|
|
|
|
Media Matters |
|
The first words out of Stanford's mouth were significant as well. While his galpal Carrie was bemoaning the lack of love-worthy straight men in Manhattan, Stanford said, "The only place you can still find love and romance in New York is the gay community." For those of us who pay attention to how the media portray Gay America, that ranked as a stellar opening line. Stanford may be best remembered, at least by many viewers, for his unique wardrobe choices. "He has a very specific look," Willie Garson, the actor who plays him, told PlanetOut Entertainment. "Stanford very much likes to wear a jacket and tie. It's kind of a Carnaby Street, English dandy, kind of look." Garson, 40 and straight, failed to mention that his character also has a penchant for bright-some would say garish-colors. As for character traits, the one that stands out most in this particular dandy is loyalty, as Stanford is always at the ready to help his friend Carrie, played by series star Sarah Jessica Parker, pick up the pieces after another of her relationships has gone sour. The most frequent gay character on Sex also has what could be categorized as faults, as he is bitchy as well as judgmental. Stanford, who is a successful talent agent, has experienced a series of ups and downs during the show's six years on the air. After his terrific debut line, things went downhill in season one. His biggest role that year came in an episode that had him feeling disheartened by his lifestyle. "I've had it with the whole gay scene," he says to Carrie. "It's so competitive." He goes on to say that he recently ran a personal ad: "Witty, successful, Ed Harris-type, seeks similar with sense of humor."
Initially, the tea-and-conversation event seems to go well. The fashion-conscious sex columnist is impressed with the chic grand dame's classic Chanel suit and finely appointed apartment. But then the older woman sends her grandson out of the room, turns to Carrie and tells her the facts: "I love my Stanford. He's a very sweet boy," the grandmother states. "But, you know, he is a fruit." That final word is not uttered with any sense of hatred or disgust, but it clearly communicates that Grandma isn't about to accept any sham marriage. Stanford's prospects pick up again in season two.
This time, the resourceful guy takes advantage of the wonders of Internet . . . uhm, well, . . . dating. By disguising himself as "Rick9Plus," Stanford succeeds in hooking up with a number of comparably horny guys with-one can only presume-comparably misleading cyber pseudonyms. The glitch comes, however, when one of the men, "BigTool4U," proposes a face-to-face get together at an after-hours club in the meatpacking district. When Stanford admits what he considers his vice-"I have cybersex on the Internet"-to Carrie, she encourages him to throw caution to the wind and meet the guy. A second complication unfolds when Stanford arrives at the club to discover it's an underwear-only operation where patrons are admitted only after they strip down to their skivvies. The paunchy Stanford is none too eager to expose his physique to the world, but, well, he's come this far, so. . . . After one or two self-conscious moments and no sign of "BigTool4U," a handsome twenty-something with a big smile and a well-defined chest approaches Stanford, his mouth hanging open in awe of the older man's stylish French under shorts-"I bought them in Paris," Stanford says shyly. The lad is impressed, smiling more broadly still as he eagerly buys his new acquaintance a drink. The scene ends with the two men standing butt to butt at the bar, with the viewer left to conclude that Stanford's sense of style and willingness to put himself out there has allowed him to reel in a major catch: a hunky younger man with an underwear fetish. By season five, Sex's most frequent gay character gets more than a one-nighter. "I met someone," he sheepishly tells Carrie. His tone then becomes more serious as he says, "Before I tell you, you have to promise me not to judge."
"We all judge," Stanford says matter-of-factly. "That's our hobby. Some people do arts and crafts-we judge." He then tells his friend that he's dating a Radio City Music Hall dancer. Carrie doesn't flinch, apparently having no problem with her friend becoming involved with a man working in a stereotypically gay occupation. In fact, when Marcus makes his first appearance, neither the characters in Sex nor Stanford's fans in the audience at home are anything but delighted that he is dating a drop-dead-gorgeous young man, played by Sean Palmer, with perfect facial features and abs firm enough to grate cheese on. Being pleased changes to being stunned when Carrie's promiscuous friend Samantha walks unannounced into a bathroom to find the two men engaging in oral sex-with Stanford on the receiving end! The unlikely match-up appears to have staying power because, later in the season, Stanford announces that they've been together for four months and are contemplating buying a house in the Hamptons. (Stanford also boasts that Marcus "has a large penis," but, alas, viewers are not provided with any tangible evidence of that assertion.) Unfortunately for Stanford, the arc of his storyline recently took another downward turn, however, as season six had him learning through another gay man that Marcus previously worked as an escort. Sex's long-standing gay character then feels betrayed, not because of his lover's former line of work but because Marcus has been keeping secrets from him. By the end of the segment, it appears that Stanford and Marcus are going to give their relationship another shot-but the bond of trust clearly has suffered. No matter how the plotline plays out in the final few episodes or even if Stanford makes no more appearances whatsoever, the actor who plays the part believes that his character has, in his own way, made a contribution to the evolution of gay men on television. "If you're going to have a homosexual man on television," Willie Garson says, "he's going to be ripped and gorgeous and only be concerned with his body, and he's going to have beautiful hair and beautiful teeth." [Think Matt on Melrose Place, Jack on Dawson's Creek, Carter on Spin City, Will and Jack on Will & Grace, David and Keith on Six Feet Under. . . . ] "And I don't," Garson continues. A small-but not unimportant-step for gaykind. 
Rodger Streitmatter, Ph.D. is a member of the School of Communication faculty at American University in Washington, D.C. His latest book, Voices of Revolution: The Dissident Press in America has recently been published by Columbia University Press. He is also the author of Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay & Lesbian Press in America (Faber & Faber, 1995) and Raising Her Voice: African American Women Journalists Who Changed History (The University Press of Kentucky, 1994)
|
|
Willie Garson broke ground as Stanford in HBO's Sex and the City 
Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) discusses life and sex with men with her pal Stanford 
The show's central character is shocked that her friend would accuse her of such a fault, asking incredulously, "Do I judge?"