Gays on TV?

27 March 2008, 7:32 pm No Comments

Television: Gays on TV?

This post was submitted by Stephanie, who is still a teacher residing in Columbia Heights.

I mock “The L Word” a lot – I poke fun at the unrealistic story lines; I joke about their odd attempts at incorporating serious topics (baby with the gun); I even dare to make fun of Shane’s curtain-like hair (pictured.) However, at the end of Sunday’s season finale when they announced that next season will be the final season, I threw myself on the floor and faux-sobbed as I cried out something about lesbians going back under the crust of the Earth. I was joking, of course, and it was mostly the cocktail of Blue Moon and PBR in my body speaking, but my sobfest actually set off a pretty interesting debate about gay TV.

As I “wept” I mentioned something about how difficult it was probably going to be to get another decent gay show, particularly one focused on hot lesbians, on the air. One of my gay friends in the room mentioned, “Well, wouldn’t a ‘real’ gay TV show be one that’s like “Friends,” but with one gay friend?” I thought about it, and although I think the point makes sense, I disagreed. And although I can’t claim to have watched many gay guy shows, I quite like watching a show purely about gay people. To me, “The L Word” is just what fictional TV should be – something that makes you laugh, ogle, and think, “Ooo, I want to be a part of that…wait, what the fuck…no I don’t, this shit is motha’ fuckin’ crazy.”

Furthermore, I also don’t think it’s that unrealistic for the whole group of friends to be gay; in many ways, I think it’s more unrealistic to think of Shane or Alice being best friends with Joey or Ross. “Friends” with a gay friend would be like what a lot of real life is for gay people – the person would always be expected to make the gay joke or to sprinkle the gay perspective into a conversation about celery sticks. Instead, an all-gay cast lets those jokes get made and allows characters to casually talk about serious gay issues, but being gay is not any of the character’s defining trait. So, here is what I’ve been wondering about: Do most gays prefer shows that just “incorporate” gay characters or shows that are based around (almost) all gay characters? OR, do you think “Ellen” was perfect so you only watch old episodes on DVD and have no clue what “The L Word” is?

First time here? See what we're all about... Get involved... Send us a tip!...

No Comment »

Ms. Cavanaugh said:

I’m sad it’s ending, since “The L Word” is the only show with any gay content that I watch (not counting when I watched ‘A Shot at Love’).

But more importantly, it reminds of when my life really was like “The L Word,” back when all my friends were lesbians and things were much more dramatic, just like on the show. And then I moved to Washington and all that ended.

27 March 2008 at 9:19 pm

coach said:

i want all-queer charactered shows. living in d.c., i find that my friends are pretty much exclusively homo. this is not a knock on the burbs–but perhaps if i lived in a less-queer community, i’d relate more to being the queer sidekick / token.
but basically, i’ve spent too much of my life fantasizing the moment when lauren and audrina drunkenly hook-up, or pam and kelly put a do-not-disturb sign on the copy room. as schlocky and poorly written and overly-Bettyied as the L Word is, i rub out a rosary bead daily for its fairly frequent, fairly realistic fuckcapades. isn’t this the least we deserve at the end of a 40 hour week?

27 March 2008 at 9:23 pm

Daniel said:

I completely understand Stephanie’s point, but I feel like she is lobbying for all-gay TV shows while also saying that the best part about all-gay TV shows is that the characters aren’t defined by their sexuality, when in fact, it’s much worse; the entire show is defined by the sexuality of the characters.

It’s like saying that gay bars are great because people can be whoever they want, which isn’t true; instead they are supposed to be “gay”… “very, very gay.”

Along the same lines, a single gay character is acceptable on a predominantly straight TV show only if the character is asexual, just as gay people are generally welcomed into “straight” bars as long as they come off as asexual (i.e. don’t start kissing your boyfriend or girlfriend).

If gay characters were mixed in with straight characters, but the gay characters had the same liberty to date and kiss and fight and do everything else that straight characters do, would we still be having this conversation? I doubt it.

27 March 2008 at 9:40 pm

Stephanie said:

Daniel, I actually originally put in something about the point you make – the show being defined by its sexuality – but decided to take it out because my original point was getting lost in it. I agree that the whole show is based around sexuality, but I think that once “inside” of the show, they don’t HAVE to focus the characters as much on being gay, even though, they inevitably are, which is what makes it more fun, enjoyable, and “normal” to watch.

On another note, that picture Zack put in for me doesn’t quite highlight how curtainish Shane’s hair became in season 5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8E243lhGSA&feature=related

Also, I SWEAR I heard something about a second round of Tila Tequila. What a fantastic show.

27 March 2008 at 9:52 pm

Ms. Cavanaugh said:

Agreed. Shane looks pretty awful in season 5. Not that I ever found her super hot, but she definitely fell.

And my best friend wanted to sign me up to audition for the second round of A Shot at Love back in December, but I refused. Though maybe I would have come across as a really normal Dani-esque character. I haven’t heard when it airs yet.

27 March 2008 at 9:57 pm

adam isn't here said: