Ever sce Friends land on Netflix, viewers have been fdg s storyl more and more problematic. From the fat-shamg of young Moni to the jok about gay people, the inic...
Contents:
- HOW MATTHEW PERRY KILLED A GAY STORY FOR HIS CHARACTER ‘FRIENDS’
- VIVA LAS GAYGAS: DRAG, DIVAS AND UNEXPECTED LIGHTS
- VIVA LAS GAYGAS BABY!
- VIVA LAS GAYGAS
- VIVA LAS GAYGAS TICKETS
HOW MATTHEW PERRY KILLED A GAY STORY FOR HIS CHARACTER ‘FRIENDS’
The weirdly queerphobic show would have had a story about Chandler Bg sneakg to a gay bar. * viva las gaygas *
It's Viva Las Gaygas: A Caso Cabaret! If anythg, jt happens Las Gaygas, stays Las Gaygas! Turner played Chandler’s parent Charl Bg, who performed as Helena Handbasket for her drag stage show Viva Las Gaygas.
’ I said y, bee there weren’t many drag/trans people on televisn at the time, ” Turner told the Gay Tim. In a new book chroniclg the massively popular NBC s Friends, a wrer om the seri says that actor Matthew Perry (who played the joke-crackg character Chandler Bg) nixed a storyle that had him sneakg to gay bars bee he loved their tuna melt sandwich.
Bg’s blogil father — who works as drag and burlque performer Helena Handbasket a revue lled “Viva Las Gaygas” — also beme a repeated punchle, subject to misgenrg and transphobia spe her beg a fabulo and self-assured dividual.
VIVA LAS GAYGAS: DRAG, DIVAS AND UNEXPECTED LIGHTS
* viva las gaygas *
It’s unclear if Handbasket was supposed to be gay or trans, but the fact that the character was played early on the seri by a cis male and was later on portrayed by actrs Kathleen Turner suggts the latter. “Chandler and Joey were repeatedly mistaken for a gay uple, male characters were mocked for perceived ‘feme’ behavr, Ross is unable to handle the ia of havg a male nanny, and Chandler was equently portrayed as beg paranoid about beg thought of as gay. In 2011, vio artist Tijana Mamula put together a 50-mute vio entled “Homophobic Friends” which showed the seri’ ongog e of queerphobic humor durg s 10-year n.
In fact, wh the benef of hdsight, ’s easy to see how the show bolstered homophobia and transmisogyny our culture for years to, when Friends unr fire for s msy history wh queerns, fans and advot pot to the way the show was received upon s arrival the mid-90s. Commentg on the show’s one-night revival 2016 for the Chigo Tribune, Bethonie Butler oped that “[w]rg Friends off as homophobic ignor the cln of Ross' ex-wife, Carol, and her partner, San, ” two supportg characters who helped propel the show to two GLAAD Media Award nomatns and one w for Outstandg Comedy ’s certaly te that any semi-rpectful portrayal of lbian love 1990s televisn was rare at bt, but that don’t mean San and Carol’s plotle was good.
Ross unsuccsfully bids to attach his last name to theirs when namg their child “The One Wh the Sonogram At the End, ” and reflects glumly that he should have known Carol was gay bee she drank beer “straight om the n” the seri pilot (“The One Where Moni Gets a Roommate”); even when Ross and San bond “The One Wh the Lbian Weddg, ” ’s wh a dig at Ross’s masculy, as San asks him to dance wh the tongue--cheek offer “I’ll let you lead. Throughout the seri, Chandler exprs mortifitn at havg a “gay dad, ” as Charl’ g-out not only end Chandler’s parents marriage, but led to embarrassment om his schoolyard peers — embarrassment that ntu to adulthood, as the Friends st routely roasts Chandler on this topic. Club lled “one of the bt half-hours the s format ever produced”), the fact that Chandler’s father performs a Las Vegas burlque revue lled “Viva Las Gaygas” is played for lghs when the gang nstcts a “quiz show” about how well they know one another.
VIVA LAS GAYGAS BABY!
I put sre quot around “gay dad” and “he” the precedg paragraph bee Charl Bg’s genr inty is mangled throughout the seri by a team of wrers wh only the shallowt unrstandg of how trans and drag culture overlap. Though Charl is referred to as a gay male drag queen and burlque performer, the character’s few on-screen appearanc Friends’ seventh season seem to dite she is actually a transgenr woman, given that she apparently prents as female 24/7 and is implied to have done so for years. (There’s more textual evince, too: when Chandler and Moni travel to see “Viva Las Gaygas” “The One Wh Chandler’s Dad, ” they’re waed on by a visibly trans wars played by Alexis Arquette — who don’t appear fond of Moni’s cuty bumblg over her pronouns.
In a Gay Tim terview this Febary, Turner said “I don’t thk aged well, ” rellg of Chandler’s father that “everyone thought he was jt drsg up. ”Friends is not a toxic show bee of s overt homophobia or transmisogyny.
That’s not a good thg for a show that peppers random episos wh queerphobic subplots and throwaway you n enjoy Friends 2018, more power to you, but be hont wh yourself about what you’re watchg: a bunch of whe people stg around and makg fun of whoever “acts gay” between hookg up. Around the same time, Temptatn Sundays–the cy’s longt-nng gay pool party–kicks off at Luxor, nng on Sundays through until September. Viva Las Gaygas.
VIVA LAS GAYGAS
The name of Chandler's father's all-male burlque changed multiple tim before settlg on Viva Las Gaygas.
You may rell that Chandler’s father, who was origally portrayed as a gay cis man who was havg an affair wh the pool boy, was later revealed to be a transgenr woman and Las Vegas performer named Helena Handbasket. Related: How Matthew Perry killed a gay story for his character ‘Friends’.
Now intifyg as Helena Handbasket, she worked as burlque performer a revue lled “Viva Las Gaygas” and was said to have attend Chandler’s high school swim meets drsed as different Hollywood starlets. Andrew Wheeler and Chter Pajarillo's Weddg WebseLoadgLoadgLoadgLoadgHamburgerHomeSchleTravelRegistryGalleryThgs To DoFAQsRSVPViva las gaygas baby!
VIVA LAS GAYGAS TICKETS
From the fat-shamg of young Moni to the jok about gay people, the inic s has e unr the microspe as many people realise that a lot of the plots were… well, not very ok hun. Kathleen played Chandler’s dad on the show (Picture: Warner Bros)The 63-year-old told the Gay Tim: ‘I don’t thk ’s aged well.
Kathleen played Charl Bg, who had a drag show lled Viva Las Gaygas which she went by the name Helena Handbasket.
Kathleen adms the show hasnt aged very well Picture: Moni Schipper/WireImage)However, the show portrayed Charl as a gay man who did drag, rather than someone livg their life as a woman, wh Kathleen agreeg: ‘Yeah, people thought Charl was jt drsg up. Viva las gaygas!