Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The post that could make me EXTREMELY unpopular



So let’s talk about something you usually don’t hear from a straight pregnant woman’s mouth- the LGBT community.

How did this come about and what does this have to do with a  Writerly Wednesday?  I’ll get to that…

Last week I was with some people that I had known for forever (whose names will stay anonymous so I have given them new names, but here is how the conversation went.)

Dan:  You know what I saw in People magazine?  You remember Dougie Howser?  Well he’s gay and he’s having twins with his gay lover!
Lisa:  That’s just gross, they don’t need to broadcast it to the world.
Me:  Other people do it and like you didn’t know he was gay from the Dougie days.
Dan:  No he plays that womanizer on that HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER SHOW, why would they even let him play that role?

Here is where I wanted to spiral out on a big rant to them…but I didn’t for reasons that are kind of hard to explain, but I didn’t.  So instead I’m going to blog about my thoughts on the topic.

Playing Straight:
How many homosexual actors have you seen getting flack for playing straight characters?  Recently Sean Hayes got some bad press because people said that he is unbelievable as a straight man on Broadway.

Then how is it that it’s any more believable for a straight man to play a gay man?  So it’s okay for Heath Ledger (RIP) to play a gay cowboy or Eric Mccormack to pay Will on Will & Grace, but if a gay man plays a straight guy OH NO.

It’s been done OH and it’s been done well.  Remember Rock Hudson?  Mr. Brady?  Both homosexual men who played straight men and had housewives everywhere crooning.

But Magan there are totally gay characters on TV now and they are accepted?

Okay have you seen the gay characters on TV?  I think Will from Will &Grace was the manliest one and that’s not saying much…

Most gay characters in television and movies are overly flamboyant.  They are usually dressed to the nines with high voices and always seem to be more like the main character’s accessory than an actual person.

Even shows like Glee are guilty of this.  Sure Kurt’s character is amazing, I mean the “F” word show took my breath away, but how is Kurt usually portrayed?  He’s not a strong gay character, he’s the whiny choir boy with the high voice who is always “scheming” or looking for someone to “make over.”  Why isn’t he interested in something like his dad’s repair shop?  Yes I know they want to show his individuality, but at the same time aren’t they just playing over and over in to the gay stereotype?

What about well rounded characters like Lafayette in True Blood?

Let’s talk controversial homosexual characters, shall we?  As Lisa said, “Ew I don’t want to see that.”  Well do you really want to see it when straight people or straight characters are all over each other?

Okay maybe it’s just me, but gay/straight/bi-sexual/ or animal I don’t want to see anyone getting it on in public.  Remember the whole Billy Bob Angelina making out on the red carpet?  Ewwwwww…

So what is the point of all that?  The point of all this is to be open.  Whether gay or straight there is no reason not to be accepting.  I remember when  Ellen came out of the closet.  It was the first time I knew of a gay person, so I asked my mom.  “What’s gay?”  She told me it’s when a woman loves another woman or a man loves another man.

I guess I thought about it for awhile then I looked at my mom and said, “Why is it a big deal?  Can’t people just love who they want?”

So take that away with you…whether you’re writing or just reading someone else’s writing.  What’s the big deal?  Can’t we all just love who we want?

5 comments:

  1. I'm a relatively new follower and just wanted to pop in to say I love your post. I agree with what you've covered. Will & Grace examples were great (though I could be rather biased since I love the show heaps!) but it gives such great examples. I think Eric Mccormack does a great job acting as a gay man but I think it's silly to think Sean Hayes couldn't just as well portray a straight man. Unfortunately I haven't seen him in his most recent roles so I have nothing concrete to point out, but he's a good actor. I'm sure he does just fine. (Though I've watched Will & Grace an embarrassingly large number of times I might have a hard time seeing Sean Hayes as someone BESIDES Jack for a little while, I still think he'd be fine.)

    Anyway, off my commenty soap-box! Great post :)

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  2. 1.) Neil Patrick Harris is AWESOME.

    2.) I genuinely can't comprehend why people get so wiggy about gay and lesbian people when they won't bat an eye at the same activity by straight people.

    3.) Why are they "broadcasting" it? You mean why are the tabloids and celebrity rags reporting ON A CELEBRITY? Yeesh. (And by "you," I was of course referring to your friend).

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  3. You took the words right out of my mouth!

    Excellent Post and Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    I probably couldn't have said it better than you.

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  4. Everyone should be able to love who they want. Kudos to your mom for explaining it to you in such a non-judgmental way. And good for you for having the guts to speak about it on your blog. If that makes you unpopular, well, then I guess so am I!

    I have a desktop wallpaper with Neil on a unicorn that says "What Would NPH Do?" It cracks me up in such a good way. He played himself in Harold and Kumar, and still played a "character", one who liked cocaine and strippers.

    Seriously though, an actor is an actor, no matter what their sexuality. If they can convincingly play a part, why shouldn't they? I mean, actors of one nationality are cast as characters of a different nationality or ethnicity all the time. Sexual orientation should be no different.

    Great post!

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  5. I agree with all the following posts! Even though I lost 2 followers (probably didn't need them anyway) it's something that I feel strongly about.

    Meadow- Ummm I totally have Season 1 of W&G on DVD, so it's complete awesomeness!

    Stephanie- My "friends" seem to think that if someone is just being gay and telling people that it's broadcasting. SJP did the same thing using a surrogate for twins and no one batted an eye!

    Tory- I'm sure you can say it all just fine too :), I just word vomit...alot..

    Tere- That's what people don't understand it's "acting." Sometimes I wonder if people really think that actors are like that in real life. I'm pretty sure that Lea Michelle doesn't bust out into song everywhere she goes...okay not 100 percent but pretty sure.

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