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DAVID FISHER ON ‘SIX FEET UNR’ WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THREE-DIMENSNAL PORTRAYALS OF A GAY MAN ON MASTREAM TELEVISN
When Six Feet Unr buted on HBO 2001, David Fisher’s personal circumstanc matched perfectly wh what was gog on wh portrayals of gay people on televisn. TV had e a long way om the days of gay characters nvertg to straight or beg mcg stereotyp (we’re lookg at you Dynasty and Bewched) but they weren’t exactly nuanced. Most of the out characters were safely rdoned off the ghetto of “gay shows” like Queer as Folk or as sanized versn of gay people on mastream fare like Will & Grace, where gay characters were allowed to make jok about Liza Mnelli but weren’t allowed to actually kiss on the mouth.
In fact, he didn’t really want anyone to know he was gay and felt like he was betrayg his fay, his relign, and his nservative upbrgg jt by ltg after dus. ” Jt like those whewashed gay characters he didn’t want to b anyone’s face se he might make the straight people unfortable. ” He went om beg pigeonholed by his sexual orientatn to beg a well-round and tertg character, who jt happened to be gay and was once kidnapped and forced to smoke crack the back of a van.
The reason he’s important, however, is that David is one of the first three-dimensnal portrayals of a gay man on mastream televisn. Uptight, fty, and an exceptnally private, David’s gay inty certaly rmed his character, but wasn’t the entirety of — a rary for the early days of prtige televisn. Y, he had boyiends and sang the Gay Men’s Chos, but most of the time you see him wh his fay and at work.