later in the movie she comes to cope with that fact that Jane is one of Robin's best friends and she even comes to like Jane. The issue of homophobia and lesbian love are never really brought up in a bad context within the movie so in this sense I would say that they do "skirt" those issues. But for the most part it seems to be generally accepted by most people.