GH: Felix controversy

[JackPeyton]

I havent commented on this yet cuz im not sure how to say what i have to say, if anyone understands that.

I am more offended by the "DONT MISS THE DEBUT OF THE LIPSTICK CARRYING NEW GAY NURSE" hype RC/GH/ABC spun than the character. That said, i understand the issues some have, and i share some of the issues, but i really dont think its a huge deal and it being blown out of proportion by RC and Towlerload who crave attention. For a long time the only gay representation seemed to be psychos or these over the top, lipstick wearing gays with a fabulously empty life. It took many, many years to get away from that and only recently happened really. So to go back to that representation could be looked at as a step back, but at the same time this character is true to life. There are many, many different types of gays just as there are of any class of people. To limit it to only non mainstream stereotypes is as bad as it is to only show them. There will always be issues tho, many gay people were upset at Max on Happy Endings being the way he is and being "straight acting" or at Will hating being gay on Days, or Emily on PPL being a lesbian, or Willow "turning" gay on Buffy. All very important moments of representation in the media, all had praise or hate. Felix isnt going to be some magically 3d, layered character of great depth because that isnt how RC writes and hes basically a nobody character and thats the real shame here. Much like fish and kyle on OLTL he is completely disposable, but then again who on soaps isnt these days? I will say its nice not to have a coming out story though.

[SFK]

I think you make excellent points, JP. My only issue/concern with Felix is an old one, and that is television's propensity to under-write for black male characters in general, with a penchant for giving them kitschy supporting roles. A lot of shows shy away from the opportunity to write strong three dimensional viable heterosexual black men, while opting for "safe" nerdy, asexual, sexless, effeminate, adjective et cetera black men, then boast diversity. Characters like Felix or even Epiphany shouldn't be a show's sole reflection of diversity in a landscape of caucasian characters who get to play all the big stuff. If Felix were white, yes, I would feel differently. I feel like you're getting two minorities for the price of one with Felix and that only rubs me the wrong way because a part of me can't help but feel that his whole character is written as somewhat of a novelty. I would not feel this way if blacks had their piece of the front burner pie. I do not mind Felix, but I would not mind him even more if black characters were afforded more heterosexual lead opportunities on soaps.

[Vee]

Kyle and Oliver were many things, but they weren't written as disposable. They were layered and fleshed out. Just because they weren't one of the eight thousand mutilated legacy characters of Gary Tomlin's Days of our Lives didn't make them not three-dimensional. (I wouldn't count Will or Sonny among those though, yet.)

I don't think Felix should be the show's sole concession to diversity, no. I think the state of multicultural representation on that show and others (OLTL included at the end) is a major problem. But I don't see anything wrong with Felix as he is. Simply saying there should be more than there is doesn't mean that there should thus not be Felix. I'm happy to have him.

[JackPeyton]

I totally agree.

[EricMontreal22]

Ron really is his own worst enemy. Towleroad is full of bitchy queens (there did I say that?), and I read some of the comments and they were beyond idiotic (a bunch of people saying this is what happens when gay men, you know all the manly gay men anyway, identify with GLBT and the media gets all mixed up about what that means ). Fair enough that he ffelt the need to make one statement, but then to reply to individual posts, etc--someone really should be there to take his computer away at times like that-- (even giving the benefit of the doubt, I'm sure all of us know the uselessness of even replying to such individual posts--Lord help us if Ron starts posting on Datalounge--which I admit I had to force myself to stop going to because I would get so riled up.)

Jack P, I think you actually make some pretty great points. I said it back when the first episode aired in the GH thread, but I do see the point that this is a valid gay representation (by soap standards, anyway), and we've swung away from the "pshy gay murderers" and drag queen route to the other extreme where they tend to seem to go out of their way to make gay characters seem as straight as possible. With more representation, more gay characters in general, that would improve, and I guess it slowly is, but... But I see Carl's point--one reason some guys are touchy about this is that for a very long time, ganted often in cameo roles, the depiction of gays on TV was the Mr Humphries queen, he posted the video from.

But, but I see SFK's take too. With such a non diverse daytime, and GH canvas, I think I posted that day basically what he just wrote--that a part of me felt like "oh look, they killed two birds with one stone--they get the sassy gay sidekick cliche AND the sassy black sidekick cliche rolled into one!"

Felix is a contract role, right? Hopefully that means we will get more to him than just being the friend on the side.

[quartermainefan]

Felix is ok, a little corny I guess but nothing horrible to watch. It's not like he is calling Sabrina "girlfriend" snapping fingers as he talks. He I think makes this a good time for gay characters on soaps because suddenly there is now not just one. Sonny on DOOL is the Clark Kent gay guy, Will Horton is the gay guy one can follow a story about, and now we have Felix who is not them in any way and doesn't blend in. And it's nice that with only four soaps left, two have written in a gay character. I do think the soap that should have one is B&B, but apparently not.

[Cheap21]

B&B introduced Caroline and Dani earlier this year. Caroline hasn't been seen in months bc JJ has other commitments but Dani recurs

[Antoyne]

I'd watch Felix on GH than boring ass Sonny on Days. I've literally been more entertained watching paint dry than by watching most of Sonny's scenes.

[Ms. Chandler Quartermaine]

Amen!

Was he even hyped?

All I remember was casting notice in spoiler island, and some "rumblings" from posters he may or may not be a new gay character. His premiere to me was extremely under the radar and rather non-news. It's hardly like the months and months of press, and soap gossip that Sonny or Will had. Now that's hype..

[Eric83]

I didn't even think he was gay until he said he would break him off a piece of Patrick if he could and pulled out the lipstick.

[Khan]

Actually, Eric, Patrick has been known to make otherwise masculine hetero men say that.

[DRW50]

That's because Felix is there mostly to entertain. Sonny is there to try to make people give a [!@#$%^&*] about Will if he's not lusting after EJ or calling his mother a whore.

[Khan]

IOW, Sonny keeps Will from being interesting.

He's his Noah.

[DRW50]

I think Will stopped having interesting character progression once that godawful WILL IS SAMI BECAUSE...WE SAY SO!!! story began, and the show just tries to ignore the damage.

I think Sonny is fine as a supporting character, a decent guy (tough to find on soaps), but DAYS mostly just sees him as someone to create forced conflict. The sad part of Will's story, to me, is that one of the only times I didn't roll my eyes at his material in the last year+ was when he was having sex with Gabi. If that particular trope is the most believable part of your story, then you have failed.

[Cheap21]

Will is just fine. Once they moved him from his constant I Hate Sami mode, he's gone back to being the decent character he was prior to the last regime