9:35 am - 07/05/2012
Is Andy Cohen A White Supremacist?
Questions arise concerning Bravo honcho's suspect casting decisions
Unpleasant truths have been brought to light recently, questioning whether or not the frequent portrayal of Gay African American men on Bravo's hit reality show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is the new "mammie". And while discussion on the portrayal of POC in the media is always important, criticism has largely fallen on the POC themselves, seemingly without a second thought as to who put them on television in the first place.
Andy Cohen has obviously carefully curated his multiple RH franchises, so what does that mean about his feelings towards LGBT POC? He certainly knows that they make him money; after all, RHOA is the most successful franchise of them all. But what ignorant lengths will he go to to stuff his program with as much money-making content as possible? He has carefully placed a Black Gay man in many of his Atlanta "Wives'" storylines, knowing full well what role they'll fulfill. And that role is Sexless Gollum; whose existence is solely for shoe shopping and hors d'oeurve sampling. The role sounds well-worn and familiar, right? That's because it is. We know him from his decades-long run as the lisping, well dressed sidekick mincing about in countless romantic comedies and television shows. He has nearly always been white, however, inspiring derision of effeminate, white, Gay men in both the LGBT community and society as a whole. He has also been noticeably absent from any of The Real Housewives franchises. And that is where Andy Cohen's casting choices come in.
Has Andy Cohen deliberately tried to pass off a few Gay men of Color as the new stereotype of what an effeminate Gay man looks like?
Why wouldn't he? It's the best of both worlds: profiting off of the American heterosexual public's ignorant misconceptions of members of the LGBT community while repositioning already discriminated against members of said community as the presiders of the lowest social rung in it, elevating white femmes in the process.
Cohen's shows are immensely successful and reach an large swath of the population, LGBT members of it in particular. Is he aware of the consequences of his actions? Or his intent as glaringly obvious as it appears?
text:
ritzyroxie
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Unpleasant truths have been brought to light recently, questioning whether or not the frequent portrayal of Gay African American men on Bravo's hit reality show "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" is the new "mammie". And while discussion on the portrayal of POC in the media is always important, criticism has largely fallen on the POC themselves, seemingly without a second thought as to who put them on television in the first place.
Andy Cohen has obviously carefully curated his multiple RH franchises, so what does that mean about his feelings towards LGBT POC? He certainly knows that they make him money; after all, RHOA is the most successful franchise of them all. But what ignorant lengths will he go to to stuff his program with as much money-making content as possible? He has carefully placed a Black Gay man in many of his Atlanta "Wives'" storylines, knowing full well what role they'll fulfill. And that role is Sexless Gollum; whose existence is solely for shoe shopping and hors d'oeurve sampling. The role sounds well-worn and familiar, right? That's because it is. We know him from his decades-long run as the lisping, well dressed sidekick mincing about in countless romantic comedies and television shows. He has nearly always been white, however, inspiring derision of effeminate, white, Gay men in both the LGBT community and society as a whole. He has also been noticeably absent from any of The Real Housewives franchises. And that is where Andy Cohen's casting choices come in.
Has Andy Cohen deliberately tried to pass off a few Gay men of Color as the new stereotype of what an effeminate Gay man looks like?
Why wouldn't he? It's the best of both worlds: profiting off of the American heterosexual public's ignorant misconceptions of members of the LGBT community while repositioning already discriminated against members of said community as the presiders of the lowest social rung in it, elevating white femmes in the process.
Cohen's shows are immensely successful and reach an large swath of the population, LGBT members of it in particular. Is he aware of the consequences of his actions? Or his intent as glaringly obvious as it appears?
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original source
you have brad in RHONY, cedric in RHOBH, greggy in RHONJ, and idk if there are ever any in RHOOC - the thing is, these 'gay side pieces' are white. in RHOA, they're black. all are dehumanized to the point where they represent nothing but accessories/humor to the hag of their choice.
Jersey has Greg, who i think has hooked up w/ Albie. And Jersey represented gays well w/ Caroline's gay brother's wedding.
BH used to have Cedric. Now it's just Kyle's black gay assistant.
Million $ Listing has Madison - gay face, successful, but doesn't wear heels.
so all facets of gaydom have been touched upon, and Andy is not a W.S.
That title though...
Edited at 2012-07-05 06:17 pm (UTC)
Only on RHOA are they given such prominent roles. It's suspect, imo.
let me get this - the article is upset that the black gay men are gayer than the white gay men as far as the stereotype definition of 'gay' goes, and therefore andy cohen is a white supremacist?
brad was pretty fucking flaming, dear. especially after he threw up all over jill's apartment and turned it into an acid trip.
main problem: RHOA is the only franchise to FEATURE BLACK PEOPLE.
get upset about the restriction of their character to accessories (which i credit them for doing) and obvious color blocking per franchise.
o
then what are they....