The Emmys start honoring reality show hosts, but will our favorite gays be left behind?

This week the Emmy committee announced that a new award would be given out at the next ceremony: Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program.

Now, while the idea of debating if Jeff Probst or Tom Bergeron adds more to their show sounds like a worthwhile discussion, I initially filed that bit of news aside since I couldn't quickly think of many openly gay men hosting reality shows.

But what about the gay men who do regularly appear on reality shows ... namely, the mentors and sidekicks? Are Heidi Klum's contributions to Project Runway greater than Tim Gunn's? Similarly, we're seeing more of Step It Up & Dance's mentor Jerry Mitchell than host Elizabeth Berkeley in the show's early episodes. Aren't they a major part of why we enjoy a show?

I guess you could make an argument that these mentors could be seen as co-hosts since they perform many host-like duties (like when they take charge of a challenge), but would the Emmy committee see things that way? If not, the awards would risk missing out on a major part of what makes these shows so praiseworthy.

Then again we're talking about the Emmys. Don't they usually miss out on the most praiseworthy parts of television?