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Gay (and straight) ATOTers, Your thoughts on...

Abe Froman

Abe Froman

Golden Member
After a discussion with my flamboyantly gay co-worker, I decided to put this to a vote...

What are your thoughts on such roles as Lloyd from Entourage, Jack from Will and Grace, etc... in regards to Hollywood's and the Medias portrayal of homosexual identity.

Does it make a difference in how you perceive the role if the actor is openly/closeted gay, or straight, ?
 
From personal experience with friends and acquaintances who are homosexual, I'm going to have to simply say that 50% of the gay men and/or women I know personally (totalling maybe 10 people, mind you..) match the TV stereotype quite perfectly. They dress, style, and act exactly how they are typically depicted on TV.

However, the other 50% are either very normal people, or very feminine/quiet/emo people.

So, for all I know, the 50% who resemble TV could simply be acting that way to emulate TV for all I know, but 50/50 odds aren't too horrible.
 
they only had one straight guy on S4 of Runway. Like they're trying to say men can't be stylish or something. I guess that makes all Japanese men gay.

Kinda bothers me, because if there's one thing Americans could use it's better self respect, and insinuating that knowing how to dress makes you gay isn't helping any. Having a personal style makes a huge difference in the way others perceive you. Guess it's just their loss.
 
I don't care. I mean, I've met gay people occupying the entire range of flame, so I don't consider the stereotypes on TV to be "untrue" in any sort of way.

Personally, I find over-the-top flameness to be incredibly annoying, on TV and IRL.
 
I'm straight and I don't generally think anything of it. They're roles portrayed by actors, nothing more.

My openly homosexual brother-in-law, however, really hates those roles.
 
If someone is gay or not, I don't care...I'll treat them the same way if they're my customer or I have to deal with them otherwise.

What I hate about the gay trend on TV, particularly sitcoms is, it seems that nearly every sitcom or new show has to have a gay or two on it, far exceeding the percentage of gays in real life.

 
I'm of two minds about this.

In many ways the appearance of openly gay people/characters in the mainstream media over the last couple decades has undeniably promoted more acceptance in general. However, the sword is double edged in that many people assume all gays are like what is most often represented in the media (flamboyant). This is definitely not the case and can cause some people confusion that you aren't some flaming queen when they happen to find out you're gay.

Some gays do actually pursue this stereotype for various reasons (subconsciously or not).
 
I really could care less. Some flamboyantly gay actors are really annoying. Others are funny. I could say the same about a lot of female television actresses too though. They are just annoying and funny in a different way.
 
I understand the reasoning behind the 'act' and while it does a lot to further the 'cause' I think it ends up hurting most gay people in the end in some way because when people watch shows like that they instantly assume that's how all gay people are, and for most people (including me), that's a big turn off. Most people who know a gay person in real life who doesn't wear their sexuality on their sleeve know that's a gross generalization.

<-gay
 
This is really no different than comparing the average man to the super manly Chuck Norris-esque characters from action movies. I don't feel any less straight after watching some bad-assery and I doubt any gay men feels less comfortable about themselves when they seeing someone acting over the top on on E. This is just how hollywood works and while I personally find those type of characters annoying, it is the personality traits (just like the annoying little blondes you see elsewhere) and certainly not homophobia.
 
My one gay friend puts it this way:

"I'm a gay man who hates gay men"

Basically he tells me that he hates the stereotypical flamboyant gay man that is portrayed in movies, on TV, etcetera because it gives the rest of them a bad name. He also says that people shouldn't be stereotyping just because of those flamboyant guys on TV because he says that most gay men (at least the ones he knows) aren't like that.
 
Doesn't bother me any. All people are different, gay, lesbian, hetero, flamboyant, rude, nice, etc. To me this sounds like a discussion for the close minded.
 
Originally posted by: Gooberlx2
I don't care. I mean, I've met gay people occupying the entire range of flame, so I don't consider the stereotypes on TV to be "untrue" in any sort of way.

Personally, I find over-the-top flameness to be incredibly annoying, on TV and IRL.
Click to expand...

Ditto.
 
I find flamboyantly sexual roles, regardless of orientation, annoying in general, just like real life. Sure sex is a big important part of life, but throwing your sexuality in the face of everyone you meet is, well, annoying.
 
And just for the record, the stereotype is almost perfectly true... I live in one of the gayest areas in the US and a decent chunk of the population consists of shallow, overly flamboyant, bitchy drama queens who conjure drama and pathetic strife at any opportunity presented. They are hollow self-serving plastic people.

That's most likely why trash like <insert reality show / unrealistic sitcom> markets to this population... because they eat it up.

I'd like to think most gay guys aren't like that out there but I've seen enough to question that belief. I think that I'm the minority instead.
 
Originally posted by: Shawn
there is nothing more annoying than a flamboyant gay. we get it. you're gay. we don't care.
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I agree.

Teh pole needs more options, including that one, and:

"I don't want to see gays on my television. Put them ALL on Bravo since that's where most of them are already." 😉

"If I wanted to see homosexuals on my TV, I'd watch Bravo or HGTV, or..."
 
Isn't that part of what makes it funny? You know, those shows are comedies after all.

I actually liked 'Six Feet Under' because it didn't portray gays as the typical flamboyant goofballs you see in media all the time. One was a tough LA cop with occasional anger issues and the other a funeral home director who was slightly effeminate.

Either way, I don't really care. I'm voting fabulous. 😛
 
It's no different than the "stereotypical nagging wife that's always right" role, the "macho dad that always does something bone-headed" role, the "in-laws that you wish would leave schtick", the "token black guy", the "teenage daughter that's really girly and talks a lot and gets upset over little things and is sick of dad getting in the way" et cetera.

Maybe you haven't realized something about show business, but characters that are exactly like people are in real life don't exist because that would be boring. Even Seinfeld, the show that claims to be about nothing... just ordinary people doing ordinary things... doesn't have ordinary characters. Nobody can get a show on the air without big TV execs putting their stipulations on the mix. Rather than have an original character, they go with what has worked before and what the "average viewer" will find funny... not what is real.
 
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