Post by outgirl on Sept 15, 2004 13:57:24 GMT -5
Emilysrevolution posted this on QV and I took the liberty of posting it here for her.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Her response to an editorial criticizing the worth of Queer Eye...
Breeders Beware! This Is Not About You!!
On the surface, the issue of attributing merit to the television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy seems trivial, even silly. This is a show that takes poor heterosexual men without a clue about fashion and culture and teaches them how to dress, eat, decorate, entertain, and fix their hair so that women may find them more attractive. Long the stereotype has lived that straight men could learn a few lessons from their gay cohorts. How often I have heard my girlfriends say that they had met a really great guy: he was friendly and outgoing; they could tell him anything; he had great shoes, only to find out that he was more interested in their brothers than themselves. Certainly, this Emmy award winning show has resonance with them, if not everyone. The argument has been made that Queer Eye is offensive to straight men, that all straight men are not in need of saving by gays and some actually know how to fix their hair and dress, in spite of stereotypes. This humors me. I cannot think of one of my straight male friends who has not or could not benefit from the use of the ‘queer eye.’ Mostly, it has been my experience that girlfriends have been filling this role for years. This show is a tasteless mockery of stereotypes (one that I enjoy), but a more serious question arises concerning how far television has come that homosexuals can finally and without fear mock the heteros. How far has society come and is there a greater importance for shows like Queer Eye and Will & Grace?
Absolutely there is. By accepting gays into the psyche of mainstream T.V. Land, are we a country moving closer to accepting gays into our neighborhoods, our churches, our military, and our government? It is difficult to estimate an answer to that question with the pushing and pulling of current laws regarding gay unions and marriage. One step toward equality for gay people usually precedes two steps back. There is such fierce opposition to gay rights. Our president maintains it is a family value to deny rights to one group of people that are so sacred to another. As John Kerry has said, there are two Americas. Even he failed to mention that there was one for heterosexuals and one for homosexuals. Gay rights have long been overlooked by this government and, until recently, absolutely ignored. Perhaps that is why the attention paid by television viewers to gay oriented and hosted programs like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer As Folk, Will & Grace, The ‘L’ Word, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Rosie O’Donnell show is so remarkable. Society is finally making a place for its gays, even if our government is not quite ready. I imagine that, for a young gay man or woman, seeing another gay on television is like an African American child seeing Sydney Poitier or Dorothy Dandridge on film fifty years ago. It is inspiring and monumental.
So the purpose of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is not to tiptoe around the delicate sensitivities of straight men, but for reveling in queerness and getting paid for it. It is a celebration to all homosexuals who have fought and marched, have been beaten and abused, have more than earned their way to a niche in television’s expansive market. Certainly, if there is room in media for Rush Limbaugh and Fred Phelps, there is room for five gay guys with fabulous hair.
"There is no way to peace; peace is the way."
Gandhi
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Her response to an editorial criticizing the worth of Queer Eye...
Breeders Beware! This Is Not About You!!
On the surface, the issue of attributing merit to the television program Queer Eye for the Straight Guy seems trivial, even silly. This is a show that takes poor heterosexual men without a clue about fashion and culture and teaches them how to dress, eat, decorate, entertain, and fix their hair so that women may find them more attractive. Long the stereotype has lived that straight men could learn a few lessons from their gay cohorts. How often I have heard my girlfriends say that they had met a really great guy: he was friendly and outgoing; they could tell him anything; he had great shoes, only to find out that he was more interested in their brothers than themselves. Certainly, this Emmy award winning show has resonance with them, if not everyone. The argument has been made that Queer Eye is offensive to straight men, that all straight men are not in need of saving by gays and some actually know how to fix their hair and dress, in spite of stereotypes. This humors me. I cannot think of one of my straight male friends who has not or could not benefit from the use of the ‘queer eye.’ Mostly, it has been my experience that girlfriends have been filling this role for years. This show is a tasteless mockery of stereotypes (one that I enjoy), but a more serious question arises concerning how far television has come that homosexuals can finally and without fear mock the heteros. How far has society come and is there a greater importance for shows like Queer Eye and Will & Grace?
Absolutely there is. By accepting gays into the psyche of mainstream T.V. Land, are we a country moving closer to accepting gays into our neighborhoods, our churches, our military, and our government? It is difficult to estimate an answer to that question with the pushing and pulling of current laws regarding gay unions and marriage. One step toward equality for gay people usually precedes two steps back. There is such fierce opposition to gay rights. Our president maintains it is a family value to deny rights to one group of people that are so sacred to another. As John Kerry has said, there are two Americas. Even he failed to mention that there was one for heterosexuals and one for homosexuals. Gay rights have long been overlooked by this government and, until recently, absolutely ignored. Perhaps that is why the attention paid by television viewers to gay oriented and hosted programs like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Queer As Folk, Will & Grace, The ‘L’ Word, the Ellen DeGeneres Show, and the Rosie O’Donnell show is so remarkable. Society is finally making a place for its gays, even if our government is not quite ready. I imagine that, for a young gay man or woman, seeing another gay on television is like an African American child seeing Sydney Poitier or Dorothy Dandridge on film fifty years ago. It is inspiring and monumental.
So the purpose of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is not to tiptoe around the delicate sensitivities of straight men, but for reveling in queerness and getting paid for it. It is a celebration to all homosexuals who have fought and marched, have been beaten and abused, have more than earned their way to a niche in television’s expansive market. Certainly, if there is room in media for Rush Limbaugh and Fred Phelps, there is room for five gay guys with fabulous hair.
"There is no way to peace; peace is the way."
Gandhi
