Rant on homosexuality and TV
Wow, it's been ancient history since I last posted here. I blame my thesis, as all my writing power goes into that. I will blog in Dutch and English, as usual (except for my rant on spam) as so to learn more English. But today is not about my thesis, although I will update you soon. Today is a rant on homosexuality and TV.
This weekend I've been watching Glee to fill up empty hours. I like the horribly stereotypical characters; the dumb jock, the superficial cheerleader, the fat black girl, the gay guy. What I like about it is that the characters develop, such as the cheerleader who is actually being nice to people in the last few episodes.
One character that never develops in any meaningful way is the gay dude, Kurt. He's stereotypically gay; he loves fashion, pop-music, he talks in a way that I can only describe as stereotypically gay, etc. Obviously it's great, in itself, that gay people are on TV so openly, something that would not have been possible 30 or 40 years ago (or it would've been denied). So good for them, it's a big step in the direction of acceptance and equality.
But there is a problem. Of the four gay male people I know, two are more or less like Kurt. You can tell that they're gay by being in their presence for 10 seconds. They're highly educated and intelligent, that's the main difference with most TV gays I know. The other two however are not recognizable as being gay. They dress like any heterosexual guy would, talk like you 'expect' from any heterosexual guy, they're obsessed with research and science and they had to tell me they're gay or I wouldn't have known.
Now my question is why these 'normal' gays never make it to the big screen? For example, black people are nowadays also more then racistly huge lips and great dance-moves, thank god. So why not gays?
The main reason why gays can't make it on TV looking and acting like a regular Joe, is because it would be a major threat. The way gays are portrayed nowadays, makes sure that anybody can at least shout; 'as if I even want to walk around like that!'.
Ergo, the threat has been disabled because however jealous we may be of the gay persons life, money, intelligence or job (and useless enough for us ladies, of his boyfriend), we can still feel superior because the way that gay people are portrayed is so different from ours. And even if those differences are positive at first glance, like a better taste in clothes, they're been made larger then life so that it becomes a caricature.
Now understand me well, because if you misread, I'd be saying; I feel superior to stereotypical gays. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that the differences that are being made larger-then-life are irrelevant. And as soon as we can label somebody as a flat personality, different and strange, we can feel superior, for instance by saying 'I would never dress that way'. Social theory shows that humans love labeling and rejecting everybody different. That way you can take into the extreme any difference and take the threat away of their possible superiority. You see a difference and label it into something negative. That way you can keep feeling superior as a person and as a group.
The way TV portrays gay people, in short, is a way to keep them in a little cabinet with a big fat label on the door, meant for us to keep feeling superior. It prevents them from integrating into our minds as people we (heterosexual people) can relate and connect to. Even though they're the same in every relevant way but sexual orientation. That feeds the feelings of inferiority that gays face every day in this society. Acceptance and equality are further away then ever, because now instead of being an invisible part of 'us', they're an apart, recognizable and quickly caricaturized group. I think it's time for a real shocker. Let's see what happens if Brad Pitt turns out gay. I'm curious!
This weekend I've been watching Glee to fill up empty hours. I like the horribly stereotypical characters; the dumb jock, the superficial cheerleader, the fat black girl, the gay guy. What I like about it is that the characters develop, such as the cheerleader who is actually being nice to people in the last few episodes.
One character that never develops in any meaningful way is the gay dude, Kurt. He's stereotypically gay; he loves fashion, pop-music, he talks in a way that I can only describe as stereotypically gay, etc. Obviously it's great, in itself, that gay people are on TV so openly, something that would not have been possible 30 or 40 years ago (or it would've been denied). So good for them, it's a big step in the direction of acceptance and equality.
But there is a problem. Of the four gay male people I know, two are more or less like Kurt. You can tell that they're gay by being in their presence for 10 seconds. They're highly educated and intelligent, that's the main difference with most TV gays I know. The other two however are not recognizable as being gay. They dress like any heterosexual guy would, talk like you 'expect' from any heterosexual guy, they're obsessed with research and science and they had to tell me they're gay or I wouldn't have known.
Now my question is why these 'normal' gays never make it to the big screen? For example, black people are nowadays also more then racistly huge lips and great dance-moves, thank god. So why not gays?
The main reason why gays can't make it on TV looking and acting like a regular Joe, is because it would be a major threat. The way gays are portrayed nowadays, makes sure that anybody can at least shout; 'as if I even want to walk around like that!'.
Ergo, the threat has been disabled because however jealous we may be of the gay persons life, money, intelligence or job (and useless enough for us ladies, of his boyfriend), we can still feel superior because the way that gay people are portrayed is so different from ours. And even if those differences are positive at first glance, like a better taste in clothes, they're been made larger then life so that it becomes a caricature.
Now understand me well, because if you misread, I'd be saying; I feel superior to stereotypical gays. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is that the differences that are being made larger-then-life are irrelevant. And as soon as we can label somebody as a flat personality, different and strange, we can feel superior, for instance by saying 'I would never dress that way'. Social theory shows that humans love labeling and rejecting everybody different. That way you can take into the extreme any difference and take the threat away of their possible superiority. You see a difference and label it into something negative. That way you can keep feeling superior as a person and as a group.
The way TV portrays gay people, in short, is a way to keep them in a little cabinet with a big fat label on the door, meant for us to keep feeling superior. It prevents them from integrating into our minds as people we (heterosexual people) can relate and connect to. Even though they're the same in every relevant way but sexual orientation. That feeds the feelings of inferiority that gays face every day in this society. Acceptance and equality are further away then ever, because now instead of being an invisible part of 'us', they're an apart, recognizable and quickly caricaturized group. I think it's time for a real shocker. Let's see what happens if Brad Pitt turns out gay. I'm curious!
posted by Miriam @ 9:20 a.m.
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