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It's also clear to Bree that Justin's love for Andrew—when coupled with the homophobia of Andrew's grandparents--could be used to win back her son.

Bree enlists Justin's “help” to guarantee that Andrew won't move away with his grandparents. As Andrew's grandparents inadvertently come across his significant gay porn collection, they are predictably horrified. Bree plays it cool, but it's obvious that the porn was her idea. And it works perfectly. The grandparents are eager to leave town without Andrew, leaving him only a note signaling their disapproval of his sexuality and effectively revoking his trust fund.

In a single scene, Andrew learns that his grandparents have abandoned him and taken away his trust, and that Bree has invited Justin over for dinner. She conveys her interest in and tacit approval of Andrew's gay relationship while she gloats that her plan to exploit her parents' homophobia has proven fruitful.

Homophobia similarly functions as a potent tool in the world of The Sopranos. As news spreads that high-ranking mafia man Vito has been spotted in a gay leather bar, his colleagues (and former friends) spend hours gossiping about him and calling for his assassination.

Just about every gay stereotype and slur is uttered by the hen-like group of Vito's mafia colleagues. The voicing of their shared disdain for Vito (and for all things gay) unites the typically back-stabbing crew of wiseguys. They speculate about everything from the straight marriages of gay icons Rock Hudson and Elton John to the possibility that the obese Vito's recent weigh loss might be due to AIDS instead of strict dieting.

The mafia men use masculinity, “honor” and even religion to justify their homophobia, but it's obvious that many of the wiseguys could gain additional business and riches if a man of Vito's power were to step (or be pushed) aside. Like Bree on Desperate Housewives, they are banking on the homophobia of others for their own gain.

Vito isn't around to defend himself, as he has thrown away his cel phone and skipped town. Clearly consumed by fear and possibly self-loathing, Vito drowns his terror in the greasy foods he has up to now forsaken. His reaction to both external and internalized homophobia is to destroy with compulsive eating the new body for which he has worked so hard.

Vito lands in New Hampshire and finds himself surrounded by out gay men living happy lives. While visiting an antique store, Vito reads the New Hampshire motto, “Live Free or Die” on a license tag, and its significance is not lost on him. But back in New Jersey, his friends clamor for his murder, pump his wife for information regarding his whereabouts, and have Vito's hard-earned business handed over to them as if he were already dead. Like Andrew on Desperate Housewives, Vito also suffers a major financial loss due to homophobia.

Vito's journey through the streets of New Hampshire is bittersweet. The reminders of his unlived life are all around him, and his face shows the recognition of what internalized homophobia has cost him.

Amidst all the talk of killing gay Vito, major straight characters struggle to come to terms with the big gay news and gain a clearer picture of the man they thought they knew. Leader Tony Soprano himself devotes the better part of a session with his analyst to discussing Vito's homosexuality.

Through Tony's eyes the viewing audience sees the intricacies of individual, community, and cultural homophobia. Tony finds that he is inclined to minimize the impact on the family business of Vito's gayness. But it's clear that even Tony's considerable power as head of the New Jersey mob family will likely prove ineffective when pitted against the sheer force of homophobia.

The current seasons of both The Sopranos and Desperate Housewives are still in progress, so viewers may have to wait a while before receiving a clear picture of the consequences the characters face in their worlds for being gay. But both programs have already made unique contributions to the television landscape by highlighting, in their own unconventional ways, the topic of homophobia.

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