Will and Grace

Will and Grace was a hit tv series about a gay man and his best friend who happened to be a straight female. Will, a successful Manhattan lawyer, is likable, handsome, charming and gay. Grace is a beautiful, self-employed interior designer who just left her fiancé at the altar. Together, they decide to face life's ups and downs, knowing they will always have each other to lean on. The episode I chose had multiple gay characters; some behaving in a very stereotypical manor while others broke the stereotype and acted more like a “typical” heterosexual.

The man Will begins to date in this episode is a sports journalist and loves all kinds of sports; both to play and watch. Watching his actions the viewer would not be able to tell his sexual preference. Throughout the episode, he breaks the heterosexist perspective and sheds light on the fact that people who act heterosexual may be homosexual and just act like any heterosexual person; he goes to bars, drinks beer, plays sports, and the only difference is that he likes men and takes better care of his fashion. However there is another extreme in the secondary character of Jack, Will's friend. He is characterized with all the stereotypes of gay men and is very flamboyant and feminine in character. Finally there is the main character Will, who is in the middle not extreme on either side. He acts professional at work and walking around if one didn’t hear him talk they may not have known he was gay, but the way in which he talks and some of the things he talks about; especially clothes; gives way to his true nature. In class we talked about the heterosexual privileges which are very pertinent but are less so in the life of those characters from this show. I believe location has a big role in this.

This show takes place in NYC which has such a varied population of people of all races, sexual preference, and religions that there is a greater acceptance of gay people. In the suburbs there are likely to be more conservative people who look down or discriminate against gays. The gay men in this show range from police officers, sports writers, lawyers, to fashion designers showing that gay men are not limited in life. The years in which this show was broadcasted was when the gay people’s issue was starting to become accepted by some. This tv show educates society that gay men come in all shapes and forms and can act just as “normal” as any other heterosexual man and I believe it was successful on the air because of its incorporation of humor and variety among their gay characters.
In the last decade the acceptance of gay men has risen drastically. Some states have created laws allowing gay marriages and more and more gay couples are coming out and revealing their sexuality and true nature to those around them. It is still awkward at times seeing a gay couple but there is no more witch hunt to persecute those who are gay.