Hey Dennis – We don’t disagree on any the basic facts about American Idol. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that AI is probably the only remaining water-cooler show (to both gays and straights) to be found in an increasingly fragmented entertainment universe.

The simple question (which might not have a simple answer) is not whether running Idol Chat is standing in the way of covering other entertainment more narrowly targeted to gay men, but, for reasons highlighted below, whether AI in particular should be getting any breezy exposure here at AfterElton. 

That question gains mo relevance to me if one takes into account that the show seems to be working as hard as it can to create the illusion that not one of its contestants or hosts is gay, that the host and lead judge perpetually call out one another on their alleged gayness/lack of masculinity, and that male contestants are told that when they sound/look “girly,” it’s a bad thing. While the latter is not only wrong as proven by many successful musical acts, we live in a world in which those associations hurt those who are different and reinforce the idea to  the millions watching that being left of center is bad.

The above message contradicts the message of tolerance that is the current flavor of the month. I hope that the flavor stays on the menu and not just because of Lawrence King as there are cases as sad as his happening every single day. His was going to be burried until certain elements came together but that is for another post. Is AI legally responsible for the bullying for takes place in schools every single day? Absolutely not, but by creating a universe in which there are no gay people and those who act “gay” or told not to or ridiculed, it seems to be the anti-After-Elton, so why honor it with fun coverage? 

I have not been a fan of AI for a while, but not because of any the intellectual questions/concerns that I am bringing up here. I actually watch a ton of crap that may be worse than AI, but I don’t come to AE expecting to have it covered, as currently being done with  AI. Most showson TV, including AI, clearly don’t meet the basic current AE standards for coverage. It does not mean that we can't enjoy them, including AI. As The World Turns only gets covered here on Nuke days, and with regard to reality TV, only those having active gay participation and a little something extra get the nod. Given AE's gay-centric focus, I think that AI has a long way to go before getting the promotion that it is currently enjoying here. There are hundreds of others doing already, but they don't have the sexual orientation barometer to contend with as we do.

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