#10 Straight Traits

There are several shows that incorporate gay characters into their cast- Will And Grace, Ugly Betty, Desperate House Wives, The Office and even Law and Order to name a few. These characters either play a main role as in Will and Grace (Will Truman and Jack Mcfarland) or have a secondary role like Marc from Ugly Betty. Either way the media poses certain stereotypes on their characters. In his article “Survival of the Fab- est: how Gay TV characters evolved” Steven Frank rejoices at the fact that Gay characters and their stereotypes have evolved over the years. He describes how the trend in the TV media now emphasizes that the gay characters aren’t any different than the other characters by ridding some of the standard typecasts from their characters. For example Will Truman from Will and Grace, though gay, does not exhibit the typical traits associated with 'gay' men and can very easily be considered a straight man.
The emerging trend is also to endow the secondary gay characters with some added importance that makes the audience pay attention and remember them even though they are not the main protagonist. Increasingly writers/ directors are typecasting their gay characters with not so gay qualities and still maintaining that fundamental differences exist.