Ask the Flying Monkey (November 26, 2008)

Q: I have this memory of there being a “gay” episode of the original The Love Boat. Can this possibly be? – Fonda, Edmonton, Canada

A: The Monkey assumes you’re not talking about the 1982 episode where Carol Channing, Della Reese, Ann Miller, and Ethel Merman (in her last screen performance) all guest star as rival aging divas (and, of course, end up putting on a show together), right?

No, the Monkey suspects you mean the 1984 episode that includes the “Frat Brothers Forever” storyline where an old frat buddy of Doc’s (Roy Thinnes) comes to take a cruise with a male friend (Matt McCoy). Back in college, Doc was in awe of his friend’s ways with women and is eager to see him in action on board the boat. But the former frat buddy has a secret: his cabin-mate is more than just a “friend.”

Alas, Doc’s gay friend and his partner are the first cruisers in the history of The Love Boat not to actually fall in love on board or display any affection whatsoever — maybe not even a firm handshake! But the Monkey’s memory is that the episode was actually quite progressive for its day.

Q: Boyzone’s new single ("Better”) isn't the best in the world, but the video does have Stephen Gately singing to another man when the others are singing to women. Also John Barrowman's new video (“What About Us”) has a gay couple in it, but these are both very recent and contain gay singers. So, are there any other music videos out there with gay couples in them? – Will, Canterbury, England

Stephen Gately (2nd from left) and the rest of Boyzone being cheeky

A: Aren’t both Boyzone and Barrowman's latest videos great? Both had the Monkey smiling from ear to ear.

But when the Monkey was done smiling, he had to ask himself: What the hell took so long? We gay and bi folks have written, produced, sung, and choreographed much of the most famous music of all time — and we’ve almost never been featured in any mainstream music videos. Imagine if it had taken them thirty years to put a Hispanic person or an interracial couple in a music video. And yet, until I saw these two new videos, the Flying Monkey never even really noticed how unfair things have been!

Internalized homophobia is not our friend.

Okay, sure, there might have been one or two exceptions over the years: Zazie’s delightful 1995 French video “Un Point C’est Toi,” Olivia Newton John’s 1981 video for “Physical,” and Celine Dion’s surprisingly explicit 1993 video “Ziggy,” about a woman in love with a gay male friend (and who she spies on in the shower!). But these are all told from a straight female POV (and were censored in the U.S. anyway).

Even the videos for the few songs that are obviously about gay people or relationships, Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax” and Joan Armatrading’s “Everyday Boy,” either feature crude, in-your-face sexual imagery or go to ridiculous lengths to avoid the topic completely.

But actual gay romance in a mainstream music video? We’re talking a whole new world here. Let’s hope it’s the start of a trend!

Next page! An AfterElton.com name change? And McKellen and Cumming both in hot water.