As we know, anti-gay group
American Family Association led a high-pressure
campaign against NBC's new drama "Book of Daniel". When I watched the show, I will admit that I was baffled by all the hoopla - if anything, the show presented gay stereotypes that should please the AFA.
My mother enjoys "Desperate Housewives". I watch the show sometimes. I happened to see last night's episode.
And what did I see?
Bree's malicious yet strangely fascinating son, Andrew, who may or may not be gay or may or may not just be trying to piss off his homophobic mother, was standing in the driveway with his cute, somewhat dim boyfriend, Justin. I thought maybe Bree was going to watch them kiss goodnight, and they would cut away as soon as the two boys got near each other.
No. We saw them kiss, albeit from a distance. Bree was horrified. I was...confused that on network TV we saw a fairly deep kiss between 2 cute guys which was presented romantically and did not end after .5 seconds.
I thought that was the end of the story. Then a few days later, Bree opened up her son's bedroom door early in the morning so she could give him some muffins. What did she see but Andrew and Justin shirtless, in bed together, asleep after a night of passion. Then when Justin woke up, he sort of pushed the midsection of the blanket, like he was dealing with a morning wood problem.
I thought, surely this must be the end of this, and we were supposed to be outraged and weep for Bree (since the show thinks she's great, even though she's a bigot, incapable of dealing with life without a man, and she's a crappy mother). Bree called a neighbor over and he pushed Andrew around and put him in his place, and that was that.
Then, at the end of the episode, as the narrator talks about a lover's passion, they show Andrew and Justin again, this time in the garden. Justin is grinding against Andrew, nuzzling both sides of his neck as Andrew (the scene has been interpreted two different ways) either looks squirms from boredom or WRITHES IN PLEASURE BECAUSE HE IS GETTING ACTION WITH HIS HOT. GAY. BOYFRIEND.
My question is - where is the outrage? I went to AFA and Parents Television Council and saw nothing about this gross display of perversion and deviance. Some of these groups went after Desperate Housewives in the past. Are they now quiet because they don't want to alienate ABC (which does show some sympathy to anti-gay voices, as their hit piece on Matthew Shepard shows?
Or do they see Andrew as propaganda for their side, since he ran over a woman, since he's nasty to his mother, since they can claim this shows how "evil" homosexuality is?
If that is the case, then maybe they should wonder how many of the viewers see the Andrew/Justin scenes as an example of the evils of the gay agenda, and how many see the scenes as just being scorching action between cute guys.
What should trouble them the most is the possibility that viewers won't care at all. They won't be disgusted or turned on. They will barely notice 2 boys making out on a show watched by 20 million viewers. Acceptance of homosexuality as an everyday, normal part of life is what the fundies and the professional bigots should fear the most, and as much as Desperate Housewives annoys me, episodes like last night's go a long way towards accomplishing that goal.
Never when I was growing up did I see such a thing on network television. And never did I think I would. That it not only happened, but was greeted with such a non-reaction, makes me think that the entertainment industry is slowly but surely overcoming the taboo of healthy sexual affection between two consenting males. And when that (which is one of the reasons so many people fear or oppose homosexuality) happens, the gates are going to fly open.
I can only say:
It's about motherfucking time.