The Rainbow Connection [LGBTS Club]

That was less of a suggestion, and more of me trying to say that it's nearly impossible to include everyone in a name without being somewhat political in nature. "The People's Thread," "Human Alliance," "The United Sexualties and Gender Identies of Planet Earth," etc. See what I mean?

Though I'd still be a member here regardless of whatever name Shining Raichu decides. Call it "Pudding Lovers Alliance" and I'd still be posting here. Because we're more than a name. ^^

Ineffable~ said:

You keep saying that but I fail to see what's political about people living together in harmony. :/

Click to expand...

Some people can easily see that as being politically charged or motivated. I know you don't mean it that way, but still.

Ineffable~ said:

Ehh, if someone else has their mind so involved in that kind of thing that that's all they can see, I think that's their problem. I mean, no offense and all, seriously no offense but it's impossible to avoid every single feasible secondary implication. If we don't mean it politically, then it's not political, regardless of what someone thinks the words mean. Equality is a good thing. It's not a Republican/Democrat thing; it's just a thing. A thing that I hope most people want regardless of political ideology.


NOTE: Okay I think maybe my post sounded a bit rude; sorry about that if it happened but I'm trying really hard to make a point here.

Click to expand...

I'm not commenting on if it's good or bad, just how some people might she it as a political thing. This should be a support group, not a political group, no matter how well-intentioned it is.

I could also argue how equality is not always a good thing, but that's best saved for another thread.

The human equality club is just way too vague as well. Like Freaky said, this is a LGBT and supporters club. It is too diffuse to try to cater to every type of inequality in a thread. We would have religion, gender, race, weight, age, height, nationality, income, disabilty, IQ, and tons of other issues that related to inequalities. You just want to focus on this one area that is more than enough for one thread to handle. Anyway, this name thing is starting to consume the discussion, lol.

So shows like Glee, Modern Family, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and everything on LOGO, that feature gay characters/protagonists are becoming more popular, but I have heard mixed reviews from LGBT and straight people alike.

Do gay television characters help "nomalize" and/or portray LGBT people well or do you think they further sterotypes and/or negativity, or a bit of both?

I personally think that Curt from Glee is a bit stereotypical, but honestly, some stereotypical qualities often reflect at least some of the population they ascribe to. Not to mention the show balances it out with a wide vareity of gay characters from Karofsky, to Blaine, to Sebastian. Show on LOGO, feature mainly gay characters and people(reality shows). Although some of the shows me be a bit campy and over-the-top, they also include more dry humor and drama in other shows.

I think that most shows do a decent job when they include gay characters. However, especially in movies, there will be one or two scenes with a gay character purely for comedic affect. Or look at SNL, I would say that about 50% of all their sketches were LGBT humor. I mean, I am all for racial, sexual orientation, or gender included in comedy, but once you beat me over the head with it, it crosses a line. ...Sidenote, SNL is not funny anymore without Tina Fey.

One last comment, I think that transgender people are often excluded from shows and movies unless they are some type of sideshow to laugh at. I guess since I am not transgender I often overlook that, but it is very unfortunate and I hope more shows start to include transgender people.

I was awaiting a topic besides the name!

Do gay television characters help "nomalize" and/or portray LGBT people well or do you think they further sterotypes and/or negativity, or a bit of both?

Well, it often depends on how they are portrayed. CSI, in particular, has mostly had homosexuals as victims of violent crimes, with only one instance of a character's homosexuality not being of any relevance to the crime at hand. This is not exactly the portrayal the community is looking for, in my opinion. Glee, on the other hand, is going in the right direction.

On the transgender bit, I'll have to agree. There are hardly any transgender characters out there, at least that I've heard of. I do remember hearing about a male transgender character on Degrassi, so there is that. But I can't think of any others off the top of my head, and no instances of a female transgender character.

I think media portrayals of LGBT stereotypes are a mixed bag. While they do help normalize those behaviors, they also send the message that this is what all or most LGBT people are like.

Do gay television characters help "normalize" and/or portray LGBT people well or do you think they further sterotypes and/or negativity, or a bit of both?

I think they do leaps and bounds to normalise homosexuality. I especially liked the way it was done in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Willow, the main gay protagonist, who had no idea she was gay and had a boyfriend in Seasons 2 and 3, found a girl that she became fast friends with due to their mutual interest in witchcraft. Then the two grew closer and you could feel the romantic chemistry between them building until they finally kissed. It was done just like any other relationship and it flowed so smoothly that the fact that they were both women didn't even cross my mind until a particular scene in which Willow 'came out' to Buffy.

It was done similarly well with Callie and Arizona in Grey's Anatomy. Again, the writers treated it just as they would any heterosexual couple on the show, and the fact that it was a gay couple was really a non-issue. I really like it when things are done that way, it sort of brings to mind the saying "be the change you want to see in the world".

As to whether they push stereotypes, yeah, sometimes they do. Particularly in comedies. Modern Family's Mitchell and Cameron, Will & Grace's Jack McFarland and Glee's Kurt Hummel are great examples of this. Though personally I don't know whether that's actually such a bad thing. We need to be realistic, and the fact of the matter is this: some gay people do fit the stereotypes. And more to the point, there is not a damn thing wrong with that. If the characters on these shows can unashamedly face the world, why can't their real-life counterparts?

The thing about the stereotypical gays in comedy is that it arguably does more for the gay community than anything else. I was raised in a household that while not exactly outspokenly homophobic, had the attitude of "ew that's a bit gross" to the idea of two men or two women (well lets face it, two men moreso) being together. So I shared that attitude, just as most kids do when their parents express an opinion. This was until I was introduced to Will & Grace. I think I was like 8 years old and my whole family got hooked on it because it's absolutely hilarious. We all loved the stereotypical Jack and I figured out that there was nothing ew or gross about a man that could make me laugh that much. I credit Will & Grace exclusively for making me non-homophobic, and furthermore for letting me know that it's OK to be gay long before I figured out that I was.

I think my mental reaction of "Huh. Well alright then." would have been drastically different without such a groundbreaking show.

Alakazam17 said:

Well, it often depends on how they are portrayed. CSI, in particular, has mostly had homosexuals as victims of violent crimes, with only one instance of a character's homosexuality not being of any relevance to the crime at hand.

Click to expand...

To be a little more fair, most people on CSI were portrayed as victims of violent crimes regardless of who they are. But it's unfortunate that queer people seem to get these kinds of roles as victims. It's true that happens in the real world, but it would be nice to have some queer main cast characters on shows that weren't already a little, well, gay to begin with. But I shouldn't really complain since I don't watch much TV and wouldn't know if there were gay characters in cop shows and so on.

Scarf said:

To be a little more fair, most people on CSI were portrayed as victims of violent crimes regardless of who they are.

Click to expand...

True, but in most cases these gay characters were portrayed as victims because of who they are.

FreakyLocz14 said:

What is your guy's style?
Like how do you dress and what kind of music do you listen to?

Click to expand...

I currently am wearing plain blue jeans, a plain white t-shirt, and a very old/tattered grey hoody(really only because we don't have the money to get a new one.) This is pretty much how I dress every day though. I really don't care much about it. lol

I really only listen to metalcore/death metal in English. Although, in Japanese, I listen to pretty much everything but rap.

What is your guy's style?
Like how do you dress and what kind of music do you listen to?

I like plaid button ups, and solid color sweaters. I try to do the sexy-gay-yooper look.

Spoiler:

OH, I even have a plaid "bomber hat". Aka, the hat with furry ear flaps that yoopers wear, except mine is way better than everyone else's boring brown ones.

Spoiler:

As far as music goes...I would be lying if I said I didn't like Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Pink, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, and other mainstream pop artists. I also like some indie, dance, and classic rock. I also like listening to music of guy I have a crush on, whether they are bad or good, I just pretend they are singing to me. Recently I threw Darren Criss to the curb, and upgraded Chris Salvatore as my new imaginary boyfriend, lol.

FreakyLocz14 said:

What is your guy's style?
Like how do you dress and what kind of music do you listen to?

Click to expand...

I'll answer that question if you can tell me what relevance it has here lol - as both owner of this club and moderator of OVP I think it probably belongs there lol, though if people wanna keep answering it that's cool.

Pikapal642 said:

When my parents discovered I was gay, my brother was only 8 years old. My parents didn't want him to know about it until he was older, so I kept it a secret from EVERYONE, for fear that someone would leak it and it would get around somehow.

Click to expand...

I might have addressed this when you first said it here, but I just saw this post in OVP and it enraged me all over again. It makes me so angry that their attitude was "we'll wait until your brother is old enough to handle this."

Firstly, this news wasn't about them and it wasn't about your brother. It was about you. In this instance, your needs and your feelings should have been put above all else. The fact that your parents believed that 8 years old is too young to know about gay people notwithstanding, things became different the moment you came out. It's one thing to choose not to expose your children to such things at a young age to defend their delicate sensibilities [INSERT ROLLEYES.GIF HERE] when there's no actual pressing need for it, but if your other child has just told you that he is gay, you know what this means?

It means CIRCUMSTANCES HAVE CHANGED.

Now whether you like it or not, for the emotional stability of your elder son, you are just going to have to expose your 8-year-old to the "big nasty" and trust that he will be resilient enough to get the hell over it. What exactly were they afraid of, in letting him know? That he'd think it sounded like a cool idea and decide to follow in his brother's footsteps? That he'd go to school and tell his friends about his big brother who kisses other boys and bring embarrassment on the family?

I'm sorry Pikapal, I don't mean to disrespect you or your family, but this was a terrible parenting decision; an abominable misstep on so many levels and a disservice to both you and your little brother. I mean, obviously things turned out OK in the end, you seem fine... but it was a risky little game they were playing, and it was your self-esteem that hung in the balance if it didn't turn out right.