Page 1 / 2 / 3 - Next

Game shows were actually another seminal form of reality programming, and they stretch all the way back to the 1950s. From Queen for a Day to The Dating Game to Family Feud--and all the way up to Hollywood Squares--contestants were real, unrehearsed people.

One maddeningly hypocritical aspect to the “reality” of TV game shows is how classic programs like The Match Game and Hollywood Squares could feature outrageously gay acting celebrity regulars spouting outrageously gay humor--think Rip Taylor, Paul Lynde, Charles Nelson Reilly and Wayland Flowers/Madame–-but no real-life gay contestants.

Clearly, the U.S. entertainment industry has always been aware of the popularity of gay humor and wit with television audiences. In terms of a certain, camera-friendly flare for the screen, we are colorful, fascinating, and appealing characters on so many levels. Although America permitted itself to be treated to a cavalcade of gay-acting television stars, it could not handle the simple reality of the homosexuality behind it all.

Instead, they were given a safe, non-threatening, de-homosexualized G-rated queerness. While straight audiences enjoyed the fruity, yet phobic-free yuks, all gay audiences could do was watch with rolled eyes and arched eyebrows. While we found in these characters a certain familiarity, they could also instill in us an odd, off-putting ambivalence. It was some kind of sociological catch-22, wherein gay-acting was highly popular but real gayness was considered box-office poison.

The sociological significance of gay-inclusive reality TV cannot be under estimated. Viewers by the millions are tuning in to watch unrehearsed gay participants, compete, win, lose, laugh, cry, perform outrageous stunts, and even reveal the most intimate details of their lives. We have been invited to participate in this wildly popular nationwide tribute to American competitiveness and materialism. We can actually compete on a level playing field against straights (and even against each other!) to win prizes or cash.

The one exception has been the “dating” shows such as The Bachelor and The Bachelorette. Bravo did air a single season of Boy Meets Boy, which gay men tuned into enthusiastically. Otherwise, there have been few “gay” only reality shows and that is a good thing. Instead of finding ourselves segregated from straight folks, we have competed alongside them in Survivor, Project Runway, and The Amazing Race. And in doing so have shattered numerous stereotypes.

As Candid Camera's founder Alan Funt (no stranger to reality TV) famously said, we get to be “caught in the act of being ourselves”--but with straight America watching. For a segment of society that for so many years was never allowed to be just ourselves this change is a long overdue and welcome luxury!

In this Bush/Cheney era, reactionary religious and political social forces, fronted by a powerful conservative media, have done much to try and influence Americans into thinking that gays are NOT really a legitimate part of society. These anti-gay forces have worked hard to undo any climate of tolerance towards us. They do not want Americans to consider us as anyone's son, brother, friend, relative or fellow citizen. They are uncomfortable with us portrayed as anything other than sexual predators with an agenda of trying to convert others to our “lifestyle”.

But amazingly, reality television is most popular in these conservative's own backyards--“red” state America. The genre's brave, honest inclusion of gays amongst all its other diverse casts of real people reveals to all sentient and reasonable citizens that gays are just as much a part of the fabric of this country as anyone else.

Page 1 / 2 / 3 - Next