# 10: Project RunGAY

After looking at the website www.afterellen.com, It was easy to see what this site was created to do. On this site they post commentary on shows that contain gay and lesbian characters such as "The L Word," "Top Chef," "Bad Girls," "Project Runway" and more. Out of these shows, the only one that I have watched is "Project Runway."

This is a show about aspiring fashion designers competing with each other to win the challenges and potentially get help in creating their own line of clothing. From what I have seen, the gay designers are portrayed exactly as you would think of a stereotypical homosexual. First off, it is a show about fashion design which is a historically gay profession in the first place. The biggest reason I see this stereotypical trend played-up is that the producers over-emphasize any stereotype that a gay character does. For example, one of the gay designers, Christian, is shown doing his hair and crying more than any of the heterosexual characters. This is done to re-iterate and play up the already known characteristics of gay people. In this case, the media is not helping the gay community make any new strides. If however the show played down these stereotypes, it would be less derogatory and insensitive to the growing number of homosexuals.