How do you feel about how gays are portrayed on television?

I’d say since there are all kinds of shows where hetero people come across as less than intelligent and/or goofy, then it’s ok that gays are sometimes portrayed that way, too.

I think that the more interesting question is how the portrayal of gays has changed in the last 30–40 years on TV.

If you think back to TV shows (even the risquee ones, like Soap, which actually tried to be sympathetic) like Soap, or Archie Bunker, or similar ones, gays – almost always male – were treated as nice people but a different crowd – like a humorous aberration.

You didn’t see the more accepting (and mainstream) portrayals of gays (again, almost all male, very few female gay characters) until the late 80s or 90s.

Only then were gay characters written in a normal, mainstream, real people with well woven plot lines.

So rather than worry about a throwback today (and I have no idea what you are referring to), think of the huge changes that have taken place over the last 20–30 years.

From what I can tell, gay people have been shown as everything from smart, silly, serious, educated, not so educated, all types of careers, outrageous, ordinary, everything. They have been underrepresented in TV until about 15 years ago I’d say. Now, it’s more and more.

I think it’s fine to have show where the gay character is goofy. If it’s good it will get good ratings. If not it will fail. There are shows about minorities that are hard for me to watch, because I feel like it feeds into negative stereotypes, but them the show gets renewed for another season. I guess someone likes it? I think what is most important is that there is not only one show. That all types of minorities are represented in many different ways. Plus, that goofy character might very well have a smart side.

@elbanditoroso Actually, Soap, which I think was probably the first TV show to have a gay character as part of the main reoccurring cast, portrayed the gay guy as one of the more “normal” people on the show. That show was so funny! I caught a few reruns recently. It was one of the shows my family used to watch together, I think most of my friends at the time weren’t allowed to.

@JLeslie – that show was so far ahead of its time. I loved it

Depends on the type of show it is. Some sitcoms still short-hand gay characters sterotypically, but many dramas are portraying them, as well they should, as full-rounded human beings.

A good example is the character Donnie Caan in the terrific Showtime drama “Billions.” We (at least I) hadn’t known he was gay in any eposide until the one in which he is abruptly awakened in the middle of the night by an FBI raid, and we discover him lying next another man, who turns out to be his long-time partner.

I think Will And Grace did more to advance seeing the gay community as non-threatening than any rally, outreach, or parade.

Hopefully, the day will soon come when their sexuality isn’t even a thing & the depth of the character comes to the fore on its own merits.

It does annoy me, yeah. I’d like more casual homosexuality. There really is no need to point out any gay or foreign characters as some sort of phenomenon.

Oops, somehow my last sentence got cut. I wanted to add that even from that point on, Donnie’s gayness is handled with extreme subtlety.

Friends of mine have worked on various soaps over the years, and it seems that the gay characters are really portrayed no differently the the straight ones. As much drama as is usually found on soaps, but no more. It’s refreshing that there is a “life as usual” aspect to that.

The way I see it, if John Barrowman can be turned down for the role of a gay character for “not being gay enough”, it’s pretty obvious that TV executives don’t care about portraying gay people as more than comic relief. John Barrowman isn’t gay enough?! His husband will be so disappointed!

@filmfann Will and Grace was the show that turned him down.

Will and Grace began as a series in 1998, which means it started developing around 1997. That’s almost 20 years ago.

I have to wonder if TV had kept things rolling after Soap had already made some headway if gay rights in America would have moved along faster. When Golden Girls first aired they had a gay cook or housekeeper (the creator for Golden Girls is the same as Soap and she wrote for the shows ongoing also) but they got rid of the character quickly. Golden Girls did have episodes with gay characters a few times.