Who are the people on Gayborhood.tv?

Is there not enough gay TV for you? Then maybe you should check out Gayborhood.tv, a site that features a variety of web series focused on different views of gay life, with discussion being heavily encouraged.

My immediate favorite so far is The Box, which started as a collection of gay people speaking their mind at various gay events. However, the tone of the series changes in the third episode, where people talked less about issues and more about the event they were attending. I remember when I was a kid, CBS used to mix little educational segments titled "In the News" amid the commercials -- The Box reminds me of that, giving you a quick view of The Folsom Street Fair, The Gay Rodeo Finals or The White Party in Provincetown.

Urban Safari also seeks out different views of the gay experience, except that this time the focus is on how gay people define themselves. The series has "Tranny Sore-Ass Wreck" Jennifer Justice wandering the streets of West Hollywood and asking people about the "type" of gay person they seem themselves as. While the setting limits how much diversity Justice will find, there's still an interesting mix like the Wolf in training or the Gay Man Trapped in a Lesbian's Body.

Up Close is a series of interviews, each one focusing on a single person. That didn't sound interesting to me at first, but the series finds some interesting subjects and highlights what makes their experience unique. Among the more memorable interviews are Zach, a former Navy officer and religious man, Marcus, a recent college graduate who is still definitely questioning his sexual orientation.

On the other hand, I have mixed feelings about Ben the Ugly Homo, a sharply-edited video blog by a sharp-tongued, Asian, Jewish gay man from the suburbs. Ben can be really funny and engaging in his video blogs (and I really appreciate seeing a gay man of color starring in one of Gayborhood's shows) but his entry on gays and religion left me wondering if he knows enough about the diversity of the gay community to wag his finger at it with authority. That's pretty disappointing considering how Ben had me nodding my head in agreement when he admonished gays who don't care about gay history.

For the most part, I'm enjoying the variety of different types of gay people and gay experiences. There's definitely room for more diversity, but I think there's a lot of potential for the future.