"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed Gay Rights in America

Art in its best form allows you to experience life and ultimately changes the way you view the worldamp160 Will and Grace was one of those rare television shows to do just thatamp160 It was entertaining but it did more than just amuse its viewers It was one of the first public explorations of gay malestraight female relationships presenting America with a completely fresh perspectiveIn September of 1998 following the failure of ABC39s Ellen Will ampamp Grace launched on NBC the first primetime television program to have an openly gay male lead characteramp160 The show defied expectations running from 1998 through 2006 and was the highestrated sitcom in America among viewers ages 1840 from 20012005 according to Christopher Castiglia and Christopher Reed39s book If Memory Servesamp160 It opened doors and prepared America for future shows based on homosexuality possibly because contrary to popular belief it wasn39t about homosexualityamp160 Instead the show was about understanding and being able to value and appreciate one of life39s greatest gifts friendshipWhile the show39s premise is about two best friends Will and Grace one who happens to be heterosexual and one who is not the plot continues a formulaic sitcom standard will the oddcouple pairing eventually be romantically consummatedGranted the setup of Grace having her life revolve around finding the perfect man doesn39t exactly flatter womenamp160 The show focused on her relationships and sexual encounters and rarely crossed the quotcomfort linequot people may have had in terms of delving into Will39s relationships and sex lifeamp160 Viewers at the time were okay with a woman having a quotgay best friendquot as long as they didn39t have to hear too much about his personal or sex lifeamp160 It was especially palatable if he was upperclass white uptight and not acting in an overtly quotgayquot manner that made people uncomfortable Grace had several lovers on the show portrayed by actors such as Harry Connick Jr Edward Burns and Woody Harrelson Will had an occasional oneepisode fling but was never shown in a longterm relationship though it was mentioned in the first season that he39d previously had a sevenyear relationshipThe center of comic relief was usually Jack Will39s close friendamp160 Jack was out and proud but was so over the top that he was also fairly nonthreateningamp160 Everything about his onedimensional character was designed to set up the laughsamp160 Like gay character Oscar Martinez in The Office Jack is witty and sarcastic unlike Oscar he is a caricature written to be the campy butt of jokesamp160 Oscar on the other hand is intelligent and a bit of a dork and he is also a bluecollar LatinoJack39s amp160flamboyant theaterloving loudmouthed personality served another purposeamp160 By contrasting with Will39s quotpassforstraightquot demeanor Will became a safer easiertodigest approximation of a gay manamp160 This was in line with the new asexual but quotmasculinequot image of gays presented in the media an image that didn39t challenge mainstream society39s heteronormativityamp160 Will has restraint and a brain Jack is promiscuous and flightyamp160 The dichotomy presented asked gay viewers quotAre you a 39Will39 or a 39Jack39 type of gayquotWhether Will ampamp Grace taught the uneducated public much of anything about real LGBT issues or about nonstereotypical thought is debatable but one thing can39t be arguedamp160 There are more gay characters on television nowamp160 Will ampamp Grace earned a place in cultural history as the vehicle that brought homosexuality out of television39s closetamp160 The question now remains quotIs the sheer quantity of gay characters on television somehow more important than the quality of those representationsquotJoe Biden was quoted on Meet the Press saying that his personal belief was that Will ampamp Grace had done more to advance the cause of the gay population of America than anything elseamp160 Biden39s opinion aside critics were initially dismissive of the show some calling it a quotgay Seinfeldquot and others doubting that a program devoid of romantic chemistry between the female and male leads could possibly lastamp160 As we have seen these critics were incorrect Will ampamp Grace went on to run a total of eight seasons and receive eightythree Emmy nominations and sixteen Emmy AwardsPart of the show39s success was the fact that it was in part simply a quotgay Seinfeldquotamp160 Being gay however was not the central theme of the show Although the two main leads were a gay man and his straight female friend the show was not focused on the issues related to homosexuality Instead it followed a standard sitcom formula while happening to have gay characters among its castamp160 This lack of emphasis on being gay made homosexuality less of a loaded issue and pushed it towards the background paving the way for later shows which would introduce LGBT issuesMany of the central conflicts within Will ampamp Grace dealt with standard problems such as finding work romance fighting with friends and having childrenamp160 In this way Will ampamp Grace demonstrated to audiences that a show did not have to be about the homosexual community if it was to include a homosexual main characteramp160 It also showed that the concerns of the gay community friends and family were the same as the concerns of the straight communityquotWill ampamp Gracequot Before and AfterPrior to Will ampamp Grace there were few popular gaythemed showsamp160 The same year that Will ampamp Grace launched Ellen DeGeneres had already stirred controversy with the show Ellen in which the title character and the actress who played her had come out as gayamp160 Ellen39s quotcoming outquot episode garnered a huge amount of positive responses from viewers but the show was cancelled soon afteramp160 When Ellen Morgan first came out on the show criticism was so intense that DeGeneres reported being followed in her car by strange men and the show39s executives had to screen calls from angry viewersToday it has become far more acceptable to have gay characters on television and to avoid making homosexuality the emphasis of the show itself Even when homosexuality is prominently featured a program is free to cover other topicsamp160 Six Feet Under Glee The New Normal Modern Family White Collar Warehouse 13 and Orange is the New Black all have one or several gay main characters but this is rarely explored as a theme of the showsamp160 Having lead characters who are gay without their sexuality being the focus sends the message that being gay is as normal as any other random character trait such as red hair or being lefthandedModern Family is a direct spiritual successor to Will ampamp Graceamp160 The show gets a lot of mileage out of humor involving the gay couple in the show but at the same time has been welcomed by viewers and has consistently achieved high ratingsamp160 As with Will ampamp Grace being gay is not the emphasis but does play a major partamp160 The program has been criticized at times for not indicating any physical chemistry between the two gay leads but it has also won many awards including seventeen Emmy nominationsWill ampamp Grace has also been credited with the development of Queer as Folk Queer Eye for the Straight Guy and Boy Meets Boyamp160 All three of these shows gained widespread acceptance and achieved commercial successQueer Eye for the Straight Guy was an excellent example of a show that presented a point of view of the gay community that had previously been unexplored by the straight communityamp160 In the program gay men completely made over a straight and typically macho manamp160 While it was not a perfect representation it still went a long way in communicating the fact that the gay community was not a threat nor ever would be a threat to the lifestyles of the straight communityamp160 The program garnered some criticism due to being rooted in stereotypes but it was nevertheless extremely popularSix Feet Under was a unique series in that two of the characters were gay and their relationship was heavily featured despite central themes that dealt with other topicsamp160 The gay relationship was given no more or less weight than any other in the show and was framed in much the same way as themamp160 Six Feet Under proved to be a crowd favorite and was not crippled or held back by the homosexual contentamp160 The show humanized its gay characters and gay relationships in a way that was extremely relatable as well as critically acclaimedAnother series that introduced gay themes was the legendary TV series thirtysomethingamp160 In an episode in season three artist Russell meets ad executive Peter amp160The two men with a bit of prodding from mutual friends are introduced and arrange a business meeting over dinneramp160 Peter gives Russell some excellent professional advice about Russell39s upcoming art exhibit and shows his keen ability to read Russell through his artistic expressionsamp160 The two hit it off and they spend the night togetherFrom the very beginning Russell is trying to talk himself out of being attracted to Peteramp160 It39s not that Russell is not gay both men are somewhat guarded yet openly homosexualamp160 The late 3980searly 3990s was the height of the HIVAIDS epidemic and very little was known about the disease Everyone in the gay community knew someone who either had the AIDS virus or had already died from itamp160 This common thread is brought up very casually when Russell and Peter are in bed together for the first timeamp160 The casualness of their tone speaks volumesamp160 The epidemic was a very large very real part of their lives and checking the obituaries for familiar names is something only two gay men could speak about in the same context as checking the sports page or the daily crossword puzzleEven though Russell39s relationship with Peter had the dynamic of being gay foreign to most heterosexual viewers their relationship otherwise was very relatableamp160 Russell39s hesitance to approach Peter for example even with Melissa39s encouragement and full support was the same found in any new relationshipamp160 People watching could not only relate to his fear of commitment but could see a little more into the gay world because of itamp160 His vulnerability allowed viewers to imagine what it must have been like to avoid attachment for the fear of losing yet another close friendPeter in this episode was even more apprehensive than Russellamp160 He allowed Russell to make all the first moves and even though he accepted each advance it was with cautious reserveamp160 While he was open with most people about his sexuality which was particularly brave for that period in time he shared Russell39s fear of attachmentamp160 Seeing the two of them attracted to each other but at the same time so afraid lent an element of sadness to the storylineamp160 Both characters were very likeable attractive and successful people viewers automatically wanted there to be a happy ending such as seeing two people who should get together actually be togetheramp160 The opportunity to relate to two gay men was a gift from the writers of the show to viewers that had never been given beforeAs Harvey Milk America39s first openly gay politician who was later tragically assassinated said quotEvery gay person must come outamp160 As difficult as it is you must tell your immediate familyamp160 You must tell your relativesamp160 You must tell your friends if indeed they are your friendsamp160 You must tell the people you work withamp160 You must tell the people in the stores you shop inamp160 Once they realize that we are indeed their children that we are indeed everywhere every myth every lie every innuendo will be destroyed once and allquotBefore Will ampamp Grace TV programs approached gay themes extremely cautiouslyamp160 In Three39s Company the main character Jack has to pretend to be gay in front of their landlord in order to be allowed to live with two womenamp160 After Will ampamp Grace many shows brought a completely new mindset breaking stereotypes that needed to be obliteratedamp160 Being gay was no longer going to be anyone39s punch line it was part of life a reality that was finally coming to light after being the elephant in the room for so longamp160 Thirtysomething39s writers did more than create gay characters for their show They gave them a voice and made them visibleamp160 It was controversial at the time yes but very much appreciated by gays and straights alike who could no longer stand for the injustice of homosexuals being seen as unequalAs acceptance for homosexuality grows it is very likely that shows will keep including gay characters more often both in supporting roles and leading rolesamp160 Shows may deemphasize the topic of homosexuality instead focusing on the characters39 personalitiesamp160 Being gay will no longer have to dominate characters will be wellrounded complex individuals who also happen to be gayAs gays gain more visibility and prominence in society and in media the cultural image of the quotreal manquot will change with it and as a bonus objectification of women will become less prominentamp160 It may be political correctness or it may be a reflection of how studios perceive reality but today gay male characters are portrayed as more sensitive creative enlightened intelligent honest intimate and emotionally tunedin than straight male charactersamp160 It39s ironic and controversial that the image of the ideal man currently emerging in society and in media has gay qualities amp160Young straight men exposed to role models of gay men who are successful with women both on TV and in life will be more likely to emulate their behavior than the less respected and less successful behaviors of the traditional misogynistic objectifying heman who has dominated media and society from the beginning of timeClick the link to download Jack Myers39 book The Future of MenClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed Gay Rights in America

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"Will & Grace" -- The TV Series that Changed Gay Rights in America

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