Grey's Anatomy

[girlsmom]

I would really appreciate an answer to this from someone who is gay so that I can understand your perspective. In the days when gays began their struggle for equal rights and acceptance, I thought they emphasized that this was not a lifestyle choice, but that they were born gay. I do believe that is true and that they were responding to the conservative bigots who condemned them for their "evil life choices."

Why then are gay people not upset to see characters jumping back and forth between being straight and gay? Doesn't this go against what they have tried to educate people to understand? And, doesn't it give ammunition to the bigots who insist that exposure to a gay person can change a straight person?

I'm not gay, but it's a great question.

[girlsmom]

[QUOTE=LG.;3019086;]speaking of getting typecast, I saw Leno (or was it Conan) earlier this week with Eric McCormack (who was Will, from Will and Grace), a hetero actor who played a prominent gay role. He was telling the host that he was acting a part in the upcoming movie The Andromeda Strain (on A&E this Monday, I think - my husband set our DVR to tape it), and he said a neighbor asked him "so are you gay in this one too?"

I'm hoping that we're moving beyond wrecking someone's career in hollywood based on sexual orientation. I do remember when Rock Hudson died of AIDS and the public was stunned. Come on people, they are playing roles.[/QUOTE]

Yep, , they're actors. I will say that my somewhat naive mother was never a big Rock Hudson fan because she didn't honestly believe that he was into women. She thought he treated sex with women like it was "dirty". She was right, he was gay.
I've never gotten that impression as an adult, but she did.

[Veruka]

I would really appreciate an answer to this from someone who is gay so that I can understand your perspective. In the days when gays began their struggle for equal rights and acceptance, I thought they emphasized that this was not a lifestyle choice, but that they were born gay. I do believe that is true and that they were responding to the conservative bigots who condemned them for their "evil life choices."

Why then are gay people not upset to see characters jumping back and forth between being straight and gay? Doesn't this go against what they have tried to educate people to understand? And, doesn't it give ammunition to the bigots who insist that exposure to a gay person can change a straight person?

I'm not gay, and would certainly cede the point to anyone who is gay who'd say "Veruka, you've misunderstood here", but I can share my point of view based on the things I've learned from my aunt who was married to a man for 20 years who she was very much in love with and attracted to, had 3 children with him, divorced, and then fell in love with a woman. She has said that she was very much in love with her husband, and then fell very much in love with her life partner. In her specific case, she'd tell you that when she got married, she wasn't denying her true self, but rater married a man she loved. She'd tell you that when she fell in love with her life partner, she didn't "turn gay" but fell in love with a very special, attractive person in her life. Now I think there are absolutely some individuals who knew they were gay at a young age, denied those feelings, married someone of the opposite sex, and then finally matured to the point of being the person sexuality wise they've always known themselves to be. But that certainly doesn't mean that ALL individuals who get married, divorced, and then enter a gay relationship fit that bill.

I don't buy the notion that you can fit all people in to one category of sexuality. Look at children -- there are some girls or boys who are very interested in other kids in the innocent child-definition of a "boyfriend' or "girlfriend" and others who could not be bothered. In teens, there are some kids who are very interested in others both physically and emotionally, and exploring their sexuality while others could not be bothered and are more interested in shopping or sports or video games. In adults, there are some who are very interested in seeking and maintaining a sexual relationship in their lives, and others who view it as a distraction or burden. So if the level of desire is not equal among all people, then why exactly would the gender that you're attracted to be equal among all people? It makes complete sense to me that some people would be only attracted to men, some only attracted to women, and some attracted to each gender at different times. So in those cases, it's not a matter of "turning gay" or ceasing to be gay. It's a matter of meeting the right person at the right time.

[Carelesshomage]

I have never liked Alex, but this whole Ava storyline just annoyed me further. I can't believe how rude he was to Izzie; if the characters of Ava, Alex and Hahn disappeared from the show, I wouldn't care less. I got tired of Hahn's attitude toward Yang-- is it jealousy? I still can't figure out why she treats her the way she does. She did say Yang is the old her, but I don't see how that pertains to this.


"That wasn't Jordin Sparks. Her name is Jurnee Smollett, she used to play on Full House as one of Michelle's school friend and she also played on the last show Bill Cosby had, she also was in the movies, The Great Debaters with Denzel and Eve's Bayou with Samuel L Jackson."

I knew that girl looked familiar! Especially the way she talked; she had that distinct way of speaking even on FH.

[helpmeturnitoff]

I also disagree with your idea that a gay playing a gay character is perceived as less acting than a straight playing a straight character.

I never said that, in fact what I said was "Making George gay wouldn't make TK Knight less of actor".

It's rare for a gay actor to to hired to be anything other than a gay character. It has nothing to do with acting abilities and everything to do with what Hollywood believes public perception might be.

[PWS]

I would really appreciate an answer to this from someone who is gay so that I can understand your perspective. In the days when gays began their struggle for equal rights and acceptance, I thought they emphasized that this was not a lifestyle choice, but that they were born gay. I do believe that is true and that they were responding to the conservative bigots who condemned them for their "evil life choices."

Why then are gay people not upset to see characters jumping back and forth between being straight and gay? Doesn't this go against what they have tried to educate people to understand? And, doesn't it give ammunition to the bigots who insist that exposure to a gay person can change a straight person?

I think the confusion here is that you are thinking it is an either/or thing, where it's really more of a continuum. And people don't always spend the whole of their life at the same point on the continuum. Research now indicates that women especially are not always 100% anything, that it depends more on the person you are attracted to. So they might be more likely to be classed as bisexual, if you want to categorize them.
Exposure to a gay person can't "make" you gay, but it could make you more aware of options within yourself. And in some cases it's situational....that is, a woman who is always attracted to men when there are men around might, after an extended period in an all female environment, become attracted to one of the other females. And in some cases it's based on the cultural definition---in many Latin American countries for example when two men have sex it's only the "recipient" male who is seen as gay. And in some cultures there's a whole phase that boys and men go through that is considered part of normal heterosexual development where the men "donate" their sperm to the boys to bring them to manhood.
So the whole thing is a lot more complicated than just two boxes--gay/straight. Yes, there are definitely some people very far at the end of the continuum--either end--from childhood on they are only attracted to one sex and never to the other--but we are learning that there are more people than we thought for whom that's not true.
ETA... back to George, I think given his mild mannered character, he needs to be paired with a woman like his roommate, who is not such a dominant woman. Even though he seems to attracted to strong women like Meredith, Izzy and his wife, it doesn't work out for him. That would make a slowly developing romance between the two of them quite feasible to me. One of those situations where she realizes it first (as she may have already), and he slowly comes up to speed.

[girlsmom]

I have never liked Alex, but this whole Ava storyline just annoyed me further. I can't believe how rude he was to Izzie; if the characters of Ava, Alex and Hahn disappeared from the show, I wouldn't care less. I got tired of Hahn's attitude toward Yang-- is it jealousy? I still can't figure out why she treats her the way she does. She did say Yang is the old her, but I don't see how that pertains to this.


"That wasn't Jordin Sparks. Her name is Jurnee Smollett, she used to play on Full House as one of Michelle's school friend and she also played on the last show Bill Cosby had, she also was in the movies, The Great Debaters with Denzel and Eve's Bayou with Samuel L Jackson."

I knew that girl looked familiar! Especially the way she talked; she had that distinct way of speaking even on FH.

I have felt right along that Hahn may be gay and that, yes, she was jealous of Yang. Her treatment of Yang was beyond arrogance and was the first clue to me that a gay storyline might develop.

[Mike'sgirl]

That would make a slowly developing romance between the two of them quite feasible to me. One of those situations where she realizes it first (as she may have already), and he slowly comes up to speed.

I completely agree with you! Poor George, constantly paired with these larger then life women, when a softer but diligent woman would be a better match. I did think at first that little sis with her photographic memory might get annoying, but they nicely turned that around. I can see how a slow, growing friendship/relationship with Lexie is nice.

I have to add that I thought Yang teaching Lexie the whipple stitch at the end was fun also.

[fireflyer]

I can't stand Hahn, I never have like George's wife, so hopefully the two of them will go be gay together somewhere else and quit taking up screentime that could be given to the other characters. They both are a snorefest.

Can't Addison's ex-boyfriend do any better than George's ex-wife? Something was all wrong with this last episode.

Alex is a nutjob, and the Ava storyline is another dumb "uggh" one. I vote for keeping Alex but giving Ava the boot.

So excited that George gets to retake his exams! That, and Yang being a good teacher at the end, were the only really good moments of this episode.

I wasn't keen on Meredith having "self-discovery" and then running back to the man who told her JUST AN HOUR EARLIER with disgust that he never wanted to see or talk to her again. Plus, how'd she acquire and transport 3000 candles to his property that fast?

I'd rather have Burke back in the show.

Oh, one other thing that was very awesome was the clinical-trial cocktail finally working on the last patient. I hope she doesn't wind up pregnant though. I thought it was odd that 2 doctors would let 2 juveniles have sex, knowing full-well the people with custody of that girl would oppose it. Doesn't seem ethical.

I do think Lexie and George would be a good couple.

[sukee]

I have to weigh in on a couple of things.

I don't see why there is even talk of making George gay. He is an actor playing a role, if he hadn't come out would any of you have wanted his character to be gay? I think it would ghettoize him as a gay man who could only play gay characters. There is enough typecasting already.

And...it is Cristina...not Christina. That is a minor thing but it's been driving me loopy