TV and Images of Homosexuality

Normally I blog about current events and politics and try to stay away from entertainment news and events. Recently I have been watching a lot of the new reality shows on the Bravo channel and I am really disturbed by the shows’ portrayal of homosexual men and women.

Instead of trying to break stereotypes about gay men and lesbians, many of the characters on these shows reinforce them. One of the newest shows on Bravo this year is Top Design which is a competition for interior designers. Many of the men who participated in the show were homosexuals were over the top and seemed as though they were acting rather than showing who they really were. And if I remember correctly, it is a stereotype for gay men to be an interior designer. I also couldn’t stand Johnathan Adler, a famous interior designer who was also the head judge on the show. He really played into the overly effeminate gay man stereotype that is so prevalent in our society and it really pissed me off.

Another show on Bravo which has homosexual characters is Workout, which I really enjoy watching. This show chronicles the daily adventures of Jackie Warner, the owner of Sky Sport Gym in Los Angeles. Jackie also happens to be a lesbian. Her trainers are a very diverse group of people including two gay men. These men actually participated in a very heated conversation about what connoted a gay man. One trainer, Doug, gave an interview to a Los Angeles magazine about how he was a better role model/spokesperson for the LGBT community. His reasoning was that he wasn’t acting over the top and flaming like the other trainer.

This discussion made me think very hard about how heterosexuals conceptualize what it means to be a homosexual or what homosexuals act like. Honestly, I believe that people (gay, straight, or bisexual) have their own personalities and there should never be labels placed on people. It is human nature to categorize the world in order to make sense of the crazy occurrences on the planet earth. Unfortunately, some people never make it past the label of homosexual and miss the opportunity to get to know the personality that is under that label.