Happy Endings’ Max: not “gay enough?”

Max Blum is my favorite character on ABC’s Happy Endings. He’s funny, raunchy, and sometimes pathetic (just like me). Also, his character is not a stereotypically gay male. How refreshing, right? There are already enough overly flamboyant, Nathan Lane-inspired characters out there (Cam from Modern Family comes to mind, but I’m sure you’ve got your own references to work with).

I’ve been getting a lot of comments from fans of the show who have differing opinions on Max’s character. One viewer told me that Max is the best gay character television has ever seen because he’s so different. Others (including a couple I’m friends with) claim that Max “is so not gay” that it’s starting to bug them. They wonder: are there no gay writers on this show? How is this realistic? Which leads me to think about what it really means to “act straight” or to “act gay,” specifically on television.

I find it’s difficult — not to mention inappropriate — to assume what a gay man or woman “should” or “would” do or prefer. And aren’t people’s tendencies, opinions, actions, and so forth dependent upon his or her personality rather than sexual orientation? Yet, gay and straight people alike seem to decide whether certain characters are authentic. But authentically what? Authentically gay, or … authentically them? Once a character’s credibility is established, that character is believable as long as we, the viewers, believe in them.

I asked the CliqueClack team for some help in responding to the question: is Max “gay enough?”

Bob: I think even asking the question is sort of offensive (not that I’m offended at you Rachel). I don’t think we should have preconceived notions about what “being gay” means for a character. It’s a sexual orientation, not a personality trait. It’s like claiming Alex isn’t “blonde” enough. The question itself, regardless of the answer, is a proliferation of stereotypes, which I don’t believe is ever a good thing.

Brittany: <– What Bob said. He just put it about 100% better than I would have.

Julia: How can he be “not gay enough”? He has sex with dudes. Is there some sort of litmus test you’re required to pass? What about Brad? Is he not “straight enough”? Let’s just revoke his vaginal access card, then!

I wouldn’t go so far as to say Max is the best gay character ever, but I would argue that he’s an inherently good and important one to have because he’s one of the first who is both fully developed and not stereotypically gay. It’s important to see flamboyant or effeminate gay men too, but it’s just as important to see the gay men who aren’t like them, because they do exist in pretty large quantities. Max is an extreme just like, say, Cam from Modern Family is an extreme, and most gay guys I know fall somewhere on a spectrum between them.

Deb: I think Max is awesome, but it’s not because he’s gay — it’s his slovenly personality! If you want to see the stereotypical gays represented, hop on over to Modern Family, where if you combine Mitchell and Cam into one person, you’d have the stereotype (neat and flamboyant). Max is so refreshing because his character isn’t about his gayness, it’s about his humanness, which is a really down-to-earth way to portray a gay man on television. Or in life.

Bob: By the way, the greatest gay character on television was Omar Little… hands down.

Rachel: He’s one of the greatest characters on television, period. Now that’s one quotable mofo.

Chuck: I always thought it was cool that Bill Adama’s uncle on Caprica was gay, and there wasn’t anything stereotypical about him and it was just presented very matter of fact.  Will Truman on Will & Grace got complaints that he wasn’t gay enough too, and then there was Jack, who fit every straight person’s stereotypical image of a gay man.

It’s like when the media focuses on the drag queens and other outrageous groups who participate in Gay Pride events instead of the “ordinary” folks, which just reinforces that stereotype so that when you see a gay person in real life or on TV and they’re not flaming or dressed as a woman, they are perceived by the public as not gay enough (or hiding in the closet). Does that mean Zachary Quinto is now going to have to dress in drag and prance down Hollywood Boulevard to prove he’s a gay man?  It’s like saying an African-American isn’t black enough because they don’t fit into the entertainment industry stereotype. That has changed over the years and perhaps if we, as a nation, stop singling out gay people as “different,” we wouldn’t have to keep having this conversation.

Katie: I don’t know… I think it’s frustrating when people say someone isn’t gay enough or black enough or feminine enough. For one, a gay man’s sexuality (or a black person’s race or a woman’s gender) is only one facet of their identity. Gay characters (like all characters) need to be written like people first and foremost. For another, who exactly is deciding what’s “gay enough”?

For the record, I haven’t seen Happy Endings and I’m talking about characters (and honestly, people) in general.

Michael: I’ve decided I am not heterosexual enough. I mean … I am heterosexual, just not enough.

If idiotic statements are going to be thrown out there about a person or group not being “gay enough” then I want to reserve the right and have equal billing in stating I am not heterosexual enough. (I know: sounds rather dimwitted … doesn’t it?)

Why should “they” (the boneheads making the statements) corner the market and take away the pride and prejudice afforded to everyone to be equally stupid?

I’m with Katie, I’m with Bob and I’m with Chuck on what they said.  Just freakin’ live and let it alone and stop grandstanding.

Keith: I wonder what people think of the opposite situation. For example — and I’m really sorry if this comes off as offensive — I knew a guy at an old job who, when I first met him, I assumed was gay. Basically he acts like Cam from MF. Then he brought in his fiance, female. I wonder what percentage of people would’ve made the same assumption based on how he acted, and if that’s because of how much that stereotype is shoved down our throats on TV. Obviously I can’t ask anyone at work this, but I wonder if there’s anyone who thought, “no, I didn’t think that at all.” How many of you honestly would NOT make a snap assumption that Cam is gay if you worked with him and sexuality and relationships never came up?

So what you think about Max, or about “acting gay” on TV? Let us know in the comments.

Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose
on Oct 25, 2011 @ 10:00 EST5EDT