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Wayne Besen
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It was business as usual when Tonight Show host Jay Leno asked his guest, Ryan Phillippe, to give his "gayest look" because he once played a gay character on the soap opera "One Life to Live." The mortified reaction of Phillippe, however, combined with the outrage of gay rights groups, hopefully represents the end of a shameful era where it was acceptable to portray homosexuals as punch lines instead of people. While Leno apologized, the industry has a sorry record of thoughtlessly exploiting gays for cheap laughs.
Gay advocates have traditionally given comedians and sitcom writers wide latitude because for decades their material offered rare visibility. At one time, it was a relief when comedians made cracks about the "love that dare not speak its name," even if it came with the cruel cost of homosexuals being made the constant butt of tasteless jokes. While their words stung, they were certainly preferable to railing preachers who declared gays sinful or the conservative politicians who attacked basic legal rights.
With little information about homosexuality - comedy offered a way to raise the topic among peers. Gay people could use the occasion of a joke to see how friends reacted and get a better idea who might be accepting - or who also might be gay.
Additionally, comedy served as a useful icebreaker in educating people about this controversial topic. For example, when I attended The University of Florida in the early 1990's, I would often speak to social science classes about my sexual orientation. Most of the students, at that time, had no openly gay friends. To break the palpable tension, I regularly told a joke about how I came out to my girlfriend.
I recounted to the students that since I was unable to utter the word "gay", I took three tangerines off of a tree. One represented me, the other my girlfriend and the third a guy I was interested in at school. I then guardedly told my girlfriend, "if I were to go on a date, who would I go out with. After that, with hesitation, I slid the citrus that represented me, next to the produce that represented my male crush. The self-deprecating punch line was, "that was certainly one way to tell my girlfriend that I was a fruit."
The joke was always a hit and many of the students opened their minds after they laughed. Humor was a way to find common ground so we could discuss the real issues of crass stereotypes and rampant discrimination.
Nonetheless, I would never dream of telling that antiquated joke today as the world has dramatically changed. In contemporary America, the majority of people know someone who is gay or lesbian. Visibility is no longer a major issue and there are positive role models for today's gay youth. There are also a plethora of state and federal laws that now protect homosexuals from discrimination, while the next generation is favorably disposed to full marriage rights.
Indeed, in 2008 there is nothing shocking or bizarre about the existence of gay people in everyday life. We are bankers, sanitary workers, doctors, parents, flight attendants and talk show hosts. Unfortunately, many comedians still act as if it were 1978 and immaturely treat homosexuality like an exotic novelty.
If one watches network sitcoms, gags involving gays are disturbingly ubiquitous. The wisecracks are astounding in their sheer number and outright brazenness. After all, could you imagine if Leno had learned that an actor's first role was a Jew and he urged him to "look Jewish"?
Unfortunately, there is a double standard when it comes to homosexuals in America. All too often, it is acceptable to disguise humiliation as humor, with the audience laughing at us, not with us. One wonders if many of today's writers could complete a sitcom script without lacing it with homophobic laugh lines.
Deciding when a joke is funny or anti-gay fodder is a delicate task. It does not help the gay and lesbian movement to be seen as killjoys, but, at the same time, much damage is done when we are comically killed for the joy of others. Society should be concerned whether the cumulative effect of demeaning jokes has a negative impact on gay teenagers, who are more likely to commit suicide.
So, where is the appropriate place to draw the line?
If gay individuals or groups do something that is actually amusing or absurd, it is perfectly acceptable that they be laughed at and lampooned. However, simply being gay - or insinuating that someone is homosexual - should not be considered inherently funny. The punch line should never be: "Ha, ha, ha, you're gay." If the comedy writers can't come up with more creative jokes, they should seriously consider new jobs.
Jay Leno's interview with Ryan Phillippe was quite perfunctory and the comedian had no apparent malice. He had simply trotted out a tired industry formula that had been repeated thousands of times. But, the old routine did not elicit a routine response, signifying that gay people are finally standing up to the stand-up comics.
24 Comments:
All good commentary, I think your criterion for what crosses the line is very logical - gay jokes can be funny but not when the assumption is that being gay is inherently something to laugh at. Sounds solid to me.
I would only point out that your assertion that visibility is no longer a problem in America is a generalization, and is greatly dependent on your geographical location and its local culture.
In my home town way up in Bumblefuck, Wisconsin, visibility is still very much an issue. Two years ago I wrote an editorial in the local paper there about the gay marriage ban being proposed by legislators, and it was clear from the absurd reactions that it was the first time many of the people there had ever been confronted with a gay issue. Many of them assumed gay was the same thing as child molester. We were unable to discuss the legal ramifications of the constitutional amendment, because most people hadn't even accepted that gay people exist, and the conversation quickly devolved into hate speech and religious gobbledygook.
And I'd bet the people there, both gay and straight, would have a very different reaction to Leno's remarks than you or I. They might also benefit from your fruit joke, I think to them it would be brand new and refreshing (no pun intended), not antiquated.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 10:02 AM
This is also true for African Americans. I'm caucasian, but some of the humor I see coming *from* black people about black culture etc. makes me cringe a little bit as it either crosses the line or comes very close to being racist. Much humor is based on stereotypes and those *in* that group can, of course, get away with more than those not in a particular group. But, you're right, knowing where the line is can be tricky business. The safest course is, if you have any doubts about its appropriateness, dont say it!
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 11:22 AM
It's a shame that it take such an effort to get people to simply respect each other. But we have made terrific progress.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 1:42 PM
Typically when black people make jokes about their own race or call each other nigga, they're being ironic. But there's always the dumb white guy who whines "how come they get to say the N word and I can't". Because unless you have an understanding with that person, the context would be completely different, that's why. And anyway nobody's stopping you, go ahead and walk up to a black person and call him or her a nigger. Just be prepared to deal with the consequences and don't say nobody warned you!
(Just aiming that at a hypothetical dumb white guy like the ones I grew up with, not anyone in particular)
Similarly if a queer or notably queer friendly comedian (like that red-haired D-list woman, forgot her name) had asked Philippe that same question Leno did, he or she would probably have meant it ironically as well. They would both get a good laugh, because the context of the joke itself would point out how stupid stereotypes are. Comedy shows like Family Guy work on the same principle - they make outrageous racist jokes, but since it's all in the service of reflecting on racism and criticizing it, it's not offensive, in fact it's quite hilarious. The stupidity of bigotry becomes the real target of the joke, not the minority group in question.
It seems like this is all very obvious to anyone who's ever had their lives affected by injustice or has any level of social awareness. But it tends to fly over the heads of a lot of straights, whites, and/or males who are oblivious to social inequality. People like Bill O'Reilly for example will probably never understand it, they'll go on trying to play the victim and accusing the offended minority group of being the bullies.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 2:34 PM
I thought I was the crazy one. A couple of weeks ago I was listening to the Stephanie Miller show on the local progressive talk radio. She was talking about Barack Obama's lack of skill in the area of bowling. I cringed when she stated that he ought to not bowl because he looked gay. I thought about contacting her show, but my gay friends with me in the car said I would simply bring on scorn and I would be told to get a life and a sense of humor. It still bothers me.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 5:52 PM
'It was business as usual when Tonight Show host Jay Leno asked his guest, Ryan Phillippe, to give his "gayest look" because he once played a gay character on the soap opera "One Life to Live."'
This is a completely trivial incident that makes me shrug.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/09/2008 6:56 PM
"I cringed when she stated that he ought to not bowl because he looked gay."
That was crass and I did take offense to it, just by reading it, and she should have been called on it. That, I would say, crossed the line! Now if she said he looked like a girl, that may have been acceptable.
Similarly, Joe Bartlett of WOR's early morning news with Donna Hanover-Giuliani here in NYC has made veiled homophobic slurs at politicians who cross their legs when being interviewed on t.v. describing it as not a very masculine trait. This same news commentator is also very anti marriage equality too among other things. Typical of a right wing republican.
posted by Anonymous, at
4/11/2008 7:58 AM
