Best gay moments on reality television!

One could argue reality shows were one of the forces that brought gay people to mainstream television. From Norman Korpi on the first episode of MTV’s Real World in 1992 to Queer Eye for the Straight Guy in 2003, these are some of the lasting images we have of gays on television. There are arguments on how “positive” or “negative” the images can be; nonetheless, reality television has had a hand in bringing numerous gay men into the public eye -- for good or bad. Check out some of the best gay moments on reality shows.

Naked Richard Hatch winning season one of Survivor

He was conniving and manipulative, but played a vicious game. From the beginning Hatch was openly gay and openly nude (not with the most fabulous body either!). Good ‘ole Dick had no problem prancing on the beach with all of his goodies out to the world. The Survivor cast was mortified, but maybe that was part of his strategy -- keep shocking them. After a Shakespearean speech from one of the booted cast members who said, “vote for him [Richard] as nature intended, because the snake must eat the rat”, Richard won one million dollars and became the first winner of Survivor. Sadly, he is currently in prison for tax evasion. I wonder if he wears the same birthday suit stomping the prison halls?

Karamo coming out in Real World: Philadelphia

At first glance Karamo Brown was another token black character (they always have one or two!) on the fifteenth season of 2004’s Real World. There was another gay guy in the house, Willie Hernandez, and we surely had no reason to believe MTV would put two gay men on the same season. However, by the second episode, "'Out' In Philadelphia", Karamo told all of his roommates he was a gay man. It was a bit of shock for many people that this "masculine" man was not hetero. In the gay community, it confirmed what gays already knew -- that gay men are not one monolithic group. Real World: Philadelphia put a bit more of “umph” in the recycled reality show. Unfortunately, the “umph” evaporated in future seasons.

Boy Meets Boy is not meeting gay boys

Well, “best” may not be the greatest word to describe the 2003 gay-dating-show on Bravo, but it was entertaining in a trashy sort of way. The show featured a plethora of half-naked men frolicking in front of cameras to win the love of James Getzlaff -- a 32 year-old single gay man. He was assisted by his BFF, Andra, a straight woman who had an intense personality and acted like more of a drama queen than any gay man I know. Well, the joke was on James and Andra -- some of the men were straight. If James chose a gay guy he would win $25,000 and a trip to New Zealand. If he picks one of the straights—the straight guy cashes in.

When this secret was revealed to Andra she had a dramatic, Joan Crawford-ish nervous breakdown. It was bizarre and laughable all in the same moment. In the end, James chose another gay man, won the trip and $25,000. The show was not renewed for a second season, but did prove gay men can be trashy and ridiculous, just like The Bachelor or Flava of Love…well, maybe not as trashy as Flava of Love!

Gay couple wins The Amazing Race

When Reichen Lehmkuhl and Chip Arndt appeared on 2003’s season four of The Amazing Race gay couples on TV were a rarity. At the time, there was no LGBT channel and gay marriage was not legal in any state. Nonetheless, throughout the show Reichen and Chip were referenced as a married couple. The two would go onto win and in 2004 the season was honored with an Emmy for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program". Reichen and Chip have since separated, but they still remain friends. In 2006, Reichen received intense media attention for dating former ‘N Sync band member Lance Bass.

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy mania!

When "Queer Eye" debuted in July 2003 on the Bravo channel it was greeted with something akin to hysteria and quickly became a water-cooler topic throughout America. Who knows if it was good timing, straight men tired of being messy, or Carson Kressley’s legendary one-liners, but the show was a hit. There was some controversy in the gay community whether these men were too stereotypical (Carson being the most criticized), however, at the end of the day each person from the "Fab Five" was simply being themselves. And we all have a “Carson” in our circle of friends? The boys became so popular they were part of Barbara Walters Presents The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2003. "Queer Eye" has experienced a rise and fall and on January 12, 2007 Bravo confirmed the show will not be returning.

Pedro from the Real World: San Francisco openly HIV-positive

When Pedro Zamora was cast as a member on Real World: San Francisco as an openly gay and HIV-positive man in 1994, it was beyond groundbreaking. There was still so much stigma about HIV/AIDS and for many, especially young people, Pedro’s face humanized the disease. We learned of his activism, courage and how he discovered he was HIV-positive as a junior in high school. Even through dealing with homophobia from his roommate, Puck, he still remained an inspirational person and the most grounded out of his cast (probably out of any cast member on the Real World!). On November 11, 1994, the day after the final episode of The Real World: San Francisco aired, Pedro died of complications with HIV/AIDS. He was 22-years-old.