Contents:
- GAY CHARACTERS NEED A SEX LIFE, TOO
- THE HIDN GAY LIV FALLY BEG UNVERED
- THIS IS THE BT GAY CHARACTER ON TELEVISN: HOW "MASTERS OF SEX" GETS THE TRAGEDY OF 1950S GAY LIFE RIGHT
GAY CHARACTERS NEED A SEX LIFE, TOO
"The shows don't simply rely on stereotypil "gay bt iends" or feature women kissg as a publicy stunt. Mickey Milkovich's g out on Showtime's "Shamels" was hailed as a moment that shattered gay stereotyp.
Eric Effng, a ma character on "Sex Edutn, " explor what means to be openly gay his relig Ain fay. Although the show largely follows Otis and Eric is technilly Otis' bt iend, would be wholly accurate to place Eric the "gay bt iend" box; actor Ncuti Gatwa, who is also gay real life, says that's by sign. It was jt one year after Ellen Man beme the first character to e out on TV — a move that subsequently tanked "Ellen's" rankgs and likely led to the show's "Will & Grace, " a show that largely foced on two gay men, was so popular that was revived 20 years Msg, who plays Grace, told TheWrap that she origally saw their gay lead (Eric McCormack's Will) as the most "revolutnary" aspect of the show.
THE HIDN GAY LIV FALLY BEG UNVERED
Moreover, featurg two different gay men who were vastly different om one another helped challenge the stereotyp that still plague gay men to this day. Omar Ltle on "The Wire" helped take away some of the stigma that surrounds openly gay black men. HBO's "The Wire" handled Omar's sexualy "a measured and matter-of-fact way, " Glen Weldon wrote for Decir, dubbg the notor stick-up man "one of TV's first gay superhero.
Fox's "Glee" was often praised as an LGBTQ haven, but Kurt — the show's first openly gay character, who famoly kicked a field goal for the football team while performg Beyoncé's "Sgle Ladi" dance — had a particularly strong one of his most memorable moments, Kurt shared a climactic kiss wh Blae that produced ltle to no outrage, a symbolic moment of progrs for onscreen queer reprentatn. But he was also a femme gay man who subverts the "gay bt iend" was granted almost exactly as much screen time as the show's tular character and enjoyed his own plex subplots.
The Showtime show, adapted om the origal Brish versn on Channel 4, followed a group of gay men navigatg discrimatn, the AIDS crisis, same-sex marriage, and the tle suggts, the show featur a number of beloved queer characters. As an openly gay, black police officer, Capta Raymond Holt fought his way through discrimatn on "Brooklyn Ne-Ne.
THIS IS THE BT GAY CHARACTER ON TELEVISN: HOW "MASTERS OF SEX" GETS THE TRAGEDY OF 1950S GAY LIFE RIGHT
He stggled wh discrimatn and homophobia as a member of the NYPD, but eventually achieved his dream of beg promoted to pta and never promised his sense of self. The realism of "Sks" mand that young adults on TV be taken serly as they navigate sex and the show's first out gay character, Maxxie helped open the door for elevated queer story l teen dramas, pecially on that didn't jt revolve around g out.
Especially the ntext of a fay-oriented edy, Mch and Cam helped normalize gay relatnships on TV — pecially sce the show premiered 2009, four years before the Defense of Marriage Act was overturned.
But a world where the Vice Print of the Uned Stat actively supports homophobic polici, an openly gay and fluential polician — even on TV — feels like a relief.