Queer As Bullshit
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of Showtime’s Queer As Folk, but even I can’t resist a trite soap with naked bodies, marginal character…by j. brotherlove
I’ll admit, I’m not the biggest fan of Showtime’s Queer As Folk, but even I can’t resist a trite soap with naked bodies, marginal character development and "queer" sensibilities.
However…this latest episode dealing with Mikey (the spineless, boyish one) dating an HIV-positive man was so narrow-minded and unbelievable I thought I was going to have to throw my Sony out the window.
First of all (as Michael’s mon, Debbie, effectively points out in the episode) each of the four thinly-drawn characters engage in plenty of anonymous, not always safe and often drug-enhanced sex with strangers — all of them (one of my many criticisms of the show). The fact that they are not positive is owed to luck (and convenience for the writers). So, for all of them to condemn the act of dating a HIV-positive man is ignorant, hypocritical and careless. Of course, since "Mikey" has the emotional depth of a 12 year-old boy, it was not surprising that he couldn’t actually go through with having sex with his known-positive date. What sort of message are they trying to send the less-informed viewer:
"Lets do lots of drugs, have sex with as many men as possible and wear condoms most of the time so we don’t get AIDS."
WHAT THE HELL?
I know these are fictional characters but, don’t they live on Earth? Besides, I am not a white, gym-circuit queen. These portrayals are all I — and others — have to go on. No wonder my instincts keep me out of Backstreet.
Under the influence of: selective page numbering in Microsoft Word.
I concur on with your assessment of that show I never watch it at all, only vicariously through others, and I am not too excited about the black version Noah’s Arc, coming to Showtime or HBO soon, but these are the choices we have and the only near-reflection we have, I personally am tired of the white model of homosexuality in general and scream and crave for a new vision AND judging from the droves of men and women, black and white, straight and gay that fill all the indie screening dates where african american/gays of color showdates pop up I know that I am a long way from the only one.