It was not so long ago that homosexuality was only hinted at on television. Even where characters were portrayed in an overtly gay manner, there could be no explicit reference to the nature of the character’s sexuality. An example of such a characature of a gay man was the mincing and prancing salesman, Mr. Humphries, on the long running 1970’s BBC sitcom Are You Being Served. But even his constant double innuendo always referred to heterosexual sex.
It is only in the last 2 decades that gay issues and characters have become common subject matter for TV dramas, and gay and lesbian TV presenters and actors been feted as such.
Brookside is famous for airing the first lesbian kiss on UK television, and more recently such programme as Queer as Folk and Sugar, a UK lesbian teen series, have made it clear that there is a huge market for gay TV, and it would seem, not just among the gay and lesbian community.
But what exactly is gay TV, and is it different and separate from regular viewing? Queery is a gay TV guide for American Cable TV and its choice of programmes include many regular shows from American Idol to Frasier. So it would seem that gay TV need not necessarily be about gay issues or targeted specifically at a gay audience, but often will include gay characters, actors or subject matter that appeals to the gay community.
It is only in the last 2 decades that gay issues and characters have become common subject matter for TV dramas, and gay and lesbian TV presenters and actors been feted as such.
Brookside is famous for airing the first lesbian kiss on UK television, and more recently such programme as Queer as Folk and Sugar, a UK lesbian teen series, have made it clear that there is a huge market for gay TV, and it would seem, not just among the gay and lesbian community.
But what exactly is gay TV, and is it different and separate from regular viewing? Queery is a gay TV guide for American Cable TV and its choice of programmes include many regular shows from American Idol to Frasier. So it would seem that gay TV need not necessarily be about gay issues or targeted specifically at a gay audience, but often will include gay characters, actors or subject matter that appeals to the gay community.