Y&R: Why is Rafe gay?

[rhythmchyc]

I'm questioning why the writers decided to introduce him as gay last week.

I have a feeling they won't go anywhere with this, as they don't go anywhere with any of their minority characters.

They should've made Adam gay from the beginning. Victor Newman's son, gay? And he could totally become an integral aspect of the show.

Rafe, not so much.

From what I've witnessed the past couple of years, with the mistreatment of all of the minority characters on the show, it seems like Rafe being gay was like sketching posies when they should've bedazzled till their fingers hurt. It's a big deal on this soap, uncharted territory. And Tammin's reac- I mean, comatose expression summed up what they're gonna do with this guy. Maybe her expression was supposed to be non-reactionary.

Everyone on here who commented on Rafe had great ideas about how to use this tidbit of information, perhaps even setting him up with Adam.

But I think this tidbit will be discarded.

[DRW50]

I don't know if Adam is ever going to be an integral aspect of the show. His sexuality, like everything about him, will always be about Victor. I don't care about Victor's angst over having a gay child.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I think he was made gay, just to have a bit supporting character that happens to be gay.

Why do they have to do anything with him being gay? Those coming out stories are so poorly handled and cliche anyway, thank god they skipped it.

Rafe was never meant to be more than a bit player, I think people overhyped this "gay" thing for more than it was supposed to be. Why does something automatically have to be big if it involves a gay character anyway?

What's wrong with someone that just happens to be gay? Why does everything have to rely so heavily on being gay if you're gay on television?

[detroitpiston]

Amen, and I don't understand why people want to turn every young guy on the show gay so he'll have someone to play with.

[quartermainefan]

The reason why it is a big deal is because soaps will never show someone who just so happens to be gay. Are you ever going to see gay scenes like the type you see Joshua Marrow had in the show a few weeks back where he was in a shower and not alone? That's what "just so happens to be gay" means, being treated the exact same way everyone else is. And the networks and much of the audience would never allow that.

[brimike]

Just to be clear, the soap never hyped it up (that I saw). I haven't seen MAB, Hamner, Sheffer or Paul Rauch give interviews to the Advocate, or talk about anything "ground-breaking" with Rafe. They didn't start the hype. Soap journalists did.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

But the thing is, straight characters and their sexuality is just one thing about them, whenever a gay characters pops up in daytime or primetime - it's ALWAYS about being gay, there's no layers or a rounded person outside of his/her being homosexual.

I'm all for gay characters, but not when the only thing about them is being gay.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

More specifically, Nelson, and then all the fanboys who liked the idea came out in droves.

[Khan]

I'm beginning to agree with you.

[rhythmchyc]

You know? I was thinking that, too? If we were privileged enough to see an adult middle-class professional on Y&R who was gay, just living his life. If they could take Stanford Blach (from "Sex and the City") and transport him onto Y&R-- Stanford being a fleshy cut-out of a gay male; not as realistic as he could've been but human enough-- I'd like that very much.

But that's my point. We aren't even going to see that. He'll be marginalized just like everyone else TPTB don't care about.

TPTB knows how homosexuality is such a hot-button issue on network television. How it affected ATWT and AMC over the last few years. Why even introduce this character as a Hispanic gay lawyer but never mention it again?

This is my problem with Y&R. They're mishandling certain cast members and it doesn't make sense. Because, as dmarex said in the Y&R thread for this week, we've seen them create great story lines over the past few months. Why not do so across the board? If Y&R was 100% bad, I wouldn't even be complaining.

But it's not.

So I am.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Rafe specifically was never meant to be a main character on the show, the actor is recurring, and they only use the character in a legal capacity. The gay tidbit was only supposed to be an add-on about his life/sexuality.

They never planned to do much with the character, and it's pretty certain that he'll always remain a bit player, so I don't really care.

[brimike]

Exactly. There's obviously a purpose to Rafe being gay, but the onslaught of fanboys who immediately wonder about his hot DL sex with Adam, or his Gays-in-the-Military sex with Phillip IV, or whether or not he'll steal JT from Victoria... this is the problem with the hype machine. So far, I just see a character who happens to be gay, but his portion of the storyline (of which he's definitely a low-tier character, don't get me wrong) has nothing to do with his sexuality. I'm sure that will change eventually, but all I see is a soap skipping (THANK GOD!) the never-ending PSA of a coming out story and getting it out of the way in an off-hand and casual way that doesn't make it a huge deal, so that the show can go in the direction they need without dragging GLAAD, the gay press, etc into it.

[rhythmchyc]

OK, I suppose my main question is, is he filling the Hispanic gay void on Y&R? I mean, wtf?

You either go 100% or not at all in my book. If they wanted a bit player, don't even mention that he's gay or that he's related to Estella. Keep him a blank slate. Like Detective Gil or Frank. But if they're going to pull him into the fold, inviting him to Adam's birthday party, and introducing him as Billy's best friend from his childhood before that, then, doggone it, I want more than, "Oh, he's gay so it wasn't a real date."

And I'm soo not a fanboy, btw. I'm a woman 100% Grade A.

[brimike]

Nothing about this, to me at least, screams "filling the void". He's just a gay character who happens to be a lawyer, happens to be friends with Billy and Adam, and also happens to be Hispanic. I don't think we have all the pieces of the puzzle yet. It's weird that they brought it up and then dropped it, but it's only been a week. And has been said before, pacing is not MAB's strong suit.

[DRW50]

I don't think that's true for all shows. Kevin and Saul on Brothers & Sisters have stories which aren't about being gay. They're rounded characters, especially Kevin.

Most shows don't see gay characters as anything but filler. They aren't willing to go the next step of making us see their entire lives. I don't think that means they are just about being gay, because we barely even see the gay aspects of their lives. Like annoying Bob and Lee on Desperate Housewives. They were brought in as gay neighbors, yet they have no scenes on their own or about their relationship, they just exist as some very bad sop to diversity, much like the dismal Applewhites in season 2.