No one will ever forget the shock of hearing the two-time outburst that happened on the set of "Grey's Anatomy" by actor Isaiah Washington. Once in 2006 and again to reporters, the actor so glibly used a homophobic slur that eventually cost him his job.
But while it may have rocked the boat and lost the star some LGBT-friendly fans, it's no indication of the overall attitude toward gays in entertainment. In fact, it seems that things are only looking up.
Whether it's movies, TV or music, gay people – real and fictional – are popping up everywhere, and not just in stereotypical roles.
Just take a look at the stories in this week's Between The Lines.
Cover band Waves on Waves is making a statement about gay and straight people working together – but they're doing it silently. Why? Because to them, it's no big deal to have a gay frontman with two straight (or questionable) bandmates. It's not newsworthy, it's just happenstance. What they care about is the music they make together, and the fact that one of them is gay is about as groundbreaking as one liking sandwiches with mayonnaise while the other two don't.
Then there's "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist." With a cast of young stars and starlettes of the fame of "40-Year-Old Virgin" and "Superbad," it's sure to be a hit. And right at the center of the movie is a band composed of two gay guys and one straight guy. But instead of filling the movie with boy drama, wrist-flailings and faux-hawks, the two teens are, well, just teens.
In fact, co-star Aaron Yoo remarked that the fact that his character was gay was one of the most unremarkable things about him.
And right on cue, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation released their yearly statistics on the presence of gay characters in television sitcoms. The results confirmed what many had already noticed: more gay characters than ever before. Now, gay characters account for 2.6 percent of all characters in scripted series, up from 1.1 percent in 2007. Moreover, the 16 gay characters you'll be seeing on your favorite shows this season are more developed than ever.
Though some may shrug their shoulders at the presence of deep, meaningful characters who happen to be gay on TV and in movies, plus gay and straight bands like Waves on Waves and Brit-rockers Bloc Party, it's a bigger accomplishment than it seems at first glance.
Just think: If political nobodies like Arnold Schwarznagger and Fred Phelps can make it to the big leagues in politics, what does it say about the role of their star status in their fight for office?
Entertainment makes a difference. It's the same reason why, say, the actors who played Michael Meyers in "Halloween" could never be seen as a kitten-cuddling, child-loving family man. If you paint a person in a particular light on television or in movies, it will resonate with viewers.
Therefore, the more normal, down-to-earth, happen-to-be-gay characters and real people there are in the entertainment industry, the less people will fear and misunderstand the LGBT community. It's an important factor in the fight for equal treatment that shouldn't be overlooked.
With shows, bands and movies like the ones just mentioned popping up all over Hollywood and beyond, the breakdown of the gay stereotype in entertainment is closer than we think.
