My Hband's Not Gay is fely not worth the uproar | US televisn | The Guardian

Contents:

• MY HBAND'S NOT GAY
• THE PROFOUND LACK OF EMPATHY MY HBAND'S NOT GAY
• MY HBAND'S NOT GAY PREMIERE ON TLC: WHERE TO WATCH THE NTROVERSIAL SHOW OPPOSED BY GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS
• EP 19. MY HBAND'S NOT GAY
• WTF? TLC'S NEW SPECIAL MY HBAND'S NOT GAY IS EVEN WEIRR THAN IT SOUNDS: WATCH NOW
• MY HBAND'S NOT GAY: PILOT
• WHY TLC’S ‘MY HBAND’S NOT GAY’ IS WORTH WATCHG
• MY HBAND'S NOT GAY IS FELY NOT WORTH THE UPROAR
• TLC'S “MY HBAND'S NOT GAY” STARS A PROMENT “EX-GAY” ACTIVIST

MY HBAND'S NOT GAY

It has started a ntroversy—one that reveals a lot about cultural tensns brilliance of the televisn special My Hband's Not Gay begs wh s name.

And prompts the pable, skg feelg that the lady doth prott too much: If she has to expla that her hband's not gay, she's already admted that his attractn to her is ls than, many people are angry about My Hband's Not Gay, which is s send stroke of brilliance. The TLC show, which aired on Sunday night, follows four men who all experience "same-sex attractn, " or "SSA, " but who don't want to live "the gay liftyle" bee of their Mormon relig beliefs.

As one of the men's wiv, Tanya, phily puts : "SSA, not gay. " In the lead-up to the special's premiere, more than 100, 000 people signed a petn to get ncelled, claimg promot "'reparative therapy, ' a discreded and dangero practice that falsely claims to turn gay people straight. This approach to programmg succeeds, wildly, bee 's a pure distillatn of the appeal of realy televisn: self-righteo problem, though, wh makg realy televisn about gay men who don't want to be gay is that will variably lack empathy for the pa that likely f those men's liv.

THE PROFOUND LACK OF EMPATHY MY HBAND'S NOT GAY

The failure of My Hband's Not Gay is one of style, not substance; but the fact that has been protted for s substance says a lot about the cultural tensns surroundg homosexualy Ameri.

The openg of My Hband's Not Gay is a straight llback to the the openg sequence of the fictnal HBO seri Big Love, about a polygamo fay of fundamentalist Mormons. They're also playful about gay stereotyp, like not beg able to play sports. And my attractn to mal—those are the two thgs that are kd of gay about me.

It's a bound performance of sexualy: They've stctured their relatnships so that they n exprs their feelgs of attractn and even toy wh gay inty while still settg firm lims on their behavr.

MY HBAND'S NOT GAY PREMIERE ON TLC: WHERE TO WATCH THE NTROVERSIAL SHOW OPPOSED BY GAY RIGHTS ACTIVISTS

The hbands n to an old iend who has cid to "live the gay liftyle"—what will he say to them? Watchg My Hband's Not Gay is like the passive emotnal experience of wanrg through a low-budget rnival, gawkg at the sishow eaks for a short moment before losg attentn and movg on.

All three of the upl featured have worked wh an anizatn lled Voic of Hope, sharg their experienc on tape and speakg publicly support of "non-gay liftyl" for people who experience "same-sex attractn. " While uld fairly be lled propaganda, 's not exactly "prayg away the gay": Voic of Hope is part of the Mormon anizatn North Star Internatnal, which says on s webse that "whether or not dividuals choose to make efforts to dimish or elimate homosexual feelgs, and whether or not those efforts succeed, is ls important to North Star’s purpos.

Sendg the msage that beg gay is somethg that n and ought to be changed, or that you should reject your sexual orientatn by marryg someone of the oppose sex, " the petn says.

EP 19. MY HBAND'S NOT GAY

More straightforwardly: This show reprents a worldview that says beg and actg gay is a s.

WTF? TLC'S NEW SPECIAL MY HBAND'S NOT GAY IS EVEN WEIRR THAN IT SOUNDS: WATCH NOW

By airg a televisn special about this worldview, objectors say, TLC is implicly endorsg —which is a form of will be the next great nflict surroundg gayns Ameri: between those who mand acceptance of homosexualy and those who fd morally unacceptable. Arguably, a gree of cultural civily toward the gay muny has been tablished, even among those who disagree wh homosexualy.

It's a sign of jt how far gay rights have e Ameri that TLC would be lled out for even acknowledgg a worldview that isn't fully acceptg of gayns. The objectns aren't about wng legal rights, or enanchisement, or even civily; they're about wng total cultural acceptance of homosexualy. The upl My Hband's Not Gay have created liv they say they want, liv that are tolerant of homosexualy every way except choosg, themselv, to have gay sex.

MY HBAND'S NOT GAY: PILOT

Of urse, that's not what happened My Hband's Not Gay, but that probably uldn't be helped; nuance don't tend to be the tramark of realy televisn. But if possible, My Hband's Not Gay should be treated as a varsy-level exercise fdg empathy; even for those who disagree wh the choic the upl have ma, they may still regnize the stggle.

My Hband's not Gay/TLC. My Hband's Not Gay, a TLC realy show will air the liv of four men who openly discs their feelgs for other men, but lead happily married heterosexual liv, special documentary will foc on four Mormon men who talks openly about their same sex attractns, while they are married to women, and don't nsir themselv of the four men says, "I'm attracted to my wife, for sure, and I'm fely attracted to men, too. But wh our fah God we believe we n overe anythg, " he says the TLC promo Hband's Not Gay airs on 11 January on TLC here to watch the show onle.

WHY TLC’S ‘MY HBAND’S NOT GAY’ IS WORTH WATCHG

@TLC You're new show My Hband's Not Gay is anti-gay, irrponsible and dangero to youth. — Andrea (@theyoungerghost) January 10, 2015Is TLC TV anti-gay?

"My Hband's Not Gay"=DISASTER. Pls learn about gay suicis before nsirg stori that may e #ETnow — Normal Relatnship (@GayGirls) January 10, 2015@TLC is termed to bee the most antigay non-news work Christopher Daemon (@daemonphotog) January 8, 2015Please, @TLC. Stop your lazy anti-gay approval.

MY HBAND'S NOT GAY IS FELY NOT WORTH THE UPROAR

'My Hband's Not Gay' is an episo that featur four Mormon men who have the unique or unual sire to live a heterosexual liftyle; however, they claim that they are attracted to men. The men refer to themselv as "SSA" or "same-sex attracted, " not gay, and believe that they are not vlatg their fah by ntug to live wh their wiv.

The men exprs their beliefs and share their feelgs on how they have always known they were attracted to men, but they do not see themselv as homosexual.

The men explore why they want to have straight, tradnal marriag stead of livg openly as gay men.

TLC'S “MY HBAND'S NOT GAY” STARS A PROMENT “EX-GAY” ACTIVIST

Addnally, a group of gay men who promote the ia of livg an openly gay liftyle is shown havg a discsn on why society tends to stigmatize people who have non-tradnal liftyl. TLC is planng to air a special January tled My Hband's Not Gay.

TLC"I get a ltle fensive when somebody lls my hband gay, " one of the wiv not before she is told a spirual meetg that "the whole act is agast the teachgs of the gospel. My Hband's Not Gay will air on TLC on Jan.

My Hband's Not Gay - Season 1 Episo 1 - Vio Detective.