Queer+as+Folk+(American+TV+Show)

Christopher Valera

**Queer ** **as ** **Folk ** **(American ** **TV ** **Show) ** Queer as Folk is an American and Canadian television series based off a British series of the same name. The show premiered in 2000 on Showtime in America and in 2001 on Showcase in Canada. The show lasted for five seasons. Currently, the reruns of the show are aired on the LGBT network, Logo.

Queer as Folk is centered on a group of five gay friends living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The shows main characters are Brian, the promiscuous member of the group; Justin, a teen coming to terms with his sexuality; Michael, a manager of a department store; Emmett, the most flamboyant one; and Ted, an accountant with low-self esteem. The cast is rounded out by Michael’s mother, Debbie; a lesbian couple, Lindsay and Melanie, and Ben, an HIV positive professor who becomes Michael’s husband in season four.

The show dealt with many LGBT issues, such as: coming out, same-sex marriage, ex-gay ministries, gay adoption, gay-bashing, safe sex, HIV-positive status, underage prostitution; actively gay Catholic priests; discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, the internet pornography industry, and bug chasers (HIV-negative individuals who actively seek to become HIV-positive).

(Compiled from the Queer as Folk Wikipedia page)


 * Media Representation of Homosexuality **

Media is a very important form of communication. Through any media outlet, may it be television, news, movies, internet, or music, it shapes how we view things in society (Farrell, 2006).

Homosexuals have been represented in the media since the 1960s, first appearing in one-sided news reports against homosexuality (Waldowski, 2008). Through the 1970s there were a few television shows and made-for-tv movies that had gay characters; however in 1980 the Moral Majority prompted a campaign against representation of homosexuality on network television, which limited how networks could talk about homosexuality. Though by the time of the HIV/AIDS outbreak, homosexuals were becoming humanized and needed to be represented. Since then homosexual characters have appeared on many network shows including Roseanne, Will and Grace, Ellen, and Friends.
 * History**

Prior to the show, representation of homosexuals were limited and narrow. According to the article, //Becoming the homovoyeur: consuming homosexual representation in Queer as Folk//, author Sheri Manuel states that in the early 1990s, that homosexuals were portrayed, “as a threat to traditional mores in sexuality, something to be apologized for, or used as comic relief” (2009). Homosexuals were never portrayed as a main character; they were lone individuals in comparison to the many heterosexual couples (Manuel, 2009). Many people believed that these representations were true to life, and created stereotypes of homosexual individuals. Society believed that all homosexuals were flamboyant and promiscuous individuals. It is not until Queer as Folk premieres that these stereotypes are broken.

Queer as Folk is cited as a groundbreaking series for portraying a more honest representation of the gay community (Bradley, 2007). The series showed the human side of the gay community, portraying them as ordinary people instead of the many overly-stereotyped characters there had been. In comparison to the partying lifestyle that most shows portray the gay lifestyle, this show has each character as an important member of their society, having jobs such as accountant, store owner, and an advertising executive. Having characters with these careers show that they are normal members of society, and that their sexuality is not what defines them. These types of portrayals allow for stereotypes to be broken. Their careers also break stereotypes that all homosexuals are either a hair dresser, assistant, or flight attendant.
 * Homosexual Representation in Queer as Folk**

Many people think that all gay men are having unprotected sex all the time. Although not completely dismissing it, the series points out that not all homosexuals are like this. The couple of Ben and Michael show that not all gay men want sex, but some desire a monogamous relationship.

Safe sex is also dealt with in the series. Condom usage was usually worked into many of the sex scenes (Cramer, 2007). Many of the characters will even refuse to have sex without condoms (Farrell, 2006). One example they offer is in the first episode, before Brian is to have sex with a co-worker, he throws a condom in the air and catches it with his teeth. Although not showing the proper usage of a condom, it does show that the characters are having safe sex.

Although the show does a pretty good job of dismissing most stereotypes, there are still some it reinforces. Brian Kinney throughout the series is portrayed as sexually promiscuous, never wanting to settle down with one person. The characters often visit local nightclub, Babylon, where there are many shirtless men and drug use. These two are very stereotypical homosexual lifestyle choices.

A major issue tackled in representation of homosexuals is that of HIV/AIDs. Since the first AIDS outbreak in the early 1980s, there have always been many misconceptions about the disease including that it is a “gay disease” or that it is a death sentence. Unlike many shows, HIV is a theme that occurs throughout the series, and not just a few “special” epsidoes (Farrell, 2006). The character of Ben is a college professor who contracts HIV prior to the start of the show. His status plays a part in many different episodes. Although he is HIV positive, with medication and a strong will, he is able to live a quite normal life even starting a family with his partner, Michael.
 * [[image:michael-ben.jpg align="left" caption="Couple Michael and Ben show that being HIV positive doesn't mean you can't be happy."]]HIV/AIDS Representation**

In 2006, Kathleen Ferrall conducted a study to see how gay undergraduate students responded to Queer as Folk representing HIV. These men watched edited clips of Ben and Michael in the second season, as Michael came to terms with dating the HIV positive, Michael. One of the participants stated that the portrayal of Ben is groundbreaking because, “We never really see this side of the happy HIV person” (Farrell, 2006). Many of the participants seemed happy with this representation of an individual living with HIV.

In my opinion, Queer as Folk is one of the more accurate representations of homosexuals in the media, so far. The series takes on many of the stereotypes head on, and shows that there are a multitude of different types of people in this category.
 * Conclusion **

Sources Bradley, C. (2007, May 24). Showtime's Queer as Folk:the realistic portrayal of gay culture. Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/252626/showtimes_queer_as_folkthe_realistic.html?cat=9

Cramer, J. (2007). Discourses of sexual morality in Sex and the City and Queer as Folk. //The// //Journal of Popular Culture//, //40//(3), 409-432.

Farrell, K. (2006). HIV on tv: conversations with young gay men. Sexualities, 9(2), 193-213.

Manuel, S. (2009). Becoming the homovoyeur: consuming homosexual representation in Queer as Folk. //Social Semiotics//, //19//(3), 275-291.

//[Michael and Ben]. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from: http://lenasbeat.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/michael-ben.jpg//

Queer as Folk (North American TV series). (2011). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_as_Folk_(North_American_TV_series)

//[Rage comic cover]. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from: http://www.popimage.com/content/images/rage-lg.jpg//

//[Season 4 DVD cover]. Retrieved April 10, 2011, from: http://images.tvrage.com/shows/5/4925.jpg//

Waldowski, A. (2008). Tell them who you are: the history of homosexuality on american television .//LOGOS: A Journal of Undergraduate Research//,//1//(1), 34-41.