Jump to content

Gay characters on soaps


Recommended Posts

  • Members

I think Luke would do that to Damian in a heartbeat. Since the school election campaign where he cheated to win, Luke has been far from whitewashed.

Damian made a lot of good points to Lily the other day that Luke has a lot of Damian/Grimaldi in him -- he'll see and want something, and do whatever it takes to get what he wants, no matter the legalities or the consequences to others. "The ends justify the means." Lily was desperately in denial and defending Luke, but Damian was not all that wrong.

Also, Luke has always had his drinking problem. And even back in 2006, he pushed his mom and she fell down the stairs -- yes it was an accident, but there's still an angry side to him. Even before the election, he was not perfect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 235
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

I don’t care for gay characters on soaps because it just becomes too convoluted, political, insincere, plastic and agenda-driven. Meanwhile TPTB tend to pussyfoot around the characters, not wanting to piss off either conservatives or GLAAD.

You have some viewers who want a gay villain (or a villain who just *happens to be* gay.) Why? Basically to further ‘normalize’ homosexuals by showing them with a broad array of human personality types—good and bad. However, if a soap did that, there will undoubtedly be those viewers who will see it as a slant against, or conspiracy to vilify, gay people…even if the show doesn’t present their homosexuality as the root cause of their nefarious ways.

Furthermore, on soaps, I notice that whenever a gay character is presented, there’s always such a black and white reaction to them.

On one side, you have plot point snarls of “faggot” this and “faggot” that by the most cartoonish homophobes you could ever encounter. On the other side, you have equally overblown sermons and generic cliché declarations of forced acceptance from the usual ‘good folks.’ Then we get these polarizing “big moments” of bigots versus the enlightened.

In real life there are many gay people who may have parents, siblings, friends who aren’t particularly thrilled that they are gay, but they still have an otherwise decent relationship…despite some bumpy patches. You never see that on TV though. It’s always all or nothing. Mom & Dad either totally accept their gay child…or they totally shun them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I actually wish GLAAD were more involved in criticizing bad gay-related stories or atmospheres. They gave an award to a mediocre Grey's Anatomy episode at the height of the huge controversy with Isaiah Washington and TR Knight. They lauded the "Rianca" AMC wedding even though the story was riddled with negative lesbian stereotypes and they didn't even consummate their marriage.

Any complex family relationships are hard to find on TV now. I think they did a good job of showing some of Erica's unease on AMC without making her evil.

The other problem is there are still so few gay characters on TV. Until there are more, then I don't mind that most of their relationships with their families are presented in stark terms.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Do not get me started on GLADD. They are more of a barrier, than a promoter of the community's best interest, ESPECIALLY when it comes to these daytime soaps trying to tell "groundbreaking" gay friendly storylines. They are part of the problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Are you watching Guiding Light? Olivia has had bemused "uh, okay, Natalia huh, uh, okay, well that's uh, wow, okay, let's change the subject" type reactions from the straight men and women she's told who never speak to her about it again. Bill, Jeffrey, and Mel all basically responded to her like that. There's no statement of forced acceptance or outrage, more WTF?

I think ATWT is getting to what you are talking about in the second paragraph with Damian, where he'll never completely get Luke being gay but they'll have a better relationship, if, as I believe, he is not behind these threats to Luke in any way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Primetime's Brothers and Sisters continues to push the envelope and define where we're headed. Yesterday, to show full gay male foreplay (sorry, Moila)--shirtless sweaty necking -- and talk at length about a three-way... well ... that's pretty boundary-pushing.

While B&S has its problems, it is a continuing melodrama, a serial set around a family and their peripheral members. I really feel that B&S and its ilk are the inheritors of the soap mantle. Daytime may fade, but serials will live forever.

And in that note, if daytime wants to extends its relevance even a little bit, they'll look closely at what B&S is doing, and absorb that fearlessness.

By the way -- afraid of the advertisers? Last week Roger Newcomb reported that B&S was in the top 10 or top 15 of per-spot advertising rates on network TV. They may not be the biggest show, but that have a banging-great demographic. Daytime should try to lure THAT audience -- not huge but smart, progressive, affluent.

Implication: I don't think you lure that audience with any of our current eight soaps. They are too associated with grandma and 40 years of history and selling shoe polish. You make a new show, and build -- from the beginning -- for a smaller niche audience that is profitable. For starters, you don't air during the daytime.

Once we stop worrying about offending grandmothers in Peoria (who, in fact, probably wouldn't be offended -- but Madison Avenue is worried they will be), gay characters on soaps can flourish. So can the multi-cultural rainbow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

That's just it. I'd want the grandmothers in Peoria (or wherever) to be offended. Then, I'd want to hold up that mirror to them, and show them what the outside world sees in their own prejudices.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Exactly. She never outright condemned anyone for his/her/their beliefs, but her topically relevant storylines always implied a message of tolerance and listening to the "other side"'s p.o.v.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Here's to hoping Soaps are not headed in B&S direction because I think last night showed one of the biggest stereotypes out there. A threesome? How many straight couples on television have engaged in this type of activity? I don't care one way or the other for gay storylines because I just want a story, but I would like to think that last night's eppy was offensive to some people. It was more about how can we increase our audience rather than, let's just tell the tale of 2 gay men. It was far from that. I didn't care for it at all.

BTW, if Kevin must be gay, can we get someone else for him? This guy makes me want to hurl huge chunks! I need at least one masculine male to get any kind of enjoyment out of it.

ANDREA

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



  • Recent Posts

    • I didn’t find it that interesting

      Please register in order to view this content

    • I can't watch until later (Canada issues). What is Philip's motivation for stealing the drug? Only plot I cared about today and you did not mention it 
    • Doug III’s first day of work. Hope he does a good job… or that Tate tries to sabotage him somehow

      Please register in order to view this content

      His scenes with Holly were nice though. They’re sweet together and I understand why some people think that they have more chemistry than Tate/Holly do. And I liked that Doug III opened up to her about his past. Maybe that could lead to something good happening in the future.  I also enjoyed Roman and Kate, and how they’re both being tied into EJ’s shooting. The mystery of it all is really compelling. I don’t think Roman is the shooter though either.  I didn’t have much sympathy for Kristen though. She has no one to blame for Rachel’s problems than herself. But at the same time, I’m really surprised that Days actually remembered the Alex/Kristen fling. I thought Ron had erased that from existence. I’m not shipping them at all, but I’m definitely shipping a permanent end to Brady/Kristen but after today, I’m not so sure about that either.  And, Johnny and Chanel were still great together
    • https://parade.com/news/beyond-the-gates-actor-flexes-like-a-wrestler-in-viral-shirtless-photo
    • Some country club revelation thoughts from a casual watcher no one asked for. The Great: Daphnee Duplaix gave the best performance we've seen yet. Nicole's dialogue was also well thought out and felt character specific. TJ Maxx Ted was also pretty good. Trisha Mann-Grant steals every scene she's in. Often without even trying. Carrying multiple episodes worth of exposition heavy soap dialogue with starts and stops and recapping and drama and humor is no small feat and she nailed. Vernon telling Lesliana to STFU.  The Bad: So much of the dialogue for the rest of the cast was overly written. Martin said "You are a vile human being with a hole in your heart!". Marty, what are we doing? It's SO dramatic and sounds so silly coming from this grown man. Do Bill and Hayley do anything but talk about the Duprees? And the nerve of her to get so excited to find out Ted is a cheater when she and her husband are too. There should be a hint of shame mixed in with your glee, ma'am. The Questionable: Coffee and a rendition of Amazing Grace after finding out Nicole was betrayed by her husband. The Duprees are an odd bunch. The stinger of one segment had Anita prepared to lambast Lesliana, when we came back someone else was talking. When Anita eventually said something to Wig, it was a lukewarm at best. And then of course she thought singing a song about something that should absolutely not be extended to her son-in-law. The entire family allowing this deranged woman to speech at them in their own was...nuts. I know she said something about what would the neighbors say but my GOD. Is she just going to be allowed to trespass whenever she feels like it now? The focus on Leslie and her wig usage as an oddity is...odd. I think Chelsea said something like "and she wears wigs!" (while wearing a buss down middle part). Okay? It's just not that odd for a black woman to change up her hair. It's the different names that's the problem. I know it's meant to be humorous, in a throwback soap kind of way, but it fell flat for me.  I'm sorry I find the whole family to be WEIRD. It's like they want us to see them as ruthless yet benevolent, open yet furtive, snobbish yet tooth achingly sweet all at the same time. I cannot get a lock on the family dynamics. Everyone is just there.  I'm gonna cry if this show doesn't start giving us ages (or close to it!) for these characters. Because if Eva is 21-22 then Martin was being given crayons, a soda pop and blinders when he was 15-17 years old. Martin had to have been under 8 for me to buy this story, which would make Eva and Kat late 20s (Martin is at least 35 since he wants to run for president), which I don't think they're meant to be. It's honestly minor but it bothers me. I've mentioned this to @Vee but I think the optics on opening the show with both sisters discovering their husbands of over 30 years are cheaters should've been considered. I doubt there was any intention behind it, no one's rubbing their hands together as they scheme to say the married black men can't stay loyal but how does it look? Maybe it's just me. Honestly it's probably just me!
    • Thank you very much!!!! I really appreciate it!!! I also have read the GH coffee table book from the 90s!!!
    • For a homeless woman, June sure has nice teeth. I agree Ted didn't bring the power in the fallout scenes but to can him and leave Tomas, Martin and Derek onscreen? i'm not looking forward to Martin's secret being revealed and have him flail in the spotlight scenes. Yes, he's got a little better, but... When someone like Timon delivers with every line reading, you wonder how some other casting decisions were made. And I need sunglasses every time characters are at Uptown-is that green paint left over from GL's Cedars Hospital makeover? And for the cliffhanger, instead of the Door dash nonsense, simply have Leslie encounter Vanessa on her way out and push past her to enter. As there is no front door have Leslie barge into the living room, with Vanessa following.  Then Nicole can tell Vanessa- it's OK she can leave them alone.
    • My question was basically is Dani the only character to have a bedroom? And then the response was Jacob and Naomi ONLY have a bedroom as their set .
    • Our next installment of Love of Life 1976 Before leaving San Francisco, Cal phones her Aunt Van to set up a family gathering. Van arranges it, and upon their return, Cal and Rick announce that they are engaged. In the shocked silence that follows the announcement, Meg steps in to offer her congratulations, and also to pay for the wedding. But the family members still don’t respond happily. They fear that Rick isn’t good enough for Cal, and are surprised by Meg’s offer. Rick and Jamie visit Meg and ask whether, in light of her acceptance of his marrying her daughter, she |will drop the lawsuit. She replies that she will if he returns as her partner in Beaver Ridge. Rick reminds her that this has been settled; he can’t do that. So Meg, pretending largesse, says she’ll drop the suit, but in fact she asks her attorney to put the suit in abeyance, so it can be reopened at any time. Rick gives Cal a lovely diamond-and-sapphire engagement ring, and Betsy, who has promised to be Cal’s honor attendant, gives ‘her the dress she wore when she married Ben, saying that a bride who really is a bride should have it. Cal speaks privately to each member of the family, hoping to convince them that she and Rick are right for each other and will be happy. Jamie, after accepting Rick’s request that he be best man, checks to see if Meg has dropped the action, as promised. Finding out that it’s only in abeyance, Jamie asks if she is planning to sue her son-in-law in the future. Meg insists that she has acted on her attorney’s advice. Meg convinces Cal to give her two weeks to plans a lovely wedding, but after several days Cal discovers that Meg has done nothing in preparation. She therefore informs her mother that she and Rick will be married this weekend at the chapel. Betsy goes into labor and has her daughter by the natural-childbirth method. Cal tries to reach Ben, to tell him he’s a father, but has to be content with leaving a message. An ecstatic Ben sends flowers and a card to his wife and daughter Suzanne. Meg, in desperation at being unable to stop the wedding, has been drinking heavily. When she tells Carrie she can’t sleep and that’s why she can’t get herself together, Carrie sympathetically gives her some tranquilizers which Tom had given her. At the wedding rehearsal Meg tries once again to “reason” with Rick, but he makes it clear that he and Cal are getting married as planned. Meg then faints, upsetting Cal, who declares that her mother’s health is more important than the wedding. This gives Meg an idea. On the afternoon of the wedding, as the bride’s party waits at the chapel for Meg, she takes some of the pills, then calls Rick and tells him what she has done. When he doesn’t believe her, Meg becomes even more upset and takes more pills. When Rick informs | the wedding party of Meg’s call, they don’t believe she’d do anything that foolish, but Cal and Rick realize they can’t take the chance and go to her home. Finding her unconscious, they rush her to the hospital.Meg is treated for overdose complicated by alcohol and eventually regains consciousness.Van and Bruce offer to take Meg to their, home to recuperate, but Cal, worried because Joe raises the concern that Meg could try it again, allows her mother ‘to convince her to take her home with her. Meg is pleased with herself for having managed to come between Cal and Rick, and begs Cal not to let Rick come to the apartment, as she can’t bear to have him see her like this. Meg then works on Cal’s conscience by pitifully admitting that she loves Rick and can’t live without him. Van tries,- without success, to make Meg see that Cal and Rick are in love and can make each other happy, but Meg won’t give up and suddenly begins to have “headaches.” Even Betsy overcomes her bitterness at Meg and brings baby Suzanne to see her,trying to get Meg interested in living again. But Meg insists she can’t do anything because of her delicate | condition and has no interest in Beaver Ridge at all. .Rick has to go to New York on business and asks Cal to go with him. She replies that she can’t; she’s afraid to leave Meg. Cal, with Hank, sees Rick off at the airport, and just before he boards, he gives her a letter to read later. She reads it at home that evening; -it’s a plea from Rick to join him in New York and get married immediately. He tells her that their love and their being together are the only things that matter.Cal puts the letter in her handbag and goes to shower.Meg has seen the letter and reads it. Upset that Cal might do what Rick asks, she goes to Joe at the clinic, claiming she’s sleeping badly, and asks for sleeping pills. Joe, of course, refuses to give them to her, and, as she has hoped, he calls Cal to warn her. Cal now redoubles her efforts to keep an eye on her - mother. Meg, complaining of another headache, asks for water to take aspirin and takes four tablets from abottle, which she holds so Cal can see the label has been removed. When Cal snatches it and demandsto know what she’s taking and where she got them,Meg “confesses” that she went to a new doctor for sleeping pills because Joe wouldn’t give her any. Seeing she’s got Cal where she wants her, Meg presses Cal to promise she’ll be there as long as she needs her. Rick’s New York trip comes to nothing when he discovers the prospective backers want almost complete control of the project. Jamie suggests that Rick talk to Meg again about dropping the suit, as every cent Rick has is being tied up by this litigation. Rick insists that Meg won’t do any favors for him, and he isconvinced that her suicide attempt and subsequent emotional instability are just a scheme to tie Cal to her. But he realizes Cal won’t be able to see it this way. Rick sees only one more possibility to his financial problem: Ray Slater promised to help him if hearranged a meeting between Ray and Jamie, which Rick did. As a result of that meeting, Ray informed Ian Russell that he might be able to get Beaver Ridge for him but will require a piece of the action if it works out. Rick arrives home to find a distraught Cal, who informs him that she was warned by Joe to watch out for Meg and, sure enough, she discovered her trying to pass sleeping pills off as aspirin. But Rick insists on knowing the name of the doctor Meg got the pills from, and when he attempts to call him, Meg backs down and admits there was no doctor and no sleeping pills—the bottle contained her allergy medication. Cal is horrified that she allowed herself to be taken in again by Meg in spite of knowing firsthand what her mother is like and warnings from the entire family. Rick insists that she get away from Meg now and go visit Betsy until he gets things settled. As soon as Cal has gone, Rick insists that Meg come out of the bedroom where she has barricaded herself, and tells her he knows her too well to believe she would ever take her own life. He tells her he admires her and would like them to come out of this as friends. Meg makes it clear that friendship isn’t what she wants from him. But when Rick picks up Cal, who now wants to get married right away, and | returns to her apartment, they find a note from her “loving mother” saying she and Rick are now friends and they should call her after they are married.  
    • Please register in order to view this content

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy