2007: BEST GAY YEAR EVER!

FEBRUARY: DANIEL IS NUDE, HARDAWAY LEARNS THE HARD WAY AND MIKA IS MEEK
Albus Dumbledore wasn't the only Harry Potter icon getting attention from gay men this year. Daniel Radcliffe, wishing to get out from under the shadow of his character, starred in a revival of Equus. Promotional pics of the nearly nude Radcliffe flew around the internet faster than you could say "muggle".

Too often gay figures in the past never got their due for their contributions. That's why idiots like Republican brainstem Duncan Hunter can go on 60 Minutes and claim we need "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" because the army needs tough warriors. Methinks Duncan skipped the chapter about some guy named Alexander the Great. Well, this month PBS helped correct such historical injustices a little bit with their Lush Life special, all about legendary jazz composer Billy Strayhorn who was reportedly unfairly overshadowed by Duke Ellington.

Fox's The War at Home continued to do a good job with their one gay character as Kenny (Rami Malek) not only came out to his parents (and was forced to move in with the neighbors), but also went out on a date.

The long-brewing Shirley Q. Liquor controversy finally prompted GLAAD to act issuing a statement condemning Charles Knipp's drag performance for "promoting and perpetuating ugly racial statements." I can't say I disagree with them on this one.

Don't tell Brian, I'm mentioning him, but it was about this time this year that Brit popstar Mika really started generating heat for his debut album Life in Cartoon Motion. Mika also started generating heat for his dodging the "are you or aren't you gay" question. Things got especially interesting when Mika buddied up with notorious closet-hater Perez Hilton who uncharacteristically had nothing to say about Mika's sexuality.

Before Project Runway had Jack Mackenroth as an out, HIV positive contestant, Bravo's ill-fated Top Design featured John Gray. Unlike Jack, John left the show the old-fashioned way — canned by the judges.

Even though it's only February, former NBA star Tim Hardaway put himself in first place to win homophobe of the year when he went on an on-air rant about how loathsome gay people are. Said Hardaway:

Well, you know I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it.

The NBA sent Hardaway home from the All Star game and made it clear they didn't countenance his remarks. After Hardaway attended classes on homophobia and did some volunteer work, he has since been allowed to participate in some NBA events.

Late night talkshow host Jimmy Kimmel put his foot in it when Rebecca Romijn dropped by and Kimmel read a "story" that involved a transgender character getting whacked by an ax. N-i-i-c-e, Jimmy. Real nice. GLAAD got in touch with Kimmel's folks who said, "Jimmy l-o-o-ves transgender people and will be more sensitive in the future." Don't worry though, Jimmy will still have Chris Crocker to pick on later in the year.

Fans of Brothers & Sisters were fairly divided over whether Chad Barry (Jason Lewis) was a good match for Kevin (Matthew Rhys) as well as Lewis' commitment to playing a gay character, but few could argue that Lewis got better at kissing Rhys.

IMHO — The Year in TV

The city of Denver, Colorado might be a mile high, but this latest edition of MTV's once worthwhile reality show sinks to new lows and the out Davis is part of the drunken bacchanal thereby proving that not all gay visibility is created equal. Davis, you're no Pedro!

 

Fox may have only had one gay character, but thankfully they made it a good one. When Kenny came out, viewers saw a gay kid kicked out of his home, something that still happens far too frequently. Even better, it was the blue collar dad next door who took him in, taught him the ins and outs of safe sex and eventually reunited him with his family.

 

For those who find Kevin Walker (Matthew Rhys) to be too complicated over on Brothers & Sisters, Kyle Lendo (Sean Maguire) provided the perfect antidote. He was happily partnered, happily gay, and happily boring as his character didn't have much to do except react to the straight character's romantic travails. I'll take Kevin any day.