"Queer Eye" vs "Will & Grace"

I am a huge fan of “What Not To Wear” and “Project Runway”, so taking the opportunity to watch “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” seemed an appropriate choice for one of my queer TV show reviews. Kudos for a successful queer show, but I did not like the show. That is an understatement, I HATED the show. How more stereotypical can it be presented than “queer guys have style” and “straight guys are helplessly devoid of style!” I hate admitting that, because there are some good points about having this be a successful gay show on mainstream tv – first is the use of the term QUEER! Yes, it is great to see the new universal term for “not straight or narrow” minded folk. But who knows that except those who are either part of the queer culture, or have been exposed to the liberation of that term via a course such as this?? I had a terrible time even using that term at the beginning of this course, now I bandy it about with great pride – I like the encompassing feeling of the term. (ok.. too much rambling there)

My second show choice was already a favorite of mine - “Will & Grace.” Gone since 2006 it brought a tear to my eye watching an older episode and feeling a sadness that the series is gone. Still with a fresh outlook I reviewed some of the sitcom information. I never considered if the actors were real life queer, or only actors. Different than Queer Eye where the actors are publicly queer (obviously how else would this be a reality show?!). I tried to find out for sure about the actors on W&G, and seem to find that only one – the actor who plays “Jack” refuses to make his preference known. Should it matter? I never thought about it before, but it does. Obviously there is not a shortage of queer males who would love the opportunity to play a queer man on tv (I can point out 5 already) – so why not use them?!

Is it commoditization to cash in on the “gay man style” stereotype? Maybe because it is not threatening to straight men to be portrayed as stupid and incompetent when it comes to tying a tie, buttoning your trousers or just normal hygiene – it is after all these same type of men who wear paint instead of clothes to football games in the snow! (Terrible dig there)

Will and Grace rode the wave of public acceptance of Ellen DeGeneres both on and off screen in 1997, interest in portraying queer in mainstream tv as “normal” instead of silently coded and hinted at. Who indeed did the queer characters symbolize though? As almost par for “normal” gay male characters were shown as middle class, educated white men! And while some homosexual issues were covered, there was not a lot of sexuality portrayed – that is still for the most part taboo.

Some stats:

Will & Grace – debuted on NBC Monday, September 21, 1998 at 9:30 pm.
- Top 20 most watched shows by end of the first season
- 1999 People's Choice Award for Favorite New Comedy Series
- 2000 Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series
- 2002 & ’03 Emmy nominations
- 7 GLAAD Media Awards
- Lasted 8 seasons

Queer Eye for the Straight Guy –
- Debuted in 2003
- Lasted 4 seasons & is currently in syndication (reruns)
- 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Reality Program
- 2005 Emmy nomination
- 2 GLAAD Media Awards

What comes next? There is a need for more exposure to mainstream viewing of queer folk. Perhaps it is time to portray queer lifestyle more realistically with a grittier edge. Let mainstream heterosexual society see that gay people are not just like them, they are not “normal” as in losing their identity to fit in… but that they can have a lot of the same aspects, but they are not afraid to be queer and embrace their sexuality. Perhaps that is a long stretch, but I think the time will come where it is “normal” to see all sexualities on tv, because just like everyday life, these people are part of our society and culture. Maybe even someday we will begin to see not just white queers.. but all the colors of the rainbow portrayed.