Dec 17 2009
Homosexuality On Television Has Worsened the Stereotype
I will begin this article with a quote from a paper written by a college student (this is the full paper)
The television show Will and Grace is similar to Friends in that its frequent representations of homosexuality serve mainly to reinforce negative, cultural stereotypes about gay men
I bring up this topic after having seen Modern Family for the first time last night. While the show was definitely funny I am yet again reminded of a terrible representation of homosexuality by the character Cameron Tucker played by Eric Stonestreet. Cameron is clearly flamboyant to the point of acting like a female but even more “girly” and effeminate than most females are.
I mean, is this how gay people want to be represented?
Think about it. Think hard. I applaud Will and Grace for having the balls to make a show where two of its four centerpieces are homosexual, but I think the show clearly missed the mark. Are all gay guys fashion buffs? Do all gay men talk like that? Do all gay men only think about having sex with other men, and grossly I might add?
Now I want you to think about all the gay characters you’ve seen on television since Will and Grace. If you can name more than 3 that have been “straight” acting then I’d be highly surprised.
I’m actually kind of shocked that the gay community hasn’t come out to complain about this. If the “girly,” shrilly, female drama queen who speaks with funny “s” sounds gay stereotype is the minority in real life (which it more than likely is) then why aren’t more gay men getting pissed at how they’re portrayed on TV and in movies for that matter?
Look at what MTV has done. Have you ever seen a gay guy on the Real World that wasn’t a drama queen psycho? I’ll give you one, and one only. Pedro Zamora from Real World III and that was like 15 years ago.
I don’t know. I’m just kind of disturbed that almost every time we see a gay person on a TV show that they have to be so…..gay? There are plenty of homosexuals out there who you’d never know were that way. But it’s like if it’s on TV you’ll never mistake a gay guy because they make it so damn obvious.
Clearly I have no beef with homosexuals. Your sexual preference is your own. I happen to be straight but again, have zero problem with someone being a homosexual. However, I think that there should be more of a push for this group to not be represented in a way that more than likely doesn’t accurately portray the majority of gays in this country.
Thanks for your time.
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Natty for the first time I think I have to disagree with you here… somewhat. I do realize there are a lot of gay characters on tv that are pretty over the top, but then again, that’s what most sitcom characters are. They’re caricatures of typical people. Plus, it seems that the general public simply finds the mannerisms of effeminate homosexuals pretty funny. So while I don’t think that it’s a perfect representation of the general gay community, it’s one that the general tv watching population seems to find humorous, harmless, and all in good fun.
Think about some common type characters on any show. Do you really think that most cops are like the ones in police dramas? Or that the father characters we see on tv are beer swilling, football loving, flannel and jeans wearing disgruntled middle aged men who still have just enough love for their family to make everything laughable? Most of television is overly saturated with stereotypes anyways, so why would we expect something different for gay characters?
Here’s three homosexual tv characters that I think act pretty “straight”, or rather ones that I probably wouldn’t presume to be gay if I met them in real life:
1. Oscar from The Office
2. Keith Charles from Six Feet Under
3. Jack Harkness from Torchwood
bonus:
4. Your male elf mage in Dragon Age: Origins, but only if you play your cards right.
One homosexual “straight acting” character that stands out for me, and probably a lot of other people, has to be Omar Little in The Wire. Nothing effeminate about him, doesn’t “camp” it up the most flamboyant thing he does is wear a blue silk dressing gown.
Despite being on ABC Family of all places, the show Greek has probably the most positive portrayal of homosexuality I’ve seen on TV this decade. One of the main characters and at least a half dozen recurring characters are gay guys (plus a couple lesbians), and not a single one is a giggling stereotype. In fact the main gay character is basically the show’s resident jock and is, for lack of a better term, probably the “straightest” behaving gay I’ve seen on TV.
Friday Night Lights is also pretty good for this. One of the assistant coaches of the football team is gay, and the town mayor and one of the recurring high school characters are lesbians, with the added twist that because of the small, conservative town the show takes place in, all of them are closeted.
Ok so that’s not more than 3, but what about some of the dudes from Oz, or the other half of the guy from Six Feet Under. I know these aren’t national network shows but still.
I dunno, I guess it jsut doesn’t surprise me that most gay guys are depicted this way on television.
And I guess to be safe on the record here I should mention that I have zero problems with any sexual preference and accept all forms of relationships as valid. (Except those that include animals.)
Like I said, my point is that the portrayal of gays is skewed and I’m surprised not more has been said about it.
But ill, you make very good points about how other characters are also “ballooned.”
I mean yeah, all TV is drama and inflated. HOWEVER, I think the characters you speak of, it’s more common knowledge that those characters are supposed to be over the top.
Since Gays are new in terms of TV, perhaps it’ll take time for people to understand that they too are “ballooned”
One last thing. Sorry I troll this site so much. I get bored as shit at work and you guys always post stuff I’m interested in. Plus the url isn’t blocked… yet
Darn it, someone took my ‘Oscar’ answer.
I do like the point that was made saying all characters on sitcoms are not ‘real-life’ I hadn’t really thought about it before but I agree 100%. My best-friend (male) is gay and I’m straight (female) so the running joke is that I got the raw end of the deal because he’s not into clothes/home decor/the arts/etc which isn’t fair to him. We call them Mythical Gays =)
What a gay article.
I agree with what you’re saying but I’ve found the most shrill and flambouyant portrayals (if you can call them that) of homosexuals have been on reality tv. But again, it seems with reality tv it’s the whole “exaggerated” personallity type rules that apply to most tv. I would’ve thought the same as you until everyone started listing pretty damn good examples but the thing is, those aren’t really from mainstream tv. Which I think proves that the general public isn’t really comfortable with homosexuals unless they can view them as something completely different from themselves.
What a gay response
ILLEATURFAMILY….im with you i love this site im a troll too i dont comment as much because have the time i agree directly with madison and natty…with that being said im worried about the day they block this url at work im going to cry
i meant “half” the time…since i know someone will correct me
Sadly I run into a lot of gay guys who act like the stereotype…also with 90% of Hollywood being homosexual themselves…it’s kinda hard to cry foul. But I digress.
@ Ryan
Well lets pray that our workplaces dont block this site for us any time soon.
This is a good argument that we have going here though.
Well, the ‘gay community’ may not have a comment on their portrayal on TV because some of them are that flamboyant. I saw a gentleman walking down the street, talking on the phone and his voice was high pitched in that weird nasal accent and he was rolling his hips in a way no woman would be seen dead doing. He’s not the only one I have noticed being this way. On the other hand, a doctor at my workplace is gay and he’s just like any other dude. While these portrayals are overblown caricatures they are based on observation, even though now it seems like a cookie cutter character.
now while i’m sure your right that yea there’s TONS of gay people out there that until they tell you ‘yea im gay’ you wouldn’t know. however in my personal experience ANY gay man i’ve met has been the ‘stereotype’ and had the ‘gay accent’ and dressed flamboyantly (think big gay al from south park).
never had a problem w/em but i see your point on the well.. that it’s a stereotype. Like I feel like asking em ‘so BEFORE u realized that you were into dudes did you.. talk normally and not wear pink shirts all the time?’ (never would but get what i mean? like are they willfully perpetuating this ‘faggy’ stereotype or what?) it’d be like i dunno… if hollywood treated every tv/movie lesbian as a bull dyke with flannel shirts and brush cut hair and we obviously know thats not true.
i’m really not sure where this post is going so i’ll end it now.
I think you make an excellent point in your article Nat.
As most have pointed out sitcoms thrive on stereotypes. Modern Family actually disappointed me with it’s stereotypes. Especially of the two gay characters. I do think Oscar from the Office is an excellent character.
As far as gay stereotypes are concerned, I am surprised that no one has mentioned the two gay brothers who appeared on the most recent season of “The Amazing Race”. They sure didn’t fit the gay “foofy” stereotype that we are used to seeing, but I found them to be a refreshingly harsh depiction of a segment of the gay population that doesn’t get much screen time. The bitchy jock queen. I’ve had many a conversation about them with gay friends who were embarrassed by the way those two conducted themselves on the show. However, none of my friends could deny how sadly accurate they were in terms of depicting a very different gay stereotype. It was refreshing for me to know that America was being shown that some of those kitties have claws.
You know, I think its funny how some people write articles asking the question as to why a certain group of people, a group in which you do not belong, are not offended or causing a stink over flamboyantly portrayed characters. Why is it our place to tell others, whether it be gays or black or midgets, that they should be offended at this overstereotypical entertainment that is beamed to us. I have known many homos in my days, and believe it or not, they have pretty tough skin. In fact, I live with three lesbians right now, and they say fag and queer and homo as derogitory remarks all the time, and they aren’t offended when I use them either. Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever offended a gay man by anything I have said either, except for one, and I ended up breaking his heart. All’s Im sayin is that whether or not these stereotypes are negative or positive, they can be somewhat accurate. I have a gay friend who watches football, drinks beer, and could care less if his belt matches his shoes, but I also have one who enters drag queen beauty pagents on the weekend who acts very much like Jack from Will and Grace. They aren’t offended because they understand that while they may not be as over the top as this television character, they know someone who is. So why don’t you write about being uncomfortable with something that offends you personally. For example, I am somewhat off put about the fact that every time a character from Texas shows up, he or she wears a cowboy hat and boots and shoots guns in the air while screaming “Yeeeehaw!” I’ve lived here my whole life and never witnessed such a creature. So until you, nattyb, see a nerdy web-columnist, or whatever your day job is, do something that is offensive to you, keep off of everyone’s side. If black people want to say the “N” word, leave it be. If a midget portrays a troll in a movie, let the midgets deal with it. It’s not your fault a comedian makes fun of the small penis size of the Asian population. Let these being stereotyped worry about it, and laugh at the irony, or say “Aww isn’t he cute,” or proclaim, “Hey at least they are good at math!” Its the same thing when Tropic Thunder came out and everyone was in a tizzy over the use of the word “retard.” Mostly it was the retard rights activists that were offended, not the retards themselves. I don’t know, whatever. This is going on too long. Political correctness bothers me. I just wish people in this country would stop being little bitches and learn to laugh at themselves. Peace out fags!
illeaturfamily posted earlier about Capt. Jack Harkness being a straight-acting gay. Jack’s not gay. the character doesn’t understand the idea of sexuality. i’m just saying.
but anyway, all of the gays on Greek by ABCfamily are actually accurate. and so is Mitchell on Modern Family. Ugly Betty has accurate gays too, even if they are effeminate. Oscar on The Office, Ianto Jones, and hell, even Will on Will & Grace are accurately gay.