Gays of our Lives (December 9, 2008)

This week we introduce a new feature called “Gays Gone By” that looks back at those gay characters in soaps and dramas who paved the way for today’s gays, such as Brothers & Sisters’ Kevin Walker and Scotty Wandell or those Nuke fellas on As The World Turns. First up? From 1981, Dynasty’s Steven Carrington! Or as I like to call him: “The Man With Two Faces.”

When Dynasty creators Richard and Esther Shapiro came up with the idea for their soap, they wanted to tell a socially relevant, topical storyline amidst all the glamour and drama of big oil in the early 1980s. And thus Steven Carrington was born. Over the ensuing years, Steven would be confused by and conflicted over his sexuality while also often acting as the show’s moral conscience – which usually happens to the gay folks and explains why they never get to have any of the really juicy fun.

First played by Al Corley, Steven returned home to Denver (Dynasty’s setting) intent on getting his life in order following his breakup with Ted Dinard (Mark Withers). But as we see in this clip, Blake had an unpleasant surprise for Steven. Welcome home, Son!

One note here: Blake Carrington was unapologetically homophobic, as was most of America at the time. And while Blake softened over the years, one wonders if a character with such a blatant disdain for gays could be a lead on a television drama in today’s age of greater tolerance and general enlightenment on gay issues.

Steven drifted into an affair with a woman, but when Ted showed up in Denver, Steven couldn’t ignore the fact that he still had feelings for his ex-lover. According to Al Corley, the network was very sensitive about physical contact between men (unless they were fighting, a staple on Dynasty) and actually used a ruler to define just how close the two men could get. That’s why this next clip passes for a “gay love” scene. Who thought tongue twisters (of the poetic kind) were a turn on? And just how long was that ruler?

As you can see, Steven’s relationship with Ted was quaint, tame and so utterly devoid of physicality, it was hard to believe they were lovers.