How portrayal of homosexuality has changed on TV and why it still doesn’t work.
In the last two or three years, token gay characters have become ubiquitous on TV. From CBS’s 90210 to HBO’s Girls, almost every show has one gay character as an excuse for diversity. However, very few shows actually explore gay relationships or give them equal screen time and emotional depth as their heterosexual counterparts. It seemed as if this problem would be resolved when NBC announced The New Normal, a show about a gay couple and the problems they face on their road to parenthood. Naturally, being the perennial optimist, I loved the show. I loved that the homosexual couple wasn’t portrayed any differently from a heterosexual couple on TV. But a week of pondering later, I realize that “normalization” of homosexuality admits that there exists a “normal” and that there is a socially accepted paradigm of what relationships should be. This leads me to question how far the portrayal of homosexuality has changed on silver screen and if this “new normal” is indeed just a rehashing of social dicta.
On September 21, 1998, Will and Grace premiered on NBC and changed how America looks at homosexuality. Eric McCormack played Will, a gay lawyer who is filled with self-doubt, and Sean Hayes portrayed the flamboyant Jack. Both characters together portrayed the spectrum of homosexual expression. Will was more reserved, not necessarily flaunting his sexuality, while Jack was a man who never apologized for who he was. It wasn’t until four years later that the audience found out that Jack was not out to his mother. Jack, in a moment of desperation, yells, “Sometimes, you want to say it, but you just can’t.” This moment’s simplicity, as well as its brutal honestly, portrayed the very real truth about coming out. It is not an easy process, and sometimes, even the most “out” individual cannot say those words to the ones closest to them. The show also portrayed the trials and tribulations that gay men face when negotiating through life — it isn’t all sunny on the other side of the closet. Comedy is perhaps the best way to raise awareness, and Will and Grace did just that. It brought homosexuality to everyone’s living room, did not apologize for it, and was able to show that not all gay men are alike. The criticism that Will and Grace often faced was that it de-sexualized “gay.” In fact, there was little said about the characters’ sex lives, beyond the occasional boyfriend. However, at the time, Will and Grace was a groundbreaking show.
Queer as Folk premiered in the year 2000, and to this date it remains the most honest portrayal of homosexual relationships on screen. Brian, an ad executive at the prime of his career, is the biggest player in Pittsburg, and just when he thinks that he has seen (and done) everything, he runs into eighteen-year-old Justin, who falls head over heels for Brian. The show transcended the boundaries of this romantic relationship to tackle a number of big issues, including HIV, crystal meth, surrogacy, and bisexuality. Even more importantly, it never shied away from the stereotypes. In fact, QAF celebrated a lifestyle that a lot of people who identify as queer might look down upon. Monogamy and promiscuity existed in the show’s milieu as two different aspects of queer relationships. A night at the local club, Babylon, was just as much a fabric of the show’s portrayal of queer life as were the quiet nights sitting beside the fire with a loved one eating food out of a take-out box.
Will and Grace and Queer as Folk ended in 2006 and 2005 respectively, leaving a void on TV for gay relationships that were not tokenized. This space was filled by Modern Family and Glee in 2009. While Modern Family focused on a married gay couple dealing with recent parenthood, Glee focused on a bullied teenager at the cusp of coming out. Modern Family excelled in portraying gay parents, dismissing much of the stigma that has been attached to gay couples and adoption. However, as far as the romantic relationship was concerned, Modern Family did little to go out of the box. Relying on the most rudimentary paradigm of a couple of the 20th century, that of the homemaker and the wage earner, Cameron and Mitchel’s relationship lacked emotional depth and often resorted to clichés. Glee, on the other hand, showed promise in the beginning, fleshing out very real characters in Kurt Hummel and his dad, Burt. Burt’s eventual acceptance of his son’s identity is one of the most touching father-son relationships on screen. Despite that honest portrayal of family life, Glee still faced problems accurately representing gay relationships. Kurt’s relationship with his high school boyfriend, Blaine, was grossly romanticized, and the love triangle with Sebastian was underwhelming at best.
The upcoming TV season showed promise, especially when NBC announced The New Normal, a TV show that treated the homosexual couple just like any other couple on TV. But why do gay couples have to be “just like any other couple”? They don’t need to be “like” anything. Gay relationships are unique, because the people in those relationships have had unique life experiences. If heterosexual couples on screen can have defining characteristics, ones that set them apart from each other, why can’t gay couples work the same way? Why should a gay relationship have the burden of fitting into some heterosexual mold? May be the network believes that fitting a gay relationship into this mold would make TV more palatable. However, as we have realized, the last ten years have changed little in terms of portrayal of gay relationships on screen. This fall, Partners, a show with the same creators as Will and Grace, will premiere on CBS. The show focuses on two relationships – one gay and one straight. This provides significant material for initiating a discussion about the similarities and differences between gay and straight relationships. We will have to wait and see whether this show actually delivers on that promise.
For now, one message is quite clear. TV shows cannot continue this trend of “normalizing” gay. Gay relationships are different, and every gay relationship is unique. Grouping them all together or tokenizing them does little to improve awareness and acceptance of homosexuality on screen. As new shows dare to explore such relationships, they should keep in mind that grouping relationships based on sexual identity is regressive. The New Normal is a great show – it’s funny, lovable, and has a very talented cast. That said, the approach to relationships is at best guided by cliché and at worst actively promoting “normalization.” While networks might believe that the audience isn’t ready for a realistic portrayal of a homosexual relationship, it’s time that they left decision up to the viewers.
Sayantan Deb ‘14 (sayantandeb@college) is waiting for the show that stops apologizing for its characters’ identities.
