Humor and the Emergence of the Gay Culture

Humor and the Emergence of the Gay Culture

During America's growth, homosexuality became a very taboo topic, one seldom mentioned and rarely discussed. Just as the Sexual and Racial Revolutions promoted acceptance of once discouraged social matters, the Homosexual Revolution has promoted the acceptance of the gay culture in today's society. Undoubtedly, humorous homosexual characters in television and in other forms of entertainment are helping to increase the acceptance of the gay culture by portraying the stereotype in a digestible way.

To fully understand an analysis of gay humor, or rather, why other people find the gay culture so funny, a secure understanding of the history of the gay culture is necessary. The term homosexuality was not introduced into the English language until the late 19th century when Charles Gilbert Chaddock created the word (Halperin 15). That is not to say that homosexuality was not present before that time. As a matter of fact, homosexual trends were more prevalent and widely accepted a thousand years ago than they were half a decade ago. References to homosexuality actually date back to early biblical times when, during a story in the book of Genesis, Lot was spending time in Sodom and the men of Sodom called to him saying, "Where are the strangers who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them!" In the passage, the word "know" is referring to what we now know as sodomy.

Before Chaddock coined homosexuality in 1898, homosexual activity was referred to as sexual inversion. George Chauncey stated that "Sexual inversion, the term used most commonly used in the nineteenth century, did not denote the same conceptual phenomenon as homosexuality" (Halperin 17). Sexual inversion refers to a broad range of sexual activity where homosexuality is only a single aspect of an all encompassing sexual lifestyle.

For this essay's purposes, I will define the phrase "homosexual revolution" to refer to the process of the acceptance of homosexuality that has been growing since the late 1970s. The homosexual revolution differs from both the sexual and racial revolutions because the resistance seen to homosexuals was acted out differently than the resistance to the other societal changes. Unlike African Americans during the Racial Revolutions, who were widely and openly persecuted by a majority of the nation, most forms of homosexual oppression are acted out in much smaller, more personal acts. While some factions, such as the "God Hates Fags" movement exist; the most prevalent homosexual hate crimes today are personal and discreet. Stories like that of Matthew Shepard, a 21 year old gay man that was beaten to death in Laramie, Wyoming have been uncommon but are still present and alarming(Kaufman). One of the only open problems homosexuals face today is the acceptance of gays in the military.

Apart from these examples of hate crimes, the gay culture is being easily integrated into American culture. All someone has to do is look around to see the prevalence of gay America in the country today. For decades, African American and Women Studies classes have been offered in Universities. Now, many colleges are offering Gay Studies classes. Gay bars are popping up in more and more places across America; drawing not only gays, but also straights. Not only is the gay culture becoming more accepted, it is actually being protected by a large percentage of straight America. Why are people beginning to relate to homosexuals more than they have in the past? And what has fueled the widening acceptance of gays in today's society? After personal observation and careful thought, I have decided that it is the presence of gay characters in television and other forms of media that is most helpful in integrating homosexuality into everyday life in modern America.

Over the past decade and a half, the gay culture has made a slow but steady climb to normalcy in the minds of most Americans. It is the presence of homosexuals in entertainment that has helped to soften the transition that the gay culture has undertaken.

In her 1982 New York Times article, "The New Realism in Portraying Homosexuals," Leslie Bennetts asserts that "The emergence of a cluster of films dealing with homosexuality constitutes something of a milestone in the history of a topic that long was strictly taboo." From 1934 to 1961, Movie Production Code "forbade any mention of homosexuality on screen or any portrayal of homosexual characters" (Bennetts). In her article, Bennetts mentions the film Making Love, a movie that she says is "revolutionary in concept because everyone in it is so sane and seemingly normal." The realistic portrayal of homosexual characters in the movie was exceedingly bold and revolutionary in 1982, but now is something that is normal and portrayed regularly. This change in the portrayal of homosexual characters has been exponential and also has been greatly aided by the use of humor during the integration.

One of the first situational television comedies to tackle the barrier of homosexuality was the show The Golden Girls. In her article "Big Gay Following," Betty White says that, "During the show's seven year run from 1985 to 1992 the show took audiences into uncharted territory. Occasionally shattering stereotypes about gay men and lesbians, living with HIV/AIDS, and coming out to family members." The show was a favorite among housewives and families alike, and the comedy helped to warm people up to the idea of homosexuals in everyday life, an idea that was underrepresented at the time. Viewers then needed to become adapted to the idea of the everyday homosexual. The show portrayed the homosexuals as real people, as opposed to the way audiences had thought of gays.

The use of humor in the show was undoubtedly the reason it was able to keep audiences comfortable with the taboo subject. Situations, characters, and jokes created an atmosphere complimentary of nervous laughter. The humor and personal laughter created a bond between the viewer and the actor. After the connection was made and the ice of the situation was broken, audiences became more comfortable watching the shows and reacting to the characters. Over time, shows with gay themes and characters became more prevalent and audiences became more adapted to them. Once they were accustomed to seeing and reacting to the characters, people who once were uncomfortable with homosexuals became much more comfortable when reacting and talking about or to them. This same process has been used in nearly every situation comedy that explores gay humor. Today, the genre of gay television is at its peak.

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