One of the ongoing debates within any oppressed group is who should be allowed to be a spokesperson or representative for that group. Often the person who gets the most publicity is someone who might be embarrassing or controversial, like OJ Simpson, or Anne Coulter.
When it comes to the entertainment world, entertainers can be criticized for playing stereotypical roles, thereby reinforcing those stereotypes. At the same time, exposure to minority characters on TV can make them familiar and non-threatening, which can disarm or counter stereotypes.
When I was growing up in the 70’s, I lived in an Italian/Irish suburb in New Jersey without many black friends, but I watched shows like The Jeffersons, Good Times, What’s Happening, and Sanford and Son daily. Interracial couples and race issues where presented and discussed in a comedic context that I had no problem relating to.
I identified with Raj, Dwayne and Rerun from What’s Happening even though their lives were different from mine. While some of the humor on some of these shows may have been stereotypical, overall the effect was positive, and the comedy allowed for the introduction of these characters onto TV.
I think this exposure benefited my sense of racial equality greatly, even if subliminally. And I think the same thing has happened in the 90’s for gays and lesbians, with the advent of Will & Grace, Ellen and Rosie coming out, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, etc.
And now we have Tila Tequila. You could complain she’s just a party girl (her claim to fame is “most friends” on MySpace), but in a sense that’s the point – you know straight and gay party people too, so this is just one more type of person that’s out there. They’re not that different from you.
I think the bottom line is that any exposure is good but we need more diverse exposure. Other groups need to see that bisexuals come from every class, background, and demographic. There are PhD’s, blue collar, rich and poor, bisexuals of every creed and class. Let’s get more of them on TV.
Here are some quotes on the presentation of gays and lesbians on TV and in the media, and these can be applied to the Bi situation as well. There is no consensus, especially when it comes to minorities whose appearance or behavior can be considered stereotypical, like effeminate gays and drag queens. While some are afraid of reinforcing stereotypes, others point out that being publicly gay or trans is a radical transformative act that should be recognized and applauded.
“When I was a boy, the only role models I had were Liberace and Charles Nelson Reilly. I couldn’t play the piano and I wasn’t much good at Match Game so I felt doomed. Now there are countless more images of gay people on television and I am grateful for every one of them, but they don’t represent that many more options. The message I hear is that it’s OK to be gay as long as you are effortlessly stylish, hysterically funny or both.”
- Columnist PG Kain, Houston Chronicle
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“While [Will and Jack] are as stereotypical as Amos and Andy, they help humanize gay life. “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” does that better, for the simple reason that it shows gay and straight men touching and the straight men don’t turn gay, which is what I think a lot of straight teenagers think.”
- Gay author Felice Picano in Montreal’s Hour newspaper
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“I know that a lot of people will watch this show who are not familiar with the gay community, and [they will] start to reconsider their notions of identity — their own and other people’s. I’m really excited by that.”
- Jennifer “Flashdance” Beals who stars in Showtime’s upcoming lesbian series “The L Word,” to Windy City Times, May 21.
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“Several of the straight men have very intense experiences. We anticipate [that] a lot of both gay and straight viewers will have their assumptions challenged about what it means to be gay and what it means to be straight.”
- Douglas Ross, executive producer of the Bravo network TV series “Boy Meets Boy,” a gay-dating reality show that features an eligible man looking for love among a pool of 15 potential mates — some of whom are heterosexual men paid by the program to pretend to be gay
