 by Lyle Masaki
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"Big Brother 9"'s James discusses being bisexual, wins a viewer favorite prize
So, this past Big Brother season started with a little bit of promise, and quickly lost my interest, as the show frequently does. The Big Brother casting directors found people cretinous enough to make me long for the likes of Jase, Scott and, yes, Ivette. I might have been interested in the potential showmance between Neil and Joshuah but after Neil suddenly left the house, the obnoxiousness of this season became too much for me to bear. However, Joshuah and Neil weren't the only houseguests on this Big Brother season who got noticed by gay viewers. It quickly turned out that James had appeared on a gay porn website, something that started debates on discussion boards on whether or not James had defined himself as bisexual on the live feeds. Aside from that, there were also moments like the time when Joshuah talked about being a top and James told him, essentially, 'You don't know what you're missing.'.
The interviewer asks James why he didn't "make a play for" Joshuah, but James either dodges or misunderstands the question, explaining that he never felt Joshuah was being singled out for being gay. (I'm guessing "misunderstand" since James struck me as the someone blunt enough to say "I didn't make a play for Joshuah because I spent time with him.") While James didn't win the season, he did win a $25,000 "favorite jury member" prize, voted on by the viewers. I have to admit I find that interesting that viewers didn't hold James' gay porn past against him and that, while the series has yet to see a queer contestant win, one did end up becoming a "fan favorite" ... even though he wasn't one identified as queer when the series began. You can check out the whole interview here. We haven't talked about Big Brother since Joshuah was evicted (and there wasn't much of a response then) but now that the season's over does anyone have any final thoughts? We had one gay man and two bisexual men in the house and ... well, Joe and Dustin got more buzz among gay pop culture fanatics. Is this season one of those best forgotten? Submitted by on Tue, 2008-04-29 14:11. |
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Well, if it weren't clear then, in a post-finale interview, James identifies himself as bisexual and saying he was open about his bisexuality in the house but avoided discussing it in the house because of worries about homophobia.
Followup
HATE the Pink Mohawk!
I heard there was a family
I heard there was a family sickness or something. He really didn't get a change to shine though.
Define your own normal.
mynormalgaylife.com
Lyle which contestant was initially not identified as gay?
My co-favorites ever were not gay, but if they can only more find Dr. Will, Kaysar and Jannelle types and less Natalie and "Bueno"-types, then BB10 might be fun. Did you catch the blonde bombshell in the audience last night. She better be getting paid big cash for that as that audience looked tragic.
I was not surprised that James won something as he (and possibly Josuah's replacement partner) seemed the least annoying on that jury . Also keep in mind that "America" voted for Sheila as their runner-up so I don't know about this country of ours. Sheila's probably still crying at home for the injustice of not being carried for the entire show or coming in second. Her "son" (poor kid) is probably snuffing her with a pillow as he can't show his face due to her antics...
And then there is the Chen-bot. She gets worse every season and this time she's back in just a little over 2 months. Ugh!
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That was a reference to James
As for Sheila, well, by the time I dropped out of the show I probably would have named her the second least odious person in the season, but that's more a statement of how much I couldn't stand everyone else more.
BTW, mentioning the past gays of Big Brother brings another thought to mind -- so far, aside from Dr. Will, it's only been Big Brother's gay contestants who've had a post-BB career before cameras. Marcellas hosts various entertainment shows and Will Winkle was on Logo's re-purposed travel show. Most Big Brother "stars" only go on to make further appearances on Big Brother (unless you count short roles on The Young and the Restless). Next to Dr. Will Janelle and Kaysar are supposed to be the most popular Big Brother houseguests ever but where have they been seen outside of Big Brother and Big Brother-related events?
As for the Chenbot, I keep hoping that somebody will just fly over Davina McCall, she makes the UK Big Brother so much more watchable.
You are on the money on all counts Lyle
I had not thought about the post-BB career before the camera success, but unless I am mistaken you are on the money about Dr. Will being the only non-gay enjoying any. It's odd as most of the younger contestants are already in LA to "make it" and seem ready, willing, and would kill to be on TV in any capacity. Go gays, esp. Will as I remember liking him a lot!
I have to catch this Davina McCall and follow on on what happened to the Brazilian bear that AE had a spotlight on a while back. The only chance of the Chenbot going away is if there is a divorce as I am sure you are well aware who she's married to.
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Davina McCall
Bogus Reality
Some believe that if only a gay contestant behaves nicely he or she will win. Not a chance. Straight males on this show can do whatever they want and still win. The game is shacked against gay people from the start. Straight male contestants form alliances rejecting females and gay men. The females and gay men form weak alliances that often work against their long-term interest like voting off a female or gay man instead of a straight male. This is the 6th time in 9 seasons that a straight male has won Big Brother. The only time a straight male has not won is when there were three or more females in the final four.
James and Josh are not bisexual. Male sexuality is divided by gender, either you like men or you like women.
Neil was forced out of the house because the producers didn't want possibly three gay men there. That's my suspicion.
bisexuality
ha, what ignorance, "james and josh are not bisexual. male sexuality is divided by gender, either you like men or you like women". and this from a gay man!! i guess only women can be bisexual. james clearly was having sex with the bisexual chelsea, and we've all seen the porn. he likes both. deal gay guy.
I think it's all about gender not sexual orientation
I don't see a player's sexual orientation being a huge burden, but I do think that there is a gender issue at play, but it has nothing to do with the producers of these shows but a sad reflection of a sexist society in which both men and women mistrust other women. For those watching the current Survivor, it will be interesting to see if for the first time ever, women are smart/strong/strategic enough get the remaining men out and then battle one another.
With regard to BB9, there were two clear examples of how females are manipulated by men or conditioned to hate other females. Straight Mattie and gay Joshuah both treated their females partners like puppets. Both women even risked being voted out to save what they had been convinced were their more vulnerable "partners."
Women could rule the universe if they worked together and stopped trusting men over their own gender. I don't want anyone ruling the universe but it would be nice to see more women in positions of power.
Even after watching many of these shows, I am not sure that there is a recipe for success with regard to sexual orientation. Joshuah was working with both the women and the guys and could have made it far so one could argue that gay men have an easier time than women as some are able to get along with both sexes without serving as overt threats.
I am not on board with Neil being forced out or that the producers wanted anything different than what they got. I assume that Neil must have wanted out (no clue as to why) and the producers were so pissed that they erased his life on that show. His leaving created a problem that killed the premise for this couples cycle as bringing back Sharon stuck out like a sore thumb.
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Deserved Triumphs On Survivor
Richard Hatch hunted for food in the ocean. The other contestants were unable to swim or didn't want to get food. They had to keep him in the game or else they wouldn't eat. He also had a very good social strategy which helped him get the votes needed to win. As you may remember America wanted Rudy Bosch to win (because he is a straight male) even though he did nothing.
Todd Herzog was outmatched physically and outnumbered. He used his superior social skills to form an alliance with three women. They made the right decisions at critical points to elimate straight male contestants. As a result they all made it to the final four where Todd used his great social skills to woo voters by saying the right things.
Both very much deserved to win. Unlike all straight male contestants on reality games who just happen to be in the right place and manage to be the last striaght male left.
As I have said many times in many different ways, the oppression of women is related to the oppression of gay men in that both are devalued and misrepresented in an effort by straight males to gain power over them.