Usually these kinds of things end up with someone suggesting next, gay men will be marrying goats.... Having met several goats in person, TL does not recommend marriage to goats, as they tend to leave droppings in far too many places, and lack taste in music.Minstrel shows were a way for white people to make bank by portraying themselves in blackface makeup in order to stereotype and mock african-americans.
This also played off of the the growing success of black entertainers, who, as artists, were seen by many whites as there for their entertainment (not for any artistic merit) and therefore subordinate and harmless.
So where am I going with this? I'd like to put it out there that this:
Has been re-incarnated as this:
Before you all have a fit for me tackling one of the most popular shows in the past couple of years, let me explain myself. I'm sure Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (which even the title has issues if you ask me) has its benefits to the acceptance of gays into mainstream culture. I'm sure it has some merit, and I'm sure that every stereotype has some sort of truth in it, however misconstrued and untrue it may be at the current time. But I digress...
The Neo in front of the post title implies that it is a new version of minstrelization i am talking about here. The parallels aren't nearly as racist/homophobic in nature, but let's see how gay men are commonly portrayed on TV.
Effeminate, fashion/beauty product/shoe/purse experts (some other shows come to mind here), broadway musical-singing, dancing, happy 'queers'. So basically RK in a nutshell. Wait a second, hes the straight one.... Anyway, I have no problem with any gay man being himself, and if he likes fashion and hairstyling, I wish him the best job you could find in a Bel-Air boutique.
But why is that image so overblown? Because it portrays gay men as weak. It keeps gay men as this laughable, entertainer-for-us-straight-folks, harmless little woodland creatures who don't threaten a hetero-normative social structure that everyone else is comfortable in. It also provides people with plenty of gay-friendly politically correct lines to use once they know my sexual orientation. Allow me to share. These have all been used with me:
"Oh my god did you see Project Runway last night!?" Ok, maybe they just like the show.
"Hey I have a gay friend" "My uncle is gay, I love him!" Thanks...for... sharing?
"Can we go shopping together sometime!" You have no idea how much I don't like shopping. Ask RK.
"Hey, what do you think of my shoes/nails/hair/dress" They're um... great....
"OH MY GOD! ARE THESE YOUR GAY FRIENDS!?" this was used in a bar! and no!
For the love of all that is good on this great planet... if the media's portrayal of gay men is responsible for the onslaught of ridiculous statements as seen above.... TURN OFF YOUR TELEVISIONS. Haha, while some are perfectly harmless, and I'd be happy to help you look your best to go out ladies, being gay does not make me a fashion expert. RK runs that side of the blog. And a shout out to certain ladies who I don't mind asking me my opinion of their fashion, etc. (You know who y'all are).
Whoa, big tangent. So, lets see, the media is making tons of money off of these stereotypical portrayals of gay men, and it has done nothing but further stereotypes that already existed, that separate and segregate gay men from the rest of society... I could keep going here. There is a strange reincarnation vibe I get from seeing it.
Start showing me a balanced portrayal of gay men that isn't so one-dimensional, and is still widely followed and revered by the TV-watching and movie-going population... and maybe I'll change my mind. Until then, I'm going to be finding myself increasing agitated with people who think its strange for a gay man to like sports so much.
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