Friends wasn't a show that seemed designed to teach moral lessons, provide commentary on social ills, or address hardships plaguing the average person (high rent, small apartments, hard work - people often watch comedies on TV to get out of reality, not see more of what they've just lived all day long). It was a situation comedy with its specific sphere of subject matter, and going outside of that would have made it a different show. It wasn't diverse, for sure, but times were and are what they were and are. (And in the early divorce storylines featuring Ross and his ex-wife, Ross was made to look like the butt of the joke almost more than his lesbian ex-wife and partner were.)