Glee and Stereotypes: Effeminate homosexuals

Writer Ryan Murphy was so taken with Chris Colfer at his audition that the role of Kurt was then written specifically for him. Kurt Hummel, as a character, has gone on to be one of the most successful characters on the show.

I, and this blog, are pro gay rights. Why? Because people happily living their LGBTQ lifestyle harms no one. It's not a debate I wish to get in to here and now and I will not suffer homophobia on this blog.

In this post I'd like to discuss the stereotypical depiction of gay men as effeminate and why this is harmful.

Now to discuss why this image is potentially upsetting and harmful we have to consider two key things: sexuality and gender. We also have to consider the correlation between the two.

What bothers me is that Ryan Murphy, creator of Glee, is a gay man himself. Having created a widely popular and successful TV show during a time when the LGBTQ community have more of a voice than ever surely this would be a great time to raise awareness and support for gay characters and gay issues. Instead he writes his male characters in this effeminate style - not only in Glee, but in his new show The New Normal.

This is harmful as it supports the idea that gay men as 'lesser' men for their sexuality. Characters even refer to Kurt as "Lady Hummel" and having Kurt and Blaine join in with Rachel singing 'Big Girls Don't Cry' - this is offensive. It is demeaning to the gay community. Having Kurt voted as Prom Queen as if to suggest the entire school is bullying him because of the supposed correlation between sexuality and gender. Offensive, presumptuous nonsense, my friends, that's what it is.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with this effeminate image, people can live however they want to live and be who they want to be, but the pre-existing stereotype almost suggests that there is something emasculating about homosexuality and what has to be understood is that masculinity is such an abstract and arbitrary concept. When a stereotype is overused people may find themselves thinking that this is a representation of the gay community as a whole and this simply isn't so. Perpetuating the stereotype may not only make LGBTQ teens feel insecure ("I don't fit into this image of gayness I always see, what does this mean?") but it also perpetuates certain negative aspects of the stereotype such as the notion that all gays are catty/bitchy and therefore not nice people.

In the Glee episode "Naked" Tina says to Blaine that he should come to the mall with her because she wants to go shopping thus reducing Blaine to a commodity: that sassy gay friend you can go shopping with. Needless to say gay men aren't accessories. The picture below is from an episode where people wore their flaws on a shirt. Is gay really something people should be made to feel bad about? Is it really a flaw? Come on America, this is the 21st Century. I think it's about time we started treating the LGBTQ community as people, not commodities to be stereotyped for the ever consuming public.