You Know What Grinds My Gears

 

Yes you America. Well, not such much the whole of America, but rather the part of America that makes television. The television that refuses to allow any couple in a non-hetero relationship. I am in love with Spartacus: Blood and Sand, a new show on Starz. From the beginning they have had 2 openly gay characters in a loving healthy relationship. This was something I thought was a absolute triumph. Six episodes into the first season they have killed one of the men leaving the other one as a slave. I know that this is just a television show, but it is a issue that I find absolutely infuriating.

Why is it that no can homosexual couple last on TV? For that matter, why can't a non-vanilla relationship last? Why is it that every image we have of a non-hetero normative relationship is one of toil and trouble? I consume a lot of media. I play video games, watch tv and movies, read blogs, books, and magazines. I also watch web video such as YouTube, listen to podcasts and I am involved in tons of social media. From all of that, I can not name one single example of a fully function relationship between two people involved in a "different" relationship.

It is very distressing as a gay identifying man to never see any examples of people like me in relationship, living together, happy, and healthy. How can we, as a large group of disenfranchised people, ever hope to integrate into society if all anyone ever sees of us are lispy, fabulous, cosmo sipping, dysfunctional, deeply flawed, gender bending, or dead characters.

Do not mistake that previous sentence for any type of hate. I have had my self hatred, and I have come out the other side better for it, though I still struggle with it sometimes. I recognize that those stereotypes exist for a reason. I can point to many people that fit at least one of those stereotypes. The problem is that they are stereotypes. Stereotypes water down the human condition to an accent, or in this case a lisp. They also serve to perpetuate the behaviors they emulate.

Maybe this can all be chocked  up to being just an aspect of bad writing, or uncreative writers. Maybe these writers have written themselves into shallow character hell. In which their viewers can not handle the concept that a TV character might be as multifaceted as they themselves are.

One thing I want to note before I end this post. There is an episode of Family Guy, in which Peter and Lois are putting on their leather BDSM gear while having a discussion about their son, Chris', grades. I love this scene and think that if that sort of thing would happen on TV more often I would have greater faith in our media.

How do you feel about this issue? Do you have an example? I want to know what you think. Leave a comment below, send an email to ltasexinfo@gmail.com or on twitter @ltasex.