We shocked some of you – and ourselves – by agreeing with GLAAD yesterday. Don’t worry, we’re over it, especially considering the media watchdogs have reverted back to their ridiculous ways. It seems they’re taking aim at Bravo over the use of the word faggot on the reality show, The Real Housewives of Orange County.
It seems two teenage characters, Shane and Colton Keough, got into a fight in which both of the gents employed some pretty ungentlemanly language. Shane, the elder, started it off by saying his brother had gay porn. The younger brother later called him a “fucking faggot” and a “homo”. The boys’ mother, Jeana, meanwhile, did nothing to stop the familial infighting.
Not surprisingly, GLAAD puffed up and blasted the gay-friendly network. GLAAD’s Media Entertainment director Damon Romine said:
Had these dehumanizing slurs been addressed or challenged by someone on the show, I think Bravo could make a case for why it was important to air them. But as actually aired, the scene gives viewers tacit permission to downplay this as nothing more than crude misbehavior and nothing could be further from the truth. This kind of unacceptable behavior should be addressed by Shane and Colton’s parents, and it’s Bravo’s responsibility to not broadcast anti-gay insults on air.
To rectify the issue, Romine and company want the network to censor not only “faggot” and “homo”, but “gay porn”, as well.
How about we take this to the next level?
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Alright, we can understand them wanting to censor the new f-word and homo, but “gay porn”? That’s preposterous.
(Update: We’ve just received an email from Damon Romine saying that phrase isn’t “gay porn”, but “gaypron” – which we thought was simply a typographical error on the part of The Washington Blade. He also said the paper misrepresented their mission – GLAAD apparently didn’t say anything about “gaypron”. Wow, you guys are really slipping.)
Mark
Thank goodness for GLAAD. They are so much brighter than the rest of us. I’m glad they are there to protect my innocent and naive ears.
Seriously, GLAAD is scary.
Al
GLAAD is really bugging me. They banned two shows in the past few years in which I really wanted to see and now they are having probs w/ this kid on The Real Housewives?
Fuck them!
Matt
I watch Housewives each week with my gay friends. We kind of laughed when this happened. We all recall being kids and fighting with our brothers and calling them names. Anyway, these brothers are gay so they can use those words.
David
I’ve only seen bits and pieces of the show. Looks to me like namecalling might be one of the least offensive aspects…
mc
This reminds me of Christian rights’ take on movies. At http://www.movieguide.org you can read that [b]Dreamgirls[/b] is acceptable because [i]there are some obscenities and profanities, drug references, and sexual promiscuity that are, however, eventually rebuked[/i] [while [b]Children of Men[/b] is “abhorrent” for it’s [i]false pacifist slogan[/i] “war is not the answer”]. And now, a character can say fag or homo, as long as he’s properly rebuked. How post-Hayes Code.
Matt
I’ve seen a couple of episodes, and it just leaves me wondering if this is all tv or if there are really people that disgusting down in Socal? Someone, please tell me Orange County sits on top of a really dangerous fault line.
vince
who cares about this god awful show? i’m so tired of watching non-celebrities act like celebrities.
borrring.
blowkisss
Look what one of the other housewives (Kimberly Bryant) said about this in her blog:
“Apparently the Keogh family DVD collection doesn’t include Philadelphia or Rent.
Unfortunately they are not unique in their use of derogatory words as a substitute for swearing. Not only are words like “faggot” and “gaypron” hurtful, they reflect an insensitivity that leads to some very serious consequences for our country.
In the mid 80’s I was a graduate psychology student in New York City. I worked at St Vincent’s Hospital in the heart of Greenwich Village. My job was to council patients with AIDS dementia, which mostly translated into grief counseling with their partners. This, of course, had to be done on the sly because the insurance companies in our country were/are so ass-backwards they think they can tell people whom to fall in love with and define the meaning of “spouse.” I lost patients, friends and coworkers. Many of whom I miss dearly and wish were in my children’s life
When I moved to San Francisco I volunteered with a program handing out needles and condoms to “street people” to help stop the spread of AIDS. Some were mentally ill, some were drug addicts, and some were homeless.
Regardless, they still wanted and deserved a sex life. We’ve made progress against the HIV virus but we would be much further along if it had first afflicted rich, white, straight guys who slept with their secretaries. The Keough boys or anyone else who uses the word “faggot” label themselves as ignorant and immature. We need the rich, white, unaware straight men to help fund research towards a cure. How can we teach and enlighten them rather than chastise them?”