Gay Days
Connecticut legislation has now passed civil unions to gays. They are the first state in the nation to do so on their own without the intervention of the court system. Vermont allows civil unions. Massachusetts allows gay marriage. San Francisco has battled for it. A local high school is now having some kind of gay acceptance day where the students can wear rainbow arm bands to denote their approval of the cause.
Television now airs show such as "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", "Queer Eye for the Straight Girl", "Queer as Folk", and shows where characters in the cast are open gay such as "Will and Grace"
Not being old enough to really know, I wonder if this movement is somewhat like the black equality movement in the early sixties. No that's a poor statement on my part. Guess what I'm try to say is that I notice only some elements in common and it may be totally unfair to compare. People feeling oppressed and people pushing hard in both directions for their own views in huge numbers. Being all over the news. Guess that's what I'm doing such a poor job at writing down here.
The whole subject of gay rights is just play and replayed by the media so much that I'm sure many people are simply tired of hearing it. I would think that some people who are strongly against homosexually after hearing these things so repeatedly must become enraged (proverbially rubbing salt into a wound) further added fuel to the fire in this debated subject.
Don't get me wrong. Don't get me wrong at all. I'm not trying to be down about anything. I'm just trying to bring up the topic a bit (am I feeding the fire now?) and explain my concern that the hype may be drawing people away from the true issues.
Oh, and I am a fan of "Will and Grace"...And I still want an arm band!!!
2 Comments:
The problem is, none of those shows reflect the reality of gay life because, all told, much gay life is unremarkably similar to anyone else's with the obvious exception of same-sex attraction... but then, same-sex attraction isn't even limited to those who self-designate as gay, so I'm not sure if I can say there's any ultimate distinction at all other than gay people get beaten up, murdered and spat at for being themselves while others, usually, don't.
I find Will and Grace at times insulting to me as a gay man. The largely female following of the show comes away with the impression that all we are about is having fun, being shallow, having lots of money and making out. The characters are not so much progressive as caricatures which are presented in such a way as to make them somewhat more insidious and less offensive, on the surface, than the few representations we had in earlier TV shows.
While some gay men will find their own lifestyles mirrored in such shows as this and Queer Eye, many of us don't. I find it incredibly tiresome that people either prejudge me on the basis of my sexuality as either loathesome for preconceived ideas on what I do, or wonderful for pretty much the same preconceived ideas...
Truth is, I'm coming up to eight years with my partner and we're about to start a family. Sure, I'm creative - I was even a hairdresser before I was a writer - but I am far, far removed from the image the media presents today, which is more a capitalist's wet dream than anything other than just one tiny slice of what it means to be gay in the UK or anywhere else today. And still, the unpalatable truths of persecution and death aren't dealt with; you'd hardly expect them to be in a comedy and that's why I question whether, ultimately, Will and Grace does anything to further our freedoms. Personally, I think it does much to undermine us and pin us down to stereotypes because, then, you know where you are. If we acknowledge the boundaries as blurred, people as truly diverse, then for some things start to get really frightening...
I'm signing off with my Blogger account but only because you don't allow 'other' as an option, my friend.. but my blog can be found at spicycauldron.com x
First off I'd like to thank you for taking the time to write back to me. Although I look at "Will and Grace" differently than you do, I think I can understand how you could be offended at times, as I think you are right in pointing out that they certainly do project certain stereotypes. I guess one thing adding to the dilema is that there are indeed people who seem to emulate those stero types, but I would also think that then are a small minority. I'd hope viewers would have the common sense to know not all gay men are like this, but can understand how you could be frustrated knowing somewhere out there some people are taking it all in as realistic.
I personally, don't see it as something that would undermine the gay community. I just see it as entertainment. I'm glad that you've shared your point of view, as now I may look at it with a wider view.
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