From its inception in the early 1990s, reality television has always been a medium very welcoming of queers. This has done wonders for the gay community; such exposure has brought an end to various misconceptions as well as provided a voice to a social minority. Pedro Zamora, for example, was a Cuban-American AIDS educator who appeared on MTV’s The Real World: San Francisco in 1994. Through his involvement with reality television, Zamora was able to bring international awareness about HIV/AIDS and shed light on the controversial issue to the mainstream media, which, in turn, assisted in changing the public perception on the topic.
Instead of attempting to discuss the “problem” behind homosexuality or the “challenge” of not living a heteronormative lifestyle, by merely including queers as regular cast members, The Real World depicted them for exactly what they were: ordinary people. In this sense, MTV was innovative in providing the first “performative space for the unveiling of homosexual romance-based narratives…the performance of homosexual romance within the context of mainstream youth-oriented television (on MTV) became a powerful discursive tool” (Pullen, 218).
Gay men have been protagonists on a plethora of reality genres, from shows like NYC Prep, a show about privileged high school students in New York City, to The Amazing Race, a show in which two people compete with others on an adventurous race around the world.
Arguably the most prominent reality show featuring gay men was Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which ran from 2003-2007 on the Bravo network. “The shows success is premised on the emergence of an authentic gay brand from amidst a plethora of masculinities” (Morrish 352). The show centered on the “Fab five” who, on each episode, sought to “rescue” a helpless straight man. They do this by teaching him about culture, grooming, style, design, fashion, and food. Each category comes with its own gay expert, who trains these men on their respective topic to woo their wife or girlfriend. Through the relationships, we see masculinity constructed as a helpless “manly” man who knows little else other than sports. The “fab five”, on the other hand, are the antithesis, creatures with vast knowledge of the world. They serve as fairy godmothers to the straight man. The issue here is the stereotypes perpetuated by this show. At the time of the show, there was little going on in terms of gay portrayal in the media. Therefore, there was nothing to counter balance the show, depicting gay men as all having taste, culture, and an affinity for sexual humor.
While it is admirable that gays have been included in the documentation of life since the start of reality television, these shows seem to provide the public with a selective display of homosexuality. While the breadth of shows queer males appear on may be extensive, the “type” of queerness represented is stereotypical: effeminate, overtly sexual, vain, catty, and sassy. Such reductive presentations of homosexuality are dangerous because they construct homonormativity, reinforcing stereotypes and providing the public with yet another unrealistic idea of a social group.
The portrayal of gays predominantly displayed on today’s reality television can be organized into two categories: the gay style maven and the gay best friend (GBF). The “Fab five” would fall into the gay style maven category, as well as personalities found on America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway.
Reality television has exaggerated the gay-man-as-style-maven role and its class meanings: playing up queenly insight into the consumption habits and cultural customs of the upper middle classes, and the ability to transform a dowdy, “taste challenged” man, woman, or space into a fabulous, “classy” one (Gamson, 52).
Michael Kors, famous primarily for his clothing line, became a household while a judge on the popular reality program, Project Runway, in which he offered contestants his fashion insights with snarky and sassy comments. It seems as though he almost tries to out sass himself with each episode, coming up with ridiculous critiques of garments to keep the audience entertained with his snarky wit.
Further examples of gay style mavens come from America’s Next Top Model in the form of Miss J. (J. Alexander) and Jay Manuel. The two serve on the judges’ panel as well as acting as mentors for the contestants, teaching them everything from make up to runway walking tips. Now entering its 22nd season, fans have loved the humorous commentary provided by the two. These two are the definition of “playing up queenly insight”, constantly saying things like:
“My motto is, walk like it’s for sale and the rent is due tonight.”
“Don’t blame the photographer, blame your parents for bad DNA.”
“It’s your fault, ‘cause you’re fat, bitch.”
It is advice like this that takes women from country bumpkins and “transforms” them into sophisticated, chic, supermodels. These women go from nothing to, as we are led to believe, landing international modeling contracts, all thanks to Tyra Banks and her group of gays.
The gay best friend acts as a straight woman’s sidekick. Seen on almost every branch of the Real Housewives franchise, these gay men are the “straight woman’s support, shopping companion, [and] confidant. These are secondary characters, not central ones” (Gamson, 53).
While it is impossible for any form of media to accurately portray every member of a social group, I do not think it would be difficult to implement a wider array of gay men. In my opinion, many of these reality shows draw hyper-focus on the queer man's sexuality and his "gay" habits (sass, divaness, etc.). I would love to see what scripted shows like The Fosters, which have no so much centered the plot around the character's sex life, but rather around their life in general. I think in doing this a more diverse representation of the queer male would emerge.
