Gay TV

10 Pages 2572 Words

The first gay character I recall seeing on tv was a witness to a crime on Dragnet. Neither the character nor anyone else ever mentioned his sexuality, but the wispy voice, limp wrists, and lacey blouse were pretty clear clues that he didn't have a little Mrs. waiting at home. Of course, this was a guest role. In the '60s, a recurring gay or lesbian character would have been a sure sign that Satan had taken control of Hollywood. As a general rule, if you saw a gay character on television back then, he was a middle-aged effeminate man who had witnessed a crime, been the victim of a crime, or was the cross-dressing perpetrator of a crime.

Today, if you see someone with a wispy voice, limp wrists, and lacy blouse on tv, you've probably stumbled onto Joan Rivers hawking face cream on QVC. (Now that I think about it, the queen on Dragnet did bear a frightening resemblance to Joan.) Flaming pansies and butch dykes are no longer the standard representations of homosexuality, though they do linger (Emmitt on Queer as Folk or the lesbian social scientist on Ally McBeal). For the most part, however, television has actually become more inclusive over the last 40 years, striving for more "accurate" portrayals of all aspects of U.S. society.

Consider the many characters who have come out in recent years, including the successful yuppie gay man (Will, Will & Grace), the lipstick lesbian (Lindsay, Queer as Folk), the macho homosexual (Butch, Normal, Ohio), the Wicca lesbian (Willow, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and the high school girl's best friend (Rickie, My So-Called Life). Things are about to change. The number of gay, bisexual and transgendered characters on tv will increase, because Showtime and MTV have joined forces to bring us the first U.S. cable channel focusing solely on matters homosexual. (The new channel has yet to be named.) Last December's announcement brought a flood of reactions, both positive and negative, most centering on t...