Ron and Frank gave us KISH, and people complained. Now they give us a fierce dude (Felix) and people complain. Personally I don't mind the character. I am also not offended by his flamboyance. I wish there were more flamboyant gay male characters or 'butch' lesbian characters (Stephanie on B&B is dead) on screen!
I know people like Felix in real life, so what's the big deal?
What nobody has mentioned so far is that the gay community has been fighting negative stereotypes in movies and television for decades now. In this sense, the character of Felix IS a step backwards. I am thrilled that GH has added an out black gay character to the show. However, when I first heard Felix speak, I just cringed!
IMO, Andy Towle should not have apologized to Ron C. Yes, Ron was right that characters like Felix have every right to exist on daytime and elsewhere, but where he went wrong is not (yet) casting a counterbalance as well i.e. a masculine gay character. Ron being gay himself should have been able to anticipate the negative reaction to Felix. I personally believe Felix's first scenes were specifically written to annoy the LGBT community and create a "news" story like this. I'm just hoping Dr. Lucas Jones shows up at GH soon and becomes the object of Felix's desire.
BTW, I lost respect for Carlivati and Valentini when they did not resign in protest from OLTL after Frons fired Kish.
IMO all this has been blown way out of proportion. When I first heard the talk about Felix after the first time he was on the show, I kept imagining a Boy George type of character. Felix is far from it.
He is NOT even all that feminine. When he first walked on to Sabrina, I thought "Damn, who is that hot guy!" I don't think that way about guys who really are feminine. The lipstick is an afterthought.
And yesterday in the scenes with Sabrina and Lucy Coe, he was a perfectly normal man. He looked great in the suit and HE was calming Sabrina down, who was over the top. And with Lucy, she stole the show (naturally). A flamboyant and feminine gay man is not going to be quiet and let anyone steal the show.
And the fact is, people like him, and people FAR more feminine than him do exist. A LOT. So his portrayal is only one realistic portrayal of a man.
The thing that bothered me WAY more was the propping of Sabrina. Why does she, a newbie herself, get a best friend, another newbie? Both have no connection to anyone.
And the other thing that has always bothered me: The notion that the gay man is the girls best friend. I don't buy it. I know it is that way a lot in the world, but I have seen those types of relationships and the ones I have are not equal, healthy, nourished friendships.
does the lgbt community really have to be this selfish? screaming abt an effeminate gay guy is ridiculous! there are tons of effeminate gay people and their are tons of unique representations of lgbt characters from hollywood w/c is completely lopsided considering how according to cnn only 3% of the us population is lgbt and they wouldn't get that wrong bec openly gay anderson cooper is the "face" of that ratings mess cnn. openly lgbt actors get supporting and lead roles most of whom are white gay guys. and closeted white gay actors get tons of lead and supporting roles.
lgbt are screaming abt an effeminate gay char on a low rated show like gh yet there are no complaints when hollywood openly bashes asian americans thru their racist portrayals. it's bec hollywood's racist. hollywood employs "realism" to remove people of color from storylines like on "mad men" and then claims "artistic" bs when there are still no people of color on ny based tv shows like "girls" where white privilege is glorified.
yet hollywood disregards "realism" when they cast white people as chars of color. hollywood uses all kinds of mental gymnastics when they cast white people to portray people of color and particularly the better Asian american roles.
then hollywood leaves the harmfully stereotypical Asian american roles to Asian american actors like the nerdy Indian american char w/ accent that's mocked.
then hollywood screams "reverse racism" when white actors take roles of Asian americans. that is a dumb concept bec it assumes that whites are qualified and people of color are unqualified to portray their own roles.
bottomchef, as someone who is part Asian and a couple of other minorities, I totally understand your point of view. I just don't see why you need to single out LGBTs for expressing a legitimate concern.
I also don't get why you need to subject the other posters on DC to your periodic rants. Well-written though they may be, I rather think you're preaching to the choir. Why not address them to the TV networks, studios, and executives?
soaparmageddon: it's quite frankly very manipulative for some lgbt people to bash an effeminate gay character as homophobic when what they want is to control how all lgbt characters must be portrayed. an effeminate gay character is clearly not homophobic. there are tons of effeminate gay people. and there are tons of unique portrayals of gay characters from hollywood. not all the gay chars are effeminate.
how the hell is hollywood being homophobic to gays by portraying an effeminate gay char when hollywood prioritizes lgbt characters and especially prioritizes white gay characters? how the hell is hollywood against lgbt community when white gay actors that are closeted have become a listers and gotten many roles and have often become named people magazine's most handsome and get a lot of press and perks?
this whole "controversy" from vocal and quite frankly warped lgbt people is to foment fake anger at an effeminate gay char and thus force everyone to conform to their standards of how gays should be portrayed. they want to define any portrayal they don't approve of as "homophobic" and yet all their screaming does is minimize real discrimination and bullying.
and btw the huffington post has reported that it is Asian american students that get bullied the most among all groups. yet where is hollywood to scream against that kinda bullying?
gallup poll reported that majority of people that identify as lgbt make less than 25000 and yet hollywood and the manhattan mainstream media were vehemently against that report bec it goes against how they shape the narrative on the lgbt community. there are many unique gay characters from hollywood but a vast majority of them are portrayed as rich and white bec hollywood and the media want to brainwash people to think of lgbt as such. hollywood and the media want to make advertisers think that the lgbt community is profitable. it's abt status and class and yes it's a form of white supremacy from the "tolerant" hollywood and manhattan mainstream media.
I think that Hollywood/New York Media do portray gays especially as wealthy and white, except on Law and Order:SVU. I cant remember the guy's name, but he was played by BD Wong, and he was Asian and Gay. So that is 1 good portrayal of a Gay Person. He was shown to be very professional, competent, and great at helping Stabler and Benson catch criminals.
Those of us who live in Metro Detroit. We know the buying power of diverse clients. Asians, African-Americans, Latinos, everybody. I think the World is slow to show change, but it is happening gradually.
I find Felix D. an incredibly refreshing character on GH which is a show whose main theme is death and violence. GAWD, Felix is a breath of fresh air. Major points GH! Stoic young gay couple of DAYS. Check. Fun fem gay on General Hospital. Check, check. I say we have a gay daytime balance. I'm good with that. I agree with poster who said the gays making a big deal about Felix are self-loathing. Felix is fun and if he puts a smile on the faces of GH fans then the producers have done their job successfully.
Ron and Frank gave us KISH, and people complained. Now they give us a fierce dude (Felix) and people complain. Personally I don't mind the character. I am also not offended by his flamboyance. I wish there were more flamboyant gay male characters or 'butch' lesbian characters (Stephanie on B&B is dead) on screen!
I know people like Felix in real life, so what's the big deal?
What nobody has mentioned so far is that the gay community has been fighting negative stereotypes in movies and television for decades now. In this sense, the character of Felix IS a step backwards. I am thrilled that GH has added an out black gay character to the show. However, when I first heard Felix speak, I just cringed!
IMO, Andy Towle should not have apologized to Ron C. Yes, Ron was right that characters like Felix have every right to exist on daytime and elsewhere, but where he went wrong is not (yet) casting a counterbalance as well i.e. a masculine gay character. Ron being gay himself should have been able to anticipate the negative reaction to Felix. I personally believe Felix's first scenes were specifically written to annoy the LGBT community and create a "news" story like this. I'm just hoping Dr. Lucas Jones shows up at GH soon and becomes the object of Felix's desire.
BTW, I lost respect for Carlivati and Valentini when they did not resign in protest from OLTL after Frons fired Kish.
IMO all this has been blown way out of proportion. When I first heard the talk about Felix after the first time he was on the show, I kept imagining a Boy George type of character. Felix is far from it.
He is NOT even all that feminine. When he first walked on to Sabrina, I thought "Damn, who is that hot guy!" I don't think that way about guys who really are feminine. The lipstick is an afterthought.
And yesterday in the scenes with Sabrina and Lucy Coe, he was a perfectly normal man. He looked great in the suit and HE was calming Sabrina down, who was over the top. And with Lucy, she stole the show (naturally). A flamboyant and feminine gay man is not going to be quiet and let anyone steal the show.
And the fact is, people like him, and people FAR more feminine than him do exist. A LOT. So his portrayal is only one realistic portrayal of a man.
The thing that bothered me WAY more was the propping of Sabrina. Why does she, a newbie herself, get a best friend, another newbie? Both have no connection to anyone.
And the other thing that has always bothered me: The notion that the gay man is the girls best friend. I don't buy it. I know it is that way a lot in the world, but I have seen those types of relationships and the ones I have are not equal, healthy, nourished friendships.
does the lgbt community really have to be this selfish? screaming abt an effeminate gay guy is ridiculous! there are tons of effeminate gay people and their are tons of unique representations of lgbt characters from hollywood w/c is completely lopsided considering how according to cnn only 3% of the us population is lgbt and they wouldn't get that wrong bec openly gay anderson cooper is the "face" of that ratings mess cnn. openly lgbt actors get supporting and lead roles most of whom are white gay guys. and closeted white gay actors get tons of lead and supporting roles.
lgbt are screaming abt an effeminate gay char on a low rated show like gh yet there are no complaints when hollywood openly bashes asian americans thru their racist portrayals. it's bec hollywood's racist. hollywood employs "realism" to remove people of color from storylines like on "mad men" and then claims "artistic" bs when there are still no people of color on ny based tv shows like "girls" where white privilege is glorified.
yet hollywood disregards "realism" when they cast white people as chars of color. hollywood uses all kinds of mental gymnastics when they cast white people to portray people of color and particularly the better Asian american roles.
then hollywood leaves the harmfully stereotypical Asian american roles to Asian american actors like the nerdy Indian american char w/ accent that's mocked.
then hollywood screams "reverse racism" when white actors take roles of Asian americans. that is a dumb concept bec it assumes that whites are qualified and people of color are unqualified to portray their own roles.
bottomchef, as someone who is part Asian and a couple of other minorities, I totally understand your point of view. I just don't see why you need to single out LGBTs for expressing a legitimate concern.
I also don't get why you need to subject the other posters on DC to your periodic rants. Well-written though they may be, I rather think you're preaching to the choir. Why not address them to the TV networks, studios, and executives?
soaparmageddon: it's quite frankly very manipulative for some lgbt people to bash an effeminate gay character as homophobic when what they want is to control how all lgbt characters must be portrayed. an effeminate gay character is clearly not homophobic. there are tons of effeminate gay people. and there are tons of unique portrayals of gay characters from hollywood. not all the gay chars are effeminate.
how the hell is hollywood being homophobic to gays by portraying an effeminate gay char when hollywood prioritizes lgbt characters and especially prioritizes white gay characters? how the hell is hollywood against lgbt community when white gay actors that are closeted have become a listers and gotten many roles and have often become named people magazine's most handsome and get a lot of press and perks?
this whole "controversy" from vocal and quite frankly warped lgbt people is to foment fake anger at an effeminate gay char and thus force everyone to conform to their standards of how gays should be portrayed. they want to define any portrayal they don't approve of as "homophobic" and yet all their screaming does is minimize real discrimination and bullying.
and btw the huffington post has reported that it is Asian american students that get bullied the most among all groups. yet where is hollywood to scream against that kinda bullying?
gallup poll reported that majority of people that identify as lgbt make less than 25000 and yet hollywood and the manhattan mainstream media were vehemently against that report bec it goes against how they shape the narrative on the lgbt community. there are many unique gay characters from hollywood but a vast majority of them are portrayed as rich and white bec hollywood and the media want to brainwash people to think of lgbt as such. hollywood and the media want to make advertisers think that the lgbt community is profitable. it's abt status and class and yes it's a form of white supremacy from the "tolerant" hollywood and manhattan mainstream media.
I think that Hollywood/New York Media do portray gays especially as wealthy and white, except on Law and Order:SVU. I cant remember the guy's name, but he was played by BD Wong, and he was Asian and Gay. So that is 1 good portrayal of a Gay Person. He was shown to be very professional, competent, and great at helping Stabler and Benson catch criminals.
Those of us who live in Metro Detroit. We know the buying power of diverse clients. Asians, African-Americans, Latinos, everybody. I think the World is slow to show change, but it is happening gradually.
I find Felix D. an incredibly refreshing character on GH which is a show whose main theme is death and violence. GAWD, Felix is a breath of fresh air. Major points GH! Stoic young gay couple of DAYS. Check. Fun fem gay on General Hospital. Check, check. I say we have a gay daytime balance. I'm good with that. I agree with poster who said the gays making a big deal about Felix are self-loathing. Felix is fun and if he puts a smile on the faces of GH fans then the producers have done their job successfully.