Y&R and B&B March Spoilers

[Faulkner]

I will say there’s always sensitivity about making characters who are homicidally insane and child abusers (like Thomas) LGBTQ, especially on a show that has resisted showcasing queer characters for years, even as it was set in an industry known for queer representation.

[Errol]

 

Which is stupid, honestly. If Luke can rape Laura and then have the show turn that trauma into one of the greatest love stories ever told then complainers can shut it. Hell, Todd led the gang rape of Marty Saybrooke back in the day and he turned out to be one of the most popular characters on soaps for the greater part of the 90s. People live to complain, IMO. Sure, different times. Doesn't change the actions of the characters. Heck, EJ even raped Sami who was raped as a teenager even yet fans clamor for those two even today. LGBTQIA+ people are after all human. They can be good and bad. Lovers and killers. One can't clamor for representation and then when they get it, call foul on the portrayal. I get it, but I also get it. If that makes sense.

[Faulkner]

I think the key is that there have been thousands of portrayals of heterosexual characters over time. The very first fluid male character on B&B is a crazy child abuser (albeit not sexual), which plays into every damaging stereotype of queer men? It’d be like if B&B never had a black character yet decided to make the first one a drug-dealing gang member. Do black drug dealers exist in society? Of course. And they can be just as complicated and interesting as any other character. But such a move would be deserving of a side eye.

[Aback]

 

Exactly.

 

Besides, one shouldn't take the industry most dysfunctional storylines as an example to follow. Those are exactly what caused the demise of daytime drama.

 

As far as B&B goes, one could argue that pretty much every male character has committed some heinous crime (Ridge killed Phebe's attacker, Bill did so many despicable things etc) - everyone except Liam, of course. However we all remember what happened to Adam Newman around the time the first actor left the show, and we don't what to see that ever again on any show.

[Faulkner]

Totally. And Thomas’s reign of terror was *so* extreme and so fresh in our minds. If he were the four or fifth gay/bi/fluid character in the show’s history, I’d perhaps feel differently. But making Thomas queer would just be inseparable from the luridness of his behavior, which would be homophobic IMO. Trust me, I don’t love these things dictating the art people make, especially as a reflection of reality. Anthony Langford on Twitter said it was unacceptable for a douchey male character to tell a lesbian that “she just hadn’t met the right man yet.” I disagreed with Anthony’s statement entirely. But I just feel like Thomas is the wrong character to make fluid at this point.

[AbcNbc247]

How to get around that?

 

Bring back RJ and make him gay or bi. That could actually provide some good conflict for Ridge and Brooke too, without having someone try to come between them and break them up for the millionth time. RJ can be torn between Vinny and Coco Spectra or some other girl. At the same time, have Vinny turn to RJ because Thomas rejects him, but over time Vinny actually starts to fall in love with him.

[Aback]

 

I agree. The story writes itself, really. Which is why Brad will never go there.

 

As for Thomas, I wouldn't worry. Brad tried to be so PC with Maya (also consulting with GLAAD) that ultimately it suffocated the character. I'd like to hope he would be equally PC with a gay male character as well.

 

BTW did Jared turn out to be straight eventually?

[edgeofnik]

@Aback Ugh. Maya/Myron. It was bad enough that B&B FINALLY had a black lead female character (it took years to figure out what to do with Maya) and then Brad turns her into a PSA. IF they could've played the story through - $B tabloids (FC lead model a dude!), not have every character, including C2, applaud her, Charlie being the first one who figured it out, Rick being completely OK with it after a few days, same with Carter, etc. This could have been great and compelling storyline by balancing support and haters (other than the belated arrival of her hateful father), discussing sexuality, etc.

 

Honestly, if they paired Thomas with Vinny, they'd have to be locked together forever since gay couples on TV are met with huge backlash if they are spit up because somehow that never happens with straight couples or in the real world. If people truly want gay, bi, fluid characters to be represented equally, they've got to get past making them 'pure.'      

[Aback]

Let them have their first proper B&B gay character - not flawless, but certainly not a sociopathic freak either - and then they'll have a right to tell all the stories they want with a gay character.

[Faulkner]

If Thomas were just your garden-variety schemer or corporate raider, let him be gay/bi/fluid all day. No need for him to be a saint. But in their quest for a ratings bump, they went too far with Thomas. They made him a monster.

[dio]

 

you cannot in all seriousness single Thomas out as "homicidally insane" or "abusive" with this cast of characters he's surrounded by. That's what makes this SL so stupid... what has Thomas done that any worse than anyone else on the show? Really? Nothing. His storyline literally boils down to being in love with Hope, and he hasn't even *DONE* anything that horrible in name of that love. 

[Faulkner]

Gosh. You’re right. Throw another sociopath on Bradley Bell’s dumpster fire. And if people want to watch Matthew Atkinson’s sculpted physique bumping and grinding with another dude, let them have it. Love in the afternoon, as ABC used to say...

[Cheap21]

Whats the deal with Thomas?