It Gets Better!

Instadof trying to talk to you about my Writerness, I'm going to put this message out there.  Some of you may have heard about the Trevor Project and We give a damn.org, but some of you may have not.  As someone who has struggled with writing and identity all my life, I believe we all need that support and it does get better!  Sometimes you just have to have faith and all things will work out, I promise.  I wouldn't be writing this post today if it didn't.

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?