TV’s Gay Teenagers Get Real

Item: Outside the Wilmington, N.C., set of “Dawson’s Creek,” more than 30 teenagers carry placards reading “Hollywood: No More Gay Promo” and “Don’t Hollyweird Me” to protest a 16-year-old gay character on the show.

Item: Internet muckraker Matt Drudge disseminates a false rumor repeated by the Rev. Jerry Falwell on “Geraldo Live” that the teenage boys responsible for the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colo., were gay.

Item: A high school junior who came out as a lesbian had a performance of her award-winning play blocked at the Young Playwrights Festival in Charlotte, N.C., because it depicted two women falling in love and sharing a kiss.

Item: In order to comply with federal nondiscrimination law, a Salt Lake City high school disbanded all extracurricular campus groups rather than allow the existence of a Gay/Straight Student Alliance.

If it’s not easy being a teenager in end-of-millennium America, imagine what it’s like to be a gay teenager. In the last few years, filmmakers and creators of television programming have being doing just that in unprecedented numbers.

Now playing on a screen near you: “Get Real,” “Election” and “Cruel Intentions,” which showcase gay teens as central or supporting characters. Independent films with similar themes or characters--”Edge of 17,” “But I’m a Cheerleader” and “Show Me Love”--are scheduled for release later this year. On television this season: a number of popular shows targeting teens feature gay characters or story lines, including “That ‘70s Show,” “Felicity,” “Party of Five” and most notably the WB hit “Dawson’s Creek,” which is following the coming out of a major character (Jack) partially based on the high school experiences of series creator Kevin Williamson.

But this trend, duly noted in the national media, raises the question of what impact gay teen characters and gay-themed stories have on teens themselves, straight and gay. That’s a question that’s debated on high school campuses and cineplexes from Salt Lake City to Wilmington to the suburbs of Los Angeles.

In a teen world where the word “gay” is often synonymous with lame, stupid and uncool, there is a 28% dropout rate among gay, lesbian and bisexual youth due to harassment and verbal attacks, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In one 1995 study, 22% of boys and 29% of girls perceived as gay or lesbian have reported physical attacks by fellow students. Another 1995 Health and Human Services study shows that gay and lesbian youth account for 30% of all teen suicides.

At L.A.’s Hamilton High School on the Westside, members of the student Gay/Straight Alliance are familiar with the hostility and with the influential power of film and television. Brigitte, a 16-year-old sophomore and self-described “straight ally,” says, “I have gay friends who have told me they get harassed if they hold hands with their boyfriend or girlfriend. Seeing gay teens on film and TV makes a huge difference in their lives. They feel more confident about themselves after seeing a gay character presented like it’s no big deal. And straight teens think it must be OK if TV says it is.”

Taking Their Place Alongside Nerd, Jock

In movies, gay teens have become stock characters, taking their place alongside the jock, the nerd and the cheerleader in the pantheon of teen types. Whereas the biggest obstacle to happiness in the ‘80s of teen auteur John Hughes was coming from the wrong side of the tracks (“Pretty in Pink,” “Some Kind of Wonderful”), the ‘90s version of second-class citizenship is being gay.

And like Hughes’ heroine Molly Ringwald, the gay teen heroes and heroines of “Get Real” and “Edge of 17” prevail over snobs, bigots and jocks by courageously being themselves. Part wish fulfillment, part cultural evolution, the movies now show gay teens tackling dating, first love and fashion with the same gusto and anxiety as their straight peers. And occasionally, there’s sex. The fact that they “just happen to be gay” hasn’t stopped recent movies like “Cruel Intentions” from showing sexually active teens.

“The depictions are more realistic, reflecting the audiences increased comfort with homosexuality,” says Jon Murray, co-creator of MTV’s “The Real World,” a reality-based generational touchstone that has included young gays and lesbians since debuting in 1992. “Gay teens are no longer seen as necessarily troubled or suicidal. They don’t have sex lives but at least they’re not all ready to slit their wrists.”

Notes Simon Shore, director of the recently released “Get Real”: “The way to change attitudes is by creating a character who we like and know and want to be happy.”

Until fairly recently, gay teens on television and in film were virtually invisible, limited to sympathetic but rare coming-out stories of teen angst, aggrieved parents and/or suicide. Movies of the week dealt primarily with family reaction to a homosexual son, like 1985’s “Consenting Adults,” in which a college freshman’s coming out gave TV dad Martin Sheen a fatal heart attack.

Moving Beyond the Single Episode

On such series as “Life Goes On,” “Beverly Hills 90210” and “very special” episodes of “Blossom,” gay youth were exclusively guest stars, never to be seen again after giving cast regulars a chance to model tolerance. At the movies, gay youth fared even worse, played in teen sex comedies for cheap laughs and ridicule, if they appeared at all.

Today, gay teens have evolved beyond one-episode guest appearances to become popular characters on hit prime-time series. Major studios have joined independents in depicting multidimensional gay teens defined by more than their sexuality. In comedies and dramas alike, family and friends are generally supportive or consider it a nonissue.

“Are these representations the chicken or the egg?” asks Shore, whose film “Get Real” is about a gay English schoolboy eager to learn about life and love. “For some, these films and shows are reflective of their experiences and attitudes. For others, they are a revelation.”

The first revelation happened in 1992 on the daytime soap opera “One Life to Live” with the arrival of Billy Douglas, a recurring gay teen character played by current heartthrob Ryan Phillippe (“Cruel Intentions”). After an excruciating summer of coming out culminated in romance, the character abruptly departed the show. However, it was the critically lauded 1994 series “My So-Called Life,” a show aimed at teens and young adults, that introduced Rickie Vasquez, prime time’s first recurring role of a gay teenager, played by Wilson Cruz.

“There are gays in the world, why shouldn’t they be on TV?” series creator Winnie Holtzman says. “The network [ABC] gets credit because there were some concerns in the beginning over Rickie’s proclivity to wear makeup and hang out in the girl’s room, but we were never pressured to do things differently. We never received any hate mail or got targeted for protest. I have to say, it gave me a good feeling.”

Cruz, who is gay, still receives mail from teens who claim the representation saved their lives. “It sounds corny, but some letters you can see where the tears fell on the page,” he says. “The fact that Rickie had an arc of pain but also joy and friendship was hopeful to a lot of kids who wrote to me.”

The character was indeed a revelation for Alex, 16, a gay Hamilton High School student. (The students in this story asked that their last names not be used). “I identified with Rickie, his confusion, his difficulty with his family. I told my mom I’m gay but not my dad. I could really relate to the episode where Rickie’s father throws him out of the house.” The power of movies and TV to influence young viewers is a cause of alarm to some, a reason to celebrate for others. “I’m proud of the character of Rickie, and that he was true to teens. It’s a natural progression of events, too slow for some, too fast for others,” says Holtzman.

That second group would include the Christian Action Network. The conservative watchdog organization has called for a “homosexual content” rating for network television to go along with the D (suggestive dialogue), L (coarse language), S (sexual situations) and V (violence) ratings used by most networks for parental guidance.

“In a lot of these cases, what [these shows] are trying to do is . . . change the value systems of Americans and, in particular, change the value systems of children,” said Christian Action Network President Martin Mawyer speaking on CNN’s “TalkBack Live.”

“We’re sick and tired of Hollywood trying to force its pro-homosexual values down teenagers’ throats,” Robert Hales, 17, was quoted as saying by the Associated Press during the “Dawson’s Creek” protest by Youths Against the Promotion of Homosexuality.

Some Angst Before Coming Out

In “Dawson’s Creek,” the gay character Jack goes through some angst about his sexuality, but his decision to come out is supported by family members and friends--including his former girlfriend. That’s similar to many contemporary depictions of gay teens in pop culture.

“Films now are less about coming out and more about being out,” observes Morgan Rumpf, executive director of Outfest, L.A.’s gay and lesbian film festival, which takes place during the summer. “Coming out is still central because that’s what happens during the teen years, but characters make more powerful choices, showing how it’s possible to overcome hostility and be a good person with a life full of hope.”

Screenwriter Patrick Wilde, who wrote “Get Real,” Paramount Classics’ first release, agrees. “It was important to tell the story of a 16-year-old who wasn’t angst-ridden. I never felt guilty or that something was wrong with me and I wanted to reflect that part of the experience.”

For the time being, however, young gays and lesbians are validated in a way they never have been before. “I hope TV and movies get even more open-minded and realize there is more diversity than they ever expected among all teens, including gays,” says Hamilton High sophomore Taylor, 15. “I watch the evolution of gay teen representation biting my nails, wondering where it’s all going to lead.”