Friends had gay characters, but was still problematic. So many tim alienated s LGBTQ dience by makg qutnable jok at their expense.
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'FRIENDS: THE RNN': GAY FATHER DRAG TO SGLE MOTHERHOOD, 5 WAYS SHOW WAS FAR AHEAD OF S TIME
The cln of a gay character the h '90s s uld have been a landmark moment for LGBTQ+ reprentatn. * friends gay tv *
It has bee a way for to look at (and argue about) enormo societal issu — racism, misogyny, homophobia — through the lens of a s. This tensn is perfectly exemplified season two’s “The One Wh the Lbian Weddg, ” an episo that’s equal parts envelope-phg and full of gay panic. Their not-yet-legal unn is officiated by Candace Ggrich, the LGBTQ rights activist and siblg of Newt Ggrich (who when the episo aired 1996 was one of the most visible anti-gay policians power).
Out Magaze fds you the bt gay TV shows, ma for and about LGBT people, LGBT fai, and LGBT culture. Read reviews of new seri, tch up wh episo reps, watch clips of all your favore scen, and get to know wh the actors via terviews. * friends gay tv *
On the gay-panic si, everythg else about the weddg is refully curated to be as ut and heteronormative as possible: The bris are walked down the aisle by men, wearg long, pastel gowns — a cisn ma by stume signer Debra McGuire, who later explaed: “I really loved the ia of the women beg women, of them lookg betiful and feme, bee of the stereotyp about gay women. Though Ellen DeGener’s g out was still a year away, gay unns and kiss weren’t unheard of: Fox s Roc picted a same-sex weddg 1991 (albe also whout a kiss).
Acrdg to a newly published look behd the scen of the smash s, Generatn Friends: An Insi Look at the Show that Defed a Televisn Era, the show's wrers pched a B-plot which Chandler Bg (Matthew Perry) sneaks to a gay bar, not for the queer mrarie or the love of ABBA songs but bee he lik the tablishment's tuna melts. The male characters on Friends showed a noted disfort and disda toward LGBTQ+ people durg s 10 seasons -- om Chandler's aversn to his transgenr parent (played by Kathleen Turner, still slayg the role) to a particular episo which Ross (David Schwimmer) sists his male nanny mt be anytime LGBTQ+ people are brought up through the show, 's played for lghs -- whether 's the nng joke that people thk Chandler is gay or an episo where Joey (Matt Leblanc) nvc an actg stunt who he is petg for a role on All My Children to play the character "homosexually. "In perhaps the most on-the-nose pictn of s tenncy toward gay panic for cheap lghs, Joey and Ross eak out the seventh season of Friends after they accintally fall asleep together on the uch.
"While would be easy to dismiss Friends as a product of s time, many of s ntemporari were well ahead on LGBTQ+ reprentatn -- om Blanche (Rue McClanahan) learng to embrace her gay brother on The Goln Girlsto the groundbreakg same-sex weddg Roseanne.
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Intertgly, when creators David Kffman and Mara Kffman reflected on the storyl they regret, neher of them mentned the show's homophobic history.
The plot was cut for unknown reasons, but certaly would've been a groundbreakg moment for gay reprentatn, nsirg how big of a h the show beme. In 2016, Cha issued new guil sayg televisn shows shouldn’t clu story l volvg gay relatnships, as well as other topics that “exaggerate the dark si of society.
” The eight-page document referenced “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy ntent” and emed homosexualy, extramaral affairs, one-night stands and unrage love as beg off-lims. When the film “Bohemian Rhapsody, ” a bpic of Brish rock band Queen, released Cha 2019, more than two mut of LGBTQ ntent were removed om the film, cludg scen of two men kissg and the word “gay.