Jorn Weisbrodt and Rufus Wainwright bundle up to visit the NYC Museum of Modern Art (GETTY)
Following this assortment of carefully-selected news items, interested readers can find a refreshing pic of a hot man in underwear after the jump. Yes, we're serious.
- Theater director Jorn Weisbrodt and his celebrity boyfriend, singer Rufus Wainwright, braved the unseasonably cold weather last night to attend the opening of "Pour Your Body Out", a multimedia installation by artist Pipilotti Rist at the NYC Museum of Modern Art. A "multimedia installation"? Isn't that what Carrie's Russian boyfriend did on Sex & the City? And no one could quite figure out what it meant?
- True Blood star Ryan Kwanten has given an interview to POPWRAP in which he talks about working with out producer Alan Ball and all the nude scenes he's been required to do: "But I am putting myself in Mr. Ball's careful hands so it's never just nudity for nudity's sake - it always comes from a strong story point."
- A documentary to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the first World AIDS Day has been commissioned by BBC Radio 2. How AIDS Changed America will be presented by actor Paul Michael Glaser (who lost both his wife and daughter to an AIDS-related illness) and will air on BBC Radio 2 on December 2nd. The doc will combine archival footage and new interviews and "look back at nearly three decades of pain, prejudice and progress in the American peoples' struggle with the virus."
Niall delivers a crippling blow to Craig on Hollyoaks Later.
- Good news for Holllyoaks fans. The much anticipated return of the evil Niall (Barry Sloane) will occur November 24th on the late night spin-off Hollyoaks Later. He's set to do battle with the gay character of Craig (Guy Burnet), who's returning for this special showdown. The last time we saw Craig he was riding off into the sunset with boyfriend John Paul.
- And finally, today is the tenth annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. It was founded ten years ago to honor Rita Hester, a transgender woman who was murdered November 28, 1998. The annual event is designed to raise public awareness of anti-transgender hate crimes and to encourage people to be allies to the transgender community. To mark the occasion, GLAAD is premiering a new PSA starring transgender actress Candis Cayne.
And today's Briefs are brought to you by...
This guy!
Submitted by
on Thu, 2008-11-20 19:38.
Hollyoaks
the gay character of Craig
It seems to me like they've emphasised again and again on Hollyoaks that Craig isn't gay. Bisexual, yes. Not gay. To me, that was part of what made the story interesting. Craig's journey and identity was very different to his boyfriend John Paul's (who did unambiguously identify as gay).
Craig Dean Not gay or Bi
Airport
Basically, he is still in the same place that he was last year, when John Paul left him at the airport.
John Paul left Craig at the airport because Craig wouldn't kiss him in public, had a problem talking to his family about the relationship, got hugely defensive when anyone made a joke about his sexuality, and kept saying insistently that he wasn't gay. By the time Craig came back, he had no problem discussing the relationship (in fact he made a point of telling his sister he and JP were back together), was brushing off "Graham Norton" jokes from his stepbrother, didn't bother correcting JP when JP assumed he was gay - and, most crucially, was perfectly comfortable kissing JP in a crowded train station and holding his hand. So I wouldn't say he was "in the same place".
According to a new interview with Guy Burnet, Craig will tell his sister that he isn't gay or bi, and that he is only in love with John Paul.
Are you talking about this interview?
http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/a136172/bonus-scoop-hollyoaks-guy-burnet.html
He says that Craig isn't gay, but he doesn't say he isn't bi - basically, he just says Craig doesn't categorise himself as one sexuality, and that's representative of a certain number of people out there. Which is true.
It wasn't that simple
John Paul and Craig's problems went a lot deeper than Craig not kissing John Paul in public. When John Paul overheard Craig's conversation with his brother, he realized that Craig was still ashamed of their relationship, and that he would continue to mistreat him as he did before. John Paul and Craig never discussed this problem when Craig came back, so the issue was not ressolved. Two months ago, the writers had Craig's sister calling him bi-curious, and by the sounds of the interview, it seems like Steph tries to goad him about his sexuality, and he lets it be known that he doesn't consider himself to be gay or bi. He's straight, with homosexual tendencies, as Guy said. Either way, it again shows how lousy the SE was.
By the way, there are two parts to that interview. Read both parts, Guy had many of the same problems with the so called sunset ending that a lot of people had.
John Paul and Craig's
John Paul and Craig's problems went a lot deeper than Craig not kissing John Paul in public
Really? Obviously they loved eachother a great deal, and were prepared to change a lot in their lifestyles for the other (Craig chose to be with JP than keep his family happy, and JP was going to move to Ireland with the guy).So I can't see a problem with that. Especially compared to the basis for most relationships in this genre.
I'm not sure "ashamed" is the right word - he'd previously yelled at his mother and brother, saying "what have we done that's so wrong?!". That, to me, suggests that Craig is starting to find that the problem is with people judging THEM, not them doing something to be ashamed of. The right phrase is probably "not ready": I think that neither JP OR Craig were prepared to be together - JP obviously hadn't understood how difficult it was for Craig, and Craig didn't know how difficult it was going to be.
The reason this was never discussed when he came back was because IT DIDN'T NEED TO BE. Obviously communication is a good thing in these circumstances, but it was clear from the offset that Craig has grown into the kind of person he needed to have been when he first left - like someone else said, he's clearly a lot more comfortable being out with JP now, in all senses of the word, hugging him closely, shrugging off insults from his step-brother and he even starts his little "no I'm not going anywhere" spiel with the door WIDE OPEN, only shutting it to demonstrate that he really is not going anywhere til he's got an answer. The old Craig would not have done that. I see that as a clear sign that the only problem Craig had then, is not knowing where he stood with JP.
And the final ten seconds of the SE - did that not spell it out for you? Craig being comfortable with JP and joking about how all his mates think he's straight? He's not gay, but he isn't straight either. I think it'd be unfair to the character and the rest of his time on HO to say he was gay, but he's clearly not 100% straight. I'm excited to see how he's come to terms with that, but I can't say it shows in any way how "lousy the SE was".
not only Craig?
Sorry but i don't believe in such a thing
If you are a man and love another man, you are gay or bisexual. Maybe you are bi and are more atracted by woman, but you are at least bi.
If you are straight you don't date other boys
If you are straight you
If you are straight you don't date other boys
I agree. But this is my point exactly - Guy doesn't say that Craig is straight. In fact it seems to me he directly implies that Craig isn't straight - because he says that Craig "doesn't categorise himself as one sexuality" (which he would be doing if he called himself straight).
To Clarify
Just for the record, I don't buy the arguements that Craig is JP-sexual or that he is heterosexual with homosexual tendencies. In fact, I think people who make that claim in the real world, only see people who are the same sex that they are, as sexual partners, or they just don't accept their sexuality.
BTW. in this interview,
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?Burnet:_Im_proud_of_gay_storyline&in_article_id=411444&in_page_id=7&in_a_source=
Burnett says that he did research on people who are heterosexual and then find out that they have homosexual tendencies. He uses some of the same language that he uses in the DS interview.
Fair enough....
Just for the record, I don't buy the arguements that Craig is JP-sexual or that he is heterosexual with homosexual tendencies. In fact, I think people who make that claim in the real world, only see people who are the same sex that they are, as sexual partners, or they just don't accept their sexuality.
BTW. in this interview,
http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/article.html?Burnet:_Im_proud_of_gay_storyline&in_article_id=411444&in_page_id=7&in_a_source=
Burnett says that he did research on people who are heterosexual and then find out that they have homosexual tendencies. He uses some of the same language that he uses in the DS interview.
No one said you had to, Cadence. But just because you don't "buy" it does not mean it cannot be true.
FFS
Geeezzz...still bitter about the SE, Candence???
And because Kieron was gay everything was perfect in their relationship?? You wish!! Apart from the fact JP was miserable for playing the "wife role"and not being free to act like someone of his age...you gotta remember JP himself said something was missing with Kieron ( and FK was gay!! )
Why do you people have the need to categorise Craig´s sexuality???
I think JP ( who´s the one who cares here ) is happy in Dublin ( like he said to Myra ). And what really matters is the fact Craig loves him ( he said that a number of times during SE ) and will gladly bonk him every night! :PPP
What?
What in the world are you responding to? This section is about Craig Dean's sexuality, and the person who portrays him agreeing that he is not straigjt but also saying that he is not bisexual, as many would assume. It seems that you are the one who is bitter, as well as unable to read.
I don't have the time or the patience to get into a discussion with someone who has their own agenda, and who really doesn't care what others are saying. As far as John Paul and Craig's problems, even Guy didn't like the fairy tale and cliched development of the SE, so maybe he's bitter too. Maybe you should address your complaints to him, because he may have more patience to discuss how happy fictional characters are.
To clarify...
What in the world are you responding to? This section is about Craig Dean's sexuality, and the person who portrays him agreeing that he is not straigjt but also saying that he is not bisexual, as many would assume. It seems that you are the one who is bitter, as well as unable to read.
I don't have the time or the patience to get into a discussion with someone who has their own agenda, and who really doesn't care what others are saying. As far as John Paul and Craig's problems, even Guy didn't like the fairy tale and cliched development of the SE, so maybe he's bitter too. Maybe you should address your complaints to him, because he may have more patience to discuss how happy fictional characters are.
Cadence, since you are quick to jump on people claiming they are unable to read, I direct you to the above first bolded statement you present as fact. Guy made no such claim in his Digital Spy interview. In fact, Guy did not even use the term bisexual. You are making assumptions as to what he may or may not mean by adding words and presenting them as fact to suit your argument.
Also, as far as the second bolded statement you present as fact; Guy did not say he did not "like" the fairytale ending. He said, "The Sunset Ending is what the fans wanted. So do you give fans what they want? I think in this case yeah - you've got your fairytale ending. I'd have probably preferred it to have been more original and less fairytale..It's hard for me to suggest an alternative ending, to be honest. It was the obvious ending to go for… obvious and maybe a little clichéd."
As you can clearly see, Guy said he would have "probably preferred" it to have been less fairytale but I don't see the term "didn't like" as you put forth.
Did Guy mean what you claim in his interview? Perhaps he did but perhaps he didn't. One thing is for sure though, he did not "say" it as you so claim. Best to stick to what was actually said, rather than make assumptions based on what wasn't said, wouldn't you agree?
At The End Of The Day...
as a self-proclaimed "gay" person, it seems to me we can be less judgmental. Sure, it's not quite the norm for a person to be "uni-sexual" for one same sex person and not another ever, but at the end of the day, they are people out there who categorize themselves as only a one person homo/heterosexual. I think with the acceptance we search for with our own civil rights for gay Americans right now, we should be accepting of other people who might choose to love just one person of the same sex as opposed to many. After all, this is TV and a soap character. I personally love the show and Craig and John Paul. Their storyline has always been candid, layered, engrossing, and obviously entertaining. Compared to what we have here with ATWT, it's pure MAGIC that we have a chance to see how gay, bi, or "JP-sexual" relationships can be told. Also, both Guy Burnet and James Sutton not only portray it well but are great guys to boot. They really enjoyed their roles and how they represented their characters to their audience especially their gay/bi/questioning fans! Here's to hope we get a JP call from Craig on Friday's Later episode. Long live McDean...Cheers!!! :)
Thinking out of our boxes
...or closets. I think that's what the Craig Dean characterisation urges us to do. As a gay man, I have to accept that not every man who sleeps with other men will classify himself gay. I might call him gay but if he doesn't label himself gay then really should I insist? Do labels matter?
Its all about accepting that sexuality is not a fixed thing. I remember watching an old British movie directed by Russell T Davies of the Dr. Who fame called Bob and Rose. In it, a gay man falls in love with a woman and they get married. And it was based on a true story. Yes. It happens.
For me the Craig/John Paul story was summarised in these words " It's not about being gay, its about who you fall in love with". Thats the story Hollyoaks was telling. And love it or hate it- thats how Guy Burnet played Craig Dean.
And oh yeah- the Sunset Ending (2 months down the line) is STILL perfect.