#10 - Mad TV - "Gay Straight Guys"

This video can also be found ON YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yxdncxro-9s

The final piece of media that I’m choosing to post on comes to us from Mad TV. The skit I chose for this final blog is known as “Gay Straight Guys”. The premise of the skit is that these two big, manly men are sitting down watching a Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, talking about their girlfriends, however every time their favorite team does something favorable, they react in a very homosexual way. The first time the team scores a touchdown they stand up and begin making out. After the initial shock, one begins asking, “Are we gay now?” and the other explains that no, they’re not gay they’re just two dudes that made out and that it’s normal when guys get together. Soon their debate is interrupted by their team’s recovery of a fumble which prompts them to go at each other again. This time the two men are getting worried that they may REALLY be gay. The one begins rationalizing that they find the cheerleaders sexy and as they are watching them they begin dancing and grinding on each other. In realizing what is going on the one guy breaks away and defends that, “just ‘cause a couple guys kiss, and dance a little, and grope each other, and one of them whispers to the other ‘I know that you’re a man but I’m going to treat you like a lady.’ That doesn’t make them gay”. Then the man decides that it’s time to leave for his girlfriend’s house and as he’s leaving he and his buddy have a difficult time finding a comfortable way to say goodbye, which ends in a peck on the lips. The other man then covers his face with a pillow to hide his joy and kicks his feet like a giddy little school girl. I chose this piece among all others because I feel it touches on a lot of straight men’s feelings on homosexuality and also I wanted to find a piece of media that related to something that we’ve discussed more recently.

This piece relates not only to the discussion we had recently involving male’s fear of being gay (stemming from the A&F talks), but also to the Johnson chapter involving privilege. The way in which the men continue to deny the fact that their behavior is of a homosexual nature proves that they view being homosexual as a bad thing and are wired with lame excuses for why they cannot be gay. In class we discussed how men fear appearing gay because they may not be looked as much as a man; they fear appearing weak or even diseased (thanks to some right-wing protest groups). These men very clearly have some gay tendencies, but why is it that they deny it so vehemently? Johnson may have explained it in chapter 3 of his book. Johnson points out that homosexual men have many of their “male” privileges taken away the minute that they come out and are placed on the privilege ladder more closely to women. Again privilege plays a large part in determining how we wish to be viewed.

If we as white men often say that we are largely unaware of the existence of privilege and oppression, why are so afraid to be viewed as being gay? Why do we assume that we will be treated as a lesser or even just different? The fact is that someone who is openly gay IS looked down upon in many ways, especially by conservative religious activists. No one wants to lose their status in the world, especially if it’s to go down to a lower status. White, straight men (like the characters in the skit) hold a large amount of power in the world and admitting that they were gay would be like buying a first-class ticket to give it away. Even if you choose not to believe that privilege and oppression (and at this point I would at least hope that everyone in this class does), you must at least admit that it is easier for some people to get certain things in life. For example, it is easier for a white person to get good credit over a black person, or it’s easier for a male to seem like they are proficient when it comes to mechanics, than it is for a woman who is sometimes the victim of attempted cons. Don’t like to think about these privileges or how they keep people from getting equal opportunities to desired things? Do something about it and fix the world.