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Media Matters
But as I contemplate a new program on the television horizon, I become concerned not about the quantity of depictions, but the quality. The cluster of question marks emerges around Boy Meets Boy. Bravo will begin airing this new program this month as American TV's first gay-themed reality series. Similar in format to Fox's Joe Millionaire and ABC's The Bachelor, it will feature 15 competitors vying for the affections of a handsome and eligible man-but this time the catch will be a gay man . . . and the competitors will be men as well. More specifically, the man being pursued will be a 32-year-old human resources executive from southern California named James. So far so good. But then another twist arises when James is told-not at the outset but midway through the six episodes-that some of his "suitors" are, in fact, straight boys who are only pretending to be gay during the program. Apparently the leading man is none too thrilled by this news, but, well, such land mines are nothing new for guys who agree to step into the unreal world of reality TV. (Incidentally, for those of you whose hearts are pumping by this point, none of the competitors for James's affection-or whatever-is allowed to have any physical contact with him beyond kissing. Sorry.) If, after the requisite dates that range from karaoke sessions to dinner parties, James ultimately selects one of the gay guys as his romantic interest of choice, the two men win a luxurious vacation together. If James picks one of the straight men, however, that guy wins an undisclosed amount of prize money while James wins, well, nothing. The folks at Bravo, which is owned by NBC, are quite proud of their concept. "We have created a gay world where the straight guys are in the closet," Boy Meets Boy producer Douglas Ross has boasted. My concerns about the program begin with the fact that the entire premise is built on deception. The straight guys will be doing their best to mislead James, as well as the audience at home. Indeed, if one of the non-gay boys is good enough at his appointed task, he will be rewarded not only with the job-well-done glow of success but also with what we can only presume to be a large quantity of cold, hard cash. Perpetuating unflattering stereotypes is a potential problem as well. It's not a pleasant thought-at least for those of us familiar with the antics of many straight college boys today-to imagine the kinds of affectations that some of the "handicapped" guys may use in the hopes of walking away with that pot of gold at the end of the reality TV rainbow. There's also the fact that some of us view sexual orientation as fundamental to who we are. It may be fine, in the hyper competitive dating world, to put on some bronzer or add some highlights to your hair or even spend an outrageous amount of money to have your teeth whitened or your pecs surgically enhanced, but misrepresenting who you have sex with seems to me like going a lie too far. And if a straight guy is James's eventual "choice"-eeekkk! (I don't mean to put too much pressure on you here, James, but . . .) What kind of a message would it send to the American viewing public about whether or not a gay person chooses his sexual orientation if one of our own can't even figure out who's the real thing and who's just playing make believe-until the game is over and he goes back to being straight? I will acknowledge that some-though not all-of my concerns are speculative. There is certainly the possibility that the program will offer lots of summertime fun for everyone involved. In support of that point of view, Bravo has had a good track record so far with its Gay Weddings series last fall. So Boy Meets Boy may end up being of comparable quality-but with the added attraction of offering a parade of cute and hunky young guys frolicking in Palm Springs where the episodes were taped in May. But I am still apprehensive. After all, a television network's bottom-line goal is to entertain its viewers in hopes of attracting a large audience, and TV history is filled with straight men playing gay characters with enough over-the-top lisps and limp wrists to keep viewers laughing out loud. It happened with Three's Company a quarter century ago; it could happen again with Boy Meets Boy this month. |
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The bachelor of Boy Meets Boy is featured on the cover of The Advocate