As the gay movement moves toward full equality, the fight against discrimination appears to be an ever-shifting battleground. With an increasing number of gays and lesbians are starting families, more kids are finding they must “come out” as the child of queer parents.
ABC News’ hidden-camera show What Would You Do?—which seems to tackle LGBT issues weekly—is airing an episode this Friday that tests the responses of bystanders when they see children being bullied for having gay parents. Actors were hired to play the adopted children of a same-sex couple as well as a “bully” who lays into the boys when their dads walk away.
By and large, WWYD‘s coverage of gay topics—which has included a parent verbally abusing her trans child, a gay young man being pushed into reparative therapy and a lesbian refused service at a bridal shop—has been positive, with members of the public stepping in to defend the fictitious subjects. But we worry that constantly depicting queers as victims of abuse and oppression is sending a message to the rest of America that we’re kinda, well, pathetic.
Or maybe we’re just being oversensitive. What do you think? Reveal yourself in the comments section.
What Would You Do? airs Friday, March 30, at 9PM EDT on ABC.
JAW
This reminds me of the “It gets Better” videos… They all show how things get better, and quickly… They do not show that for many of LGBT people, it takes time and for some it takes a Very LONG Time. I think we need to give ideas on how to cope till it does get busy
I like WWYD… they ask a lot of good questions about a lot of interesting topics… I just wish that they would get out of Liberal NJ….. . and head to more conservative areas to see what it is really like out there.
the crustybastard
Constantly depicting gays as victims of abuse and oppression is sending a message to the rest of America…that we’re constantly victims of abuse and oppression.
Which is true.
Since straight people are the reason for our misery, they SHOULD be confronted with the misery they created. Constantly.
Until they knock it off.
markinhuntsville
I agree with both of you, the producers need to bring the show to north Alabama and see what kind of responses they get here. I guarantee the responses will be different than most of what we have seen on the show in the past. And, the crustybastard has it exactly right, straight people should be confronted with how their actions affect LGBT people on a daily basis. The vast majority of LGBT people are not overly sensitive, and certainly not pathetic. I would argue that we are stronger than most simply because we survive being harassed, bullied, and in some cases, told that who we are is sending us to hell.
loafersguy
@JAW: They do get out of Liberal NJ. Sometimes with surprising results. Have you seen this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhl9MLno424
I agree though that they should do it more often.
Red Meat
I swear, next time I see something I like this happen I will start looking for cameras.
JAW
@loafersguy… Yes I had seen that… (Forgot I had)… I like the contrast of seeing things from 2 different locations… I also wish that they would give the score more often… 24 people intervened.
great name… loafers are easy on and off
Drifter
“But we worry that constantly depicting queers as victims of abuse and oppression is sending a message to the rest of America that we’re kinda, well, pathetic.”
The victims here are the kids, not the parents. While the parents have been identified as gay, I don’t see where the kids have been identified as such. If a paraplegic parent didn’t want their child picked on for having a parent in a wheelchair does that make paraplegics seem “kinda, well, pathetic”?
JayKay
Just once I’d like to see this show do a scenario like this in a black neighborhood…
Mark
@JayKay: The evil doers on the show MUST be generic white, preferably with a Southern accent. There are stories of ABC infiltrating a NASCAR event with “Muslim” actors who were so overacting to get the desired response that ABC wanted that they had to cancel the airing of the show.
RLS
JayKay your race trolling is so pathological it’s almost comical!
Mark
Why is he race-trolling? This segment on this series went sour for me when they went from What Would You Do? if you saw a mother screaming at her kids to What Would You Do? if you saw Southern bigots, I mean Southerners, attacking innocent Muslims at a NASCAR event. Which of course the background story goes didn’t happen despite hours of them trying hard as hell to get them to attack. It’s agenda driven and they wouldn’t go near black on white bigotry.
KyleW
@Mark: I agree with Mark – it’s not race trolling to ask why is only the white segment of society depicted. Perhaps RLS is referring to comments made in other threads.
I am curious – have there been any studies on whether there is greater homophobia in black, latino, or white cultures in America?
Mark
I’m saying I used to like “what would you do” when it was situations like what would you do if you saw two kids being bullied in a restaurant or the mall by other kids who were mistreating and yelling and embarrassing them. But now the victims have to be kids of gays. Instead of just kids, period. Which is what you would more likely see day to day.
I mean, if you saw in the mall 2 kids sitting there being verbally abused by another group of kids – how long would you sit there and how much would you take? Quit assigning them into “victimized” ethnic or minority groups, ABC. You could even have Asian kids being abused by other Asian kids – I think the gentleman there would have gotten in their face, too. Right?