Ugly (part 2)
I watched Ugly Betty again on Thursday night. Last week Jeff emailed me during the show (Ugly part 1) so this week I emailed him.
Matt said:
It says VIP
Wow I've never even been an IP
Jeff said:
Do I have too?
Yes
Well I guess I better start eating potatoes.
Matt said:
Don't dance near the guy with his hand under his coat.
Jeff said:
The chin is all about justice.
The bandaid in the bowl turned me off.
Two weeks ago that idiot didn't even walk upright.
Jeff said:
Have we met?
We're not even meeting now!
----------------------
I liked the part where Betty's nephew breaks into a one man show of Hairspray on the subway to catch his very straight homophobic father up on the show because they're running late.
I've been noticing lately that there seems to be more acceptance of gays in the media. For a while now there have been gay characters in sitcoms and movies which mostly protray gay stereotypes and people don't seem to mind it. They may even allow themselves to laugh at the humour. But recently I've noticed that there have been gay couples on reality shows. A couple of weeks ago I was watching the news on Radio-Canada (the French CBC) and they had a peice on same-sex parenting. Granted the couple featured were francophones living in SF but the fact that it was on the primary news network for French speaking Canada was impressive. Then around the same time a caught an episode of Your Money or Your Wife that featured a gay couple. The show is about couples going through financial trouble because one of them has very poor money skills and teaches them how to deal with their debt and live within their means. Just today I caught an episode of Clean Sweep that also featured a gay couple. The show did nothing to hide the fact that they were living together and slept in the same bed. The rooms that were redone were the master bedroom and the home office. I find this encouraging because it normalizes being gay. These are real life people living together in a relationship and struggling with the same issues that every other couple struggles with (money and clutter).
The "gay population" seems to be going through a generational shift. Some are starting to question the value of becoming normal. They like being unique or "queer". On the one hand I can understand this. As being gay becomes less of an issue the gay villages start breaking up becuase it's no longer as important to live in close proximity to other gay people and with this comes a decrease in the sense of community that gays share. But on the other hand, this sense of normalcy and acceptance is what those that have gone before us have strived for. If we turn our backs on this then does that make all the suffering and abuse they endured worthless? One imortant aspect of this trend to me is an increased sense of security. Having only recently started going out on the scene (such that it is), I mentioned to Jeff that I was beginning to understand the importance of gay bars. It's a place where you can be yourself. It might be nice to go to different clubs but you just can't let yourself go completely there. You just never know if some straight redneck, indoctrinated by the AFA, is going to see you get a little too close to your BF and then be waiting for you outside later. Even if a sociopath did go to the gay bar the odds that you would be targeted are greatly diminished because you're surrounded by gay people.
To me, a loss of community is a small price to pay for my personal safety outside the gay ghetto. Besides, what's wrong with a house in the 'burbs with 2.5 kids?
Matt said:
It says VIP
Wow I've never even been an IP
Jeff said:
Do I have too?
Yes
Well I guess I better start eating potatoes.
Matt said:
Don't dance near the guy with his hand under his coat.
Jeff said:
The chin is all about justice.
The bandaid in the bowl turned me off.
Two weeks ago that idiot didn't even walk upright.
Jeff said:
Have we met?
We're not even meeting now!
----------------------
I liked the part where Betty's nephew breaks into a one man show of Hairspray on the subway to catch his very straight homophobic father up on the show because they're running late.
I've been noticing lately that there seems to be more acceptance of gays in the media. For a while now there have been gay characters in sitcoms and movies which mostly protray gay stereotypes and people don't seem to mind it. They may even allow themselves to laugh at the humour. But recently I've noticed that there have been gay couples on reality shows. A couple of weeks ago I was watching the news on Radio-Canada (the French CBC) and they had a peice on same-sex parenting. Granted the couple featured were francophones living in SF but the fact that it was on the primary news network for French speaking Canada was impressive. Then around the same time a caught an episode of Your Money or Your Wife that featured a gay couple. The show is about couples going through financial trouble because one of them has very poor money skills and teaches them how to deal with their debt and live within their means. Just today I caught an episode of Clean Sweep that also featured a gay couple. The show did nothing to hide the fact that they were living together and slept in the same bed. The rooms that were redone were the master bedroom and the home office. I find this encouraging because it normalizes being gay. These are real life people living together in a relationship and struggling with the same issues that every other couple struggles with (money and clutter).
The "gay population" seems to be going through a generational shift. Some are starting to question the value of becoming normal. They like being unique or "queer". On the one hand I can understand this. As being gay becomes less of an issue the gay villages start breaking up becuase it's no longer as important to live in close proximity to other gay people and with this comes a decrease in the sense of community that gays share. But on the other hand, this sense of normalcy and acceptance is what those that have gone before us have strived for. If we turn our backs on this then does that make all the suffering and abuse they endured worthless? One imortant aspect of this trend to me is an increased sense of security. Having only recently started going out on the scene (such that it is), I mentioned to Jeff that I was beginning to understand the importance of gay bars. It's a place where you can be yourself. It might be nice to go to different clubs but you just can't let yourself go completely there. You just never know if some straight redneck, indoctrinated by the AFA, is going to see you get a little too close to your BF and then be waiting for you outside later. Even if a sociopath did go to the gay bar the odds that you would be targeted are greatly diminished because you're surrounded by gay people.
To me, a loss of community is a small price to pay for my personal safety outside the gay ghetto. Besides, what's wrong with a house in the 'burbs with 2.5 kids?
posted by Matty at 10:13 AM
1 comments
