The Real Reward of The Real World
This month marks John’s and my 37th anniversary, and I’ve finally figured out why we’ve lasted so long as a couple. I hate to admit it but it’s because of television. A few nights after we met, we sat down for the first time in front of my little 14-inch portable and watched Bea Arthur’s sitcom Maude. We laughed a lot and afterwards discussed the program for some time. We discovered that we both also liked All in the Family and Streets of San Francisco (where we lived). Soon, sharing in our favorite shows became a happily anticipated aspect of our day-to-day lives.
We’ve continued our TV tradition for nearly four decades through a massive expansion of our screen size and an explosion of channel choices. Still, I’ve got to say that we’re glad the 2009-2010 season is quickly coming to an end. It has been one of our least favorite years for viewing—too many tired crime dramas, weight-loss competitions, and predictable sitcoms about older women who like younger guys. (So what’s new?)
In the past we enjoyed the competition on American Idol, but this season one singer so outshined the others from the outset that the only tension has been whether a male with mediocre talent might upset her bid for the crown. From week to week, the greatest challenge for us has been trying to remember the great female singer’s name: Is it Crystal Bobbysox or Bowserbox or Browserbooks?
We’ve always watched Survivor, too, but both of this year’s installments were dominated by the villainous Russell, a superb player though a really insufferable character. The musical comedy Glee has been a delight, especially the part of wicked cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), but that show was on hiatus for most of the cold winter when we needed it most.
Two of our favorite series this year—one a sitcom, the other the granddaddy of all reality shows—featured fascinating gay characters. (Do you think it could be a bias of ours that we gravitate to queer roles now that episodic television finally offers several of them?)
The aptly titled Modern Family has introduced us to one of the most amusing, diverse and credible extended families ever presented on the small screen. Our favorite family members are the pair of doting gay dads who are equally thrilled and terrified about raising a baby of their own. At first glance, Cameron, who is hefty and adores dressing for parties as a circus clown, might seem like a stereotypically jolly effeminate man. But that’s far from the case with this stay-at-home dad played by Eric Stonestreet (who, for the record, is straight in off-screen life). Cameron and his partner, the anxious lawyer Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson, who is openly gay in real life), invest their characters with such nuance that viewers feel every growing pain brought on by their complex relationship and familial commitments. The rest of the cast, from Ed O’Neill as the grandfather to Sofía Vergara as his younger wife, also present intricate and laugh-inducing portrayals of sharply drawn characters.
As much as we appreciate Modern Family and Glee, the most poignant moments for a gay character this season came from an unscripted show: MTV’s The Real World DC. Yes, most of the show’s 23 seasons have featured queer characters (guys, lesbians and two seasons ago a delightfully determined young transgender woman). In fact, each year the arriving housemates typically play a guessing game of “Which one of us is gay?”
This year they didn’t have to wait long to get their answer. Handsome, athletic Mike Manning, age 22, who had come out to his family and a few friends just before production began, announced almost immediately that he is bisexual, which produced the typical reactions of, “Yeah, right; you’re just afraid to say you’re gay.”
So, one drama began as Mike had to argue his case that bisexuality truly exists and is not just a cover for something else: “For whatever reason—my genes, my makeup, my hormones, whatever you want to blame it on—God made me attracted to both sexes.”
His roommates (and even one male date) remained skeptical, and acceptance of bisexuality—as well as civil rights for all LGBT people – became a cause Mike began to champion. He initially had no idea how many bisexual young men are struggling with their identity. Within 48 hours of the airing of the first episode, Mike recently told AfterElton.com, “I probably got 2,000 messages from guys from 17 to 30 saying, ‘Finally, it’s good to have a bisexual guy come out on TV.’ Or ‘I’m bi and I’m closeted and have been for 30 years. I can’t tell my family.’”
Initially naïve about LGBT issues, Mike became a quick study when the Human Rights Campaign hired him—a wise move on HRC’s part because of the exposure it gave the organization before a mostly young national television audience. It was fun to watch Mike’s appreciation and knowledge of gay issues grow as he met with members of Congress, attended President Obama’s appearance at an HRC dinner and participated in last fall’s march on the Capitol, where he debated an anti-gay demonstrator at the suggestion of his father, who stood at his side.
The family aspects of Mike’s time on Real World DC were especially moving. During a luncheon with her son and HRC leaders, his mother broke down after expressing her fear that he would be discriminated against by being publicly identified with the LGBT movement. Mike responded, “You know what, Mom? I have the chance right now to do something great and open people’s eyes about things that are extremely, extremely important… It was only a couple decades ago that black and white people couldn’t get married, and now I feel like gay people are facing the same challenges.”
By season’s end, both of his parents were fully supportive of their son’s work and aspirations. Not so fortunate was Mike’s boyfriend, Tanner, who visited from Colorado. The episode featuring their time together was not only sexy but also touching; it was clear the two young men were developing a special bond. Unfortunately, when Tanner returned to Colorado and told his parents that he is gay, they flipped out and threatened to throw him out of their home. In a dramatic telephone call, Tanner was in tears and Mike choked up as he struggled to proffer some sage advice: “You need to tell [your mother] that you’re the same person that you’ve always been—but the person you choose to be with and to love is the person that makes you happy and not the person that society is telling you to be with.”
Viewers were left hanging as to Tanner’s future, as well as the fate of his relationship with Mike. However, I can report that in a recent Facebook posting, Mike happily announced that he was having a good day because he had awakened next to Tanner that morning.
The real reward of The Real World DC was watching Mike Manning mature so quickly in front of our television-glued eyes. And he has successfully taken his 15 minutes (or 15 weeks) of fame and built it into a friendly bully pulpit for LGBT rights—with a special emphasis on destroying stereotypes. I encourage you to visit his web site, mikegetsreal.com, and read about his current efforts, as well as his personal story. For a guy his age, he has a lot to offer the queer community.
Bill Sievert’s new LGBT comic mystery novel “Sawdust Confessions” is available from all major internet booksellers and from Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia. Contact Bill at http://billsievert.blogspot.com or billsievert@comcast.net.