Tag Archives: homosexuality

It Is Official Sonny & Will Are The Worst & Most Boring Gay Male Couple On Television.

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Usually, Days of Our Lives gay couple Sonny and Will are as exciting as burnt toast. Since the beginning of 2013, the homosexuality has been toned down in order to not upset the conservative homophobic viewers for Days of Our Lives. Sonny and Will do not have a passionate relationship their romance is very PG 13, very chaste, very dry, and very boring.

Today’s episode is interesting, only because the younger cast members were on. It was nice to see Sonny, Will, Tad, Chad, and Brian together. This is what is missing, the young characters having their own storyline together. The current baby storyline is extremely homophobic and offensive. On the American soaps, gay men have to have sex with women and get them pregnant. Gay men cannot have their own storylines, their own conflict their problems must involve a female.

Brant Daugherty is a very charismatic actor, although his character Brian is supposed to be the gay villain yet he is more exciting than Sonny and Will. It appears the writers of Days of Our Lives created the character Brian to bring angst to Sonny and Will but the writers didn’t anticipate that Brian would become very popular. The reason fans love Brian is because he isn’t as vanilla and dry as Sonny and Will. Unfortunately, this episode is probably the last time Brian is going to appear on the show and that’s a shame.

My main complaint with the gay storyline, is the fact the homosexuality is treated as an afterthought as just a sub plot.

The gay storyline wasn’t written for a gay male audience there are certain things that ring false and untrue to me. For instance, Sonny and Will are monogamous. I have a hard time believing two young gay men such as Sonny and Will are not exploring their sexuality. Gay male culture is all about sexual freedom, yes there are monogamous gay male couples. The truth is though, gay men have more access to sex than heterosexual men. Gay male culture is ignored by Days of Our Lives there is no discussion about condom use, or about safer sex.

Sonny and Will are not allowed to have sex with each other, so of course they can’t have sex with anyone else. People argue that that the Days of Our Lives writers are trying to illustrate a young gay male couple can have a romantic relationship. However, the truth is, Sonny and Will were created for a heterosexual female audience not a gay male audience.

The paucity of sex scenes, the inability for Sonny and Will to cheat on each other is not only unrealistic it also does not allow them to have character development.

It is pathetic in the year 2013, that there is this homophobic double standard that all the straight characters can have sex scenes but not the gays.

If NBC was really dedicated to the gay romance, they would have multiple gay characters on the show like other soaps. For instance, the British soap Hollyoaks has several gay characters all of them are interesting, exciting and also very flawed. The gays in Hollyoaks cause disruption, drama, and trouble.

I was hoping that Brian could have caused Sonny and Will a lot of chaos and havoc. NBC, wants their queers to be safe, and friendly and drama free.

In this episode, it is the conclusion of the sub plot that isn’t even a gay love triangle because NBC is too afraid to allow the gay characters to be extremely flawed people. Sonny and Brian never had sex together because NBC is too chaste with their gay characters. Since there is a paucity of gay characters on Days of Our Lives, Sonny and Will don’t interact with people around their age and they don’t have much to do.

Since Sonny and Will are not permitted to be complex like the heterosexual characters their relationship rings false. Sonny and Will are the most boring gay male couple I have ever seen on television. I’ve watched a bunch of gay male romances and I can honestly say Sonny and Will are one of the worst I’ve ever seen.

There are several problems I will identify about the difficulties I see with Sonny and Will. First, is the dialogue, the way how the NBC writers have written Sonny and Will they call each other “dude” and “man” gay men we don’t talk like that. Sonny and Will do not talk like a gay male couple they talk like a bunch of college frat guys.

It seems to me, the NBC writers are trying to make Sonny and Will as heterosexual as possible. Sonny and Will hardly kiss and when they do kiss I don’t believe they are in love. The actors Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith are solid actors they are capable of angst. However, in terms of the sexual aspect of Sonny and Will’s relationship the acting is very poor. The lack of intimacy between Sonny and Will makes it painfully obvious that NBC is not interested in treating the gay characters with respect.

Second, The heterosexual characters such as Sami & EJ, Rafe & Kate, Gabi & Nick, Brady & Kristen have had multiple sex scenes in a bed. The straight sex scenes are very passionate, they get to roll around in bed together, and moan and make love. By contrast, Sonny and Will everything is alluded to, there was one brief scene this year in bed. The problem is, it wasn’t a sex scene it was an afterglow scene. Every time Sonny and Will want to be intimate they are always interrupted!

For instance, during the kissing scenes Chandler and Freddie smash their lips together the kissing is closed mouthed. Adult gay men don’t kiss like pre teens! There is no open mouth kissing between Sonny and Will. Chandler Massey seems extremely uncomfortable kissing Freddie Smith his face is wrinkled and he looks very cautious and hesitant. Chandler and Freddie don’t have chemistry together there is no spark between their characters Will and Sonny.

Meanwhile, when Brant Daugherty the guy who plays Brian when he kisses Freddie Smith their kissing scenes are very passionate and seem more realistic. The chemistry between Brant and Freddie seems more natural. Sonny and Brian have a lot of chemistry together but they aren’t endgame.

Third, The gay storyline is in desperate need of another gay couple in order to keep Sonny and Will interesting. Why don’t Sonny and Will interact more with young gay men around their age? Why has there never been a gay bar scene? Why doesn’t Salem have a gay bathhouse? The gay aspect of Sonny and Will’s lives are ignored.

Brian is exciting because he’s a confident, openly gay, and masculine man. In this episode, the writers are attempting to make Will and Sonny look like a strong loving couple while Brian is the evil interloper. However, Brian never really did anything wrong except fall for Sonny. Sonny admits to giving Brian mixed signals that he’s interested in pursuing a romantic relationship with him. Brian had a lot of potential to be a very interesting gay male character but NBC isn’t interested in that.

The problem with today’s scene is there wasn’t any build up to Sonny and Will telling Brian to back off. Brian never forced or pushed Sonny to make out with him a few months ago and almost sleep with him.

The interesting thing is, on the internet many people are vocal that the characters Brian and Sonny have more sexual chemistry than Sonny and Will. A lot of the comments about Sonny and Will are that they are a “cute” gay couple but they aren’t a passionate gay couple. Sonny and Will are adults, yet the writers have written these adult gay male characters as though they are some NBC after school special.

The NBC writers for Days of Our Lives seem determined to utilize the gay characters to “educate” the homophobes that gay people can have boring vanilla relationships too. On the Facebook page for Days of Our Lives, the homophobic people have complained about the gay storyline and yet I wonder what are these people upset about? Sonny and Will hardly kiss, they don’t have sex, they don’t do anything interesting at all!

The quandary is, Sonny and Will’s relationship comes across as a friendship not as an adult sexual relationship. Since Sonny and Will are not allowed to have passionate sex scenes like the heterosexual characters on Days of Our Lives the audience has to use our imagination.

On Days of Our Lives, Sonny and Will have only had one sex scene on November 14th 2012, and the kissing between Chandler Massey and Freddie Smith is awful and awkward.

I think I am going to tune out from watching Days of Our Lives now there is no reason for me to watch anymore. The good thing is, on You Tube there are numerous gay storylines from across the world I can watch.

NBC doesn’t have the courage, or the interest to treat their gay male characters with the same kind of respect as their heterosexual characters. Gay people don’t have sex on Days of Our Lives, gay people don’t have romance, and that’s just not good entertainment.

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Breaking News:Brendon Ayanbadjeo Says Four NFL Players Could Declare Their Homosexuality Soon.

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By Andrew Sharp on Apr 5 2013,
NFL: Super Bowl XLVII-Baltimore Ravens Press Conference

According to former Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, we could see a gay NFL player “sooner than you think.” There could be as many as four announcements from players around the league, all on the same day.

Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo was released by Baltimore this offseason, and on the heels of comments earlier this week where he suggested that he was cut in part because of his outspoken stance on gay rights and equality issues, Ayanbadejo clarified himself to the Baltimore Sun on Friday. During an hour-long interview he made it clear that he harbors no resentment for the Ravens, and respects them for the support they offered him throughout his career both on and off the field. But that’s not all.

When the conversation turned to his work with gay rights and the question of when we might see an openly gay player in the NFL, Ayanbadejo had this to say:

“I think it will happen sooner than you think,” Ayanbadejo said. “We’re in talks with a handful of players who are considering it. There are up to four players being talked to right now and they’re trying to be organized so they can come out on the same day together. It would make a major splash and take the pressure off one guy. It would be a monumental day if a handful or a few guys come out.”

Ayanbadejo’s release not related to advocacy

The 36-year old linebacker says he was misquoted in a report claiming his release was related to his stance on gay rights. He took to Twitter to defend his former team.
In other words, everyone prepare themselves for the most insane day of the NFL offseason in human history. A day to make the sports world explode, basically.

And it would be awesome.

The one reason to worry about an NFL player coming out as gay would be the inevitable avalanche of horrible jokes, hateful responses, and insane scrutiny, all directed at one human being. Nobody deserves that, and it would be ugly. But as Ayanbadejo says, “If they could share the backlash, it would be more positive.”

In addition to muting the backlash toward any one player, four players coming out in four different cities — AT THE SAME DAMN TIME — would get all kinds of love and support, too, spreading the acceptance around the country, making this a more universal sign of progress in the NFL and the sports world, in general.

“It’s cool. It’s exciting,” says Ayanbadejo of the possibility. “We’re in talks with a few guys who are considering it. The NFL and organizations are already being proactive and open if a player does it and if something negative happens. We’ll see what happens.” Yes we will.

Gay Community Putting Too Much Press On Robbie Rogers To Become Gay Jackie Robinson Of Sports.

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Robbie Rogers came out of the closet last month and recently he conducted two interviews with the Guardian and the New York Times. Rogers gave very candid answers he acknowledged that he retired from soccer because he believes he cannot be openly gay and compete. However, on numerous gay websites such as Outsports.com, Queerty, Towleroad, gay men have attacked Rogers calling him a coward. What right do people have to make Robbie Rogers into something he doesn’t want to be? The pressure for a gay male athlete to become the gay Jackie Robinson is a lot of pressure.

How can gay men call Rogers a coward when gay men we know how hard it is to come out? The crabs in the barrel syndrome is so common in the gay community it is disgusting!

Rogers also stated that since he came out no closeted gay male soccer players have emailed him or contacted him he was disappointed. The fear the gay male athletes have in professional sports is very real.

The mainstream media, are very politically correct, everyone is saying the right things, that the time is right for a gay male athlete to come out in a team sport. However, if the time is right why hasn’t anyone done it? Why? Why is it in the year 2013, no professional male athlete has come out in the NBA, NHL, NFL, MLB, golf, tennis, soccer? If society is so progressive as people say why is there still this intense fear that the closeted gay male athletes have?

According to Rogers, he only came out to his family in October 2012. The young man is clearly still struggling to accept his homosexuality. In the New York Times, Rogers says he doesn’t go to gay bars and he doesn’t pick up men. Rogers seems brand new, he is still trying to make sense of his life as an openly gay man. Rogers is also a Catholic, his family is very religious.

The gay community we are our own worst enemy. Some gay people place so much expectations on gay celebrities to be role models to push the gay movement forward. Yet some gay and lesbian people, don’t care to understand some gay stars don’t want to be spokespersons for the movement.

For instance, Jodie Foster the Academy award-winning lesbian actress refuses to be a gay role model and I applaud Foster’s decision. Foster is a very private woman, and she’s living her life on her own terms not for the gay community but for herself. In Robbie Roger’s case, he knows more about the homophobia in professional soccer than the general public. Rogers says the straight male soccer players are hypocritical, on the one hand they claim to support Rogers yet he says they also make gay jokes in the change room.

I think people expect too much from gay celebrities, we place our goals, dreams, and aspirations on these people yet we forget they are people too. Robbie Rogers has done a lot of good just by coming out. If Rogers doesn’t want to compete in professional soccer again it is his personal choice. No one has the right to lecture to Rogers that he must become the gay Jackie Robinson. Rogers is cognizant, he will be subjected to homophobia from fans, and perhaps even other soccer players if he competed again. Rogers feels he can’t handle dealing with gay slurs and negativity when he is competing. Rogers is being honest, he probably doesn’t want to be placed on to a pedestal and have the media put so much scrutiny on him. The pressure to be perfect would be overwhelming.

Is Time Magazine Cover About Gay Marriage Really Progressive Or Reinforcing Stereotypes?

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Time Magazine gay marriage cover

Time Magazine’s cover with two gay and lesbian couples kissing might appear progressive but is it really? Unfortunately, Time Magazine is still engendering the myopic image that to be gay or lesbian still means to be white. Why didn’t Time Magazine consider having an African American gay couple, or an Asian American lesbian couple or an interracial homosexual couple on the cover?

I believe a Time Magazine cover with gay people of colour would be more powerful because it would symbolize that gay marriage rights in America isn’t just a white gay issue.

This image is just the status quo, it doesn’t challenge anything it simply reinforces the white gay and lesbian image. Why would communities of colour care about gay rights or same sex marriage when the representation of homosexuality in the public sphere is always about white homosexuals?

I notice, there isn’t anyone with a disability on the cover? Are all gay and lesbian people able bodied?

Another thing, I noticed is why are the gay and lesbian couples on the cover young people? So only younger people under forty can be gay? Wouldn’t it be more interesting if a senior citizen gay or lesbian couple was on the cover? This cover is very disappointing because it treats gay rights as a young white person’s issue. The image of homosexuality in pop culture is very myopic and it excludes so many people.

Why Isn’t Openly Gay Boxer Orlando Cruz Getting More Media Coverage Is It Matter Of Race?

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On March 15th 2013, Puerto Rican boxer Orlando Cruz won his second professional boxing match since coming out as a gay man. Cruz defeated Aalan Martinez with a knockout in the sixth round. Cruz is currently the only professional male athlete out of the closet in North America. Now think about it, no gay male athlete is out in the NBA, NFL, MLB, or NHL, they are all in the closet. No professional golfer or male tennis pro is out! So why are the vast majority of gay male athletes in pro sports not coming out?

There are numerous theories for the reasons gay male athletes in professional sports choose to remain closeted. The obvious one is money, some gay male athletes probably fear coming out means they might lose sponsorship deals. Another reason is, gay male athletes worry the media scrutiny might be intense and they lose their privacy. Some people believe sexuality is a private matter.

In professional sports, it is obvious heterosexuality is not only present it is engendered in the media. The media obsess over the heterosexual pro athletes love lives in the press. However, homosexuality is still treated as though it should be private and not public. Gay people should not feel ashamed about being gay and that’s why Orlando Cruz is a hero! Orlando Cruz is illustrating through competing active in boxing he’s a proud gay man and that takes a lot of guts.

The general public and the media are cognizant that there are gay men in pro sports yet these men are reticent to reveal their sexuality.

Last month, Robbie Rogers a professional American soccer player did come out of the closet but he also quit at the tender age of twenty five. Rogers wrote an eloquent essay on his blog about the struggles he had to deal with in his life. Rogers has stepped away from professional soccer.

However, Orlando Cruz is out and a proud gay man he’s competing in boxing yet he’s not getting the press coverage he deserves.

One argument is, it is easier for Orlando Cruz to come out because boxing is an individual sport but it wasn’t easy for him at all. Cruz came out after getting the support of his mother, his trainers, and he did it for himself to live his life on his own terms. Cruz has a tremendous amount of courage and mental strength to come out and compete professionally in boxing.

So, why isn’t Orlando Cruz on the cover of the gay magazines or mainstream publications? Is it an issue of race? Is it because Cruz isn’t white? Is it because Cruz is a boxer and not competing in a professional team sport?

The image of the gay man in mainstream North America is a very myopic one. Usually, the stereotypical image is of a young, white, middle to upper class college educated white homosexual man. Television shows like Glee and Modern Family engender this white gay male image.

Orlando Cruz isn’t the first gay man to come out in professional sports but he’s one of the few to come out while his career is still active. It is important to point out, gay male athletes usually come out after their career ends because they have nothing to lose.

Cruz deserves so much credit because he as a Latino gay man he is challenging the homophobia within his own community and the boxing community.

It is disappointing though, that Cruz despite his success isn’t getting the media coverage he deserves due to his race and cultural background.

Cruz is a real hero because he knows there are homophobes in the boxing community who resent the fact he’s openly gay yet he isn’t hiding in the closet.

Boxing is a very macho sport, Orlando Cruz is a hero to the Puerto Rican community he is smashing the stereotypes that a gay man cannot be masculine, strong, and be a good athlete. Cruz is also a very successful boxer. However, Orlando Cruz isn’t white he’s Latino. The mainstream and gay press seem to want the gay Jackie Robinson to be a white gay man not a gay man of colour.

Blind Item: Ryan Seacrest Broke Up With Boyfriend Derek Hough Not His Sister Julianne.

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The Story Behind The Split
[Blind Gossip] People are sad over this attractive couple’s split. Let’s clarify a few things about their relationship.

First of all, they were never a real couple. However, they really were friends with one another.

Secondly, the arrangement worked so well over time, that they actually thought about making it more permanent.

Thirdly, they broke up very suddenly, but it was not because of a conflict between the man and the woman. The real conflict was between the man and the woman’s brother. That’s right! The guy didn’t really break up with her. He was actually breaking up with her brother! She was just a casualty of the fallout.

Why did they break up? One guy heard that the other betrayed him (we don’t know if it was true or not). The breakup followed very quickly after that. It was very sudden and very ugly.

Finally, all three in this relationship are adults and are professionals in the industry, so we think that there is a zero out of ten chance that any details of their relationship or their breakup will ever be made public.

My Guess
Guy: Ryan Seacrest

Gal: Julianne Hough

Gal’s Brother: Derek Hough

Clue: ‘zero out of ten’ chance – refers to the Dancing with the Stars scoring system.

Everyone knows Ryan Seacrest is gay he isn`t fooling anyone. It is sad though that Ryan and Derek Hough feel the need to hide their gay relationship by getting Julianne involved. Ryan Seacrest is a television host I doubt it would hurt his career if he came out. Derek Hough is a dancer, nobody would be surprised if he came out of the closet

Gay Argentina Soap Botineras: Manuel & Lalo Make Love For The First Time.

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Three years ago, the soap Botineras in Argentina had a very popular gay storyline about two soccer players Manuel and Lalo.

I can honestly say, this is one of the best gay male romances I have ever seen! I can’t imagine, a gay storyline like this being broadcast on North American television. The sensuality, passion, desire, and the love Manuel and Lalo have for each other is just incredible. The story is simple, Manuel is thirty years old, his professional soccer career is almost over.

However, Manuel is closeted he’s married to a woman Lily and he has two children. Lalo, is only eighteen he’s just starting his soccer career and Manuel falls for the younger man. Compared to North American soaps or television shows with gay storylines, this gay storyline is about love.

This soap illustrates the difficulty a gay male soccer players would have coming out of the closet. Lalo doesn’t want to come out because he’s afraid it might destroy his career. Manuel’s wife Lily eventually finds out the truth that her husband is having an affair with Lalo. There is a lot of drama in this story.

Although, Queer as Folk gets a lot of attention for being sexually explicit, the love scenes were mechanical and not loving. The romance between Manuel and Lalo is all about love, tenderness, and devotion. It is very rare to watch a soap with gay male characters who show tenderness, compassion, and comfort each other. Often, the actors who do play gay male characters are uncomfortable or awkward in the gay love scenes. Here the actors who play Manuel and Lalo give a tremendous performance, and make the audience actually believe their characters are in love.

Shocking Allegations: Did A Secret Vatican Report on Gay Sex and Blackmail Bring Down the Pope?

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Reuters

Pope Benedict XVI has claimed that he’s resigning the papacy next week because of old age. But according to the major Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the real reason he resigned is because he did not want to deal the repercussions of a secret 300-page Vatican dossier that allegedly found, among other things, an underground network of high-ranking gay clergy, complete with sex parties and shady dealings with the already scandal-ridden Vatican bank. Here’s what we know:

The report sounds menacing. According to La Repubblica, the dossier comes in two volumes, “two folders hard-bound in red” with the header “pontifical secret.”

Pope Benedict asked for the investigation. “The paper said the pope had taken the decision on 17 December that he was going to resign — the day he received a dossier compiled by three cardinals delegated to look into the so-called ‘Vatileaks’ affair,” according to the The Guardian‘s translation of the report.

The Vatican has a Velvet Mafia — and the Velvet Mafia is being blackmailed. The dossier alleges that a gay lobby exists within the Church, and has some sort of control on the careers of those in the Vatican. The dossier also alleges that this group isn’t as covert as it thinks — and got blackmailed by people on the outside. “The cardinals were said to have uncovered an underground gay network, whose members organise sexual meetings in several venues in Rome and Vatican City, leaving them prone to blackmail,” reads The Sydney Morning Herald‘s translation of the report, and The Guardian adds: “They included a villa outside the Italian capital, a sauna in a Rome suburb, a beauty parlour in the centre, and a former university residence that was in use by a provincial Italian archbishop.” Some important context on this still powerful group:

  • This isn’t the first time there’s been talk of a gay faction inside the highest ranks of the Church. Indeed, it isn’t even the first time that La Repubblica has written about it. Back in 2010, Ghinedu Ehiem, a Nigerian clergyman who was part of one of the Vatican’s prestigious choirs, was dismissed after police wiretaps found him negotiating for male prostitutes. La Repubblica had those wiretaps.
  • And “in 2007 a senior official was suspended from the congregation, or department, for the priesthood, after he was filmed in a ‘sting’ organised by an Italian television programme while apparently making sexual overtures to a younger man,” according to The Guardian — evidence the paper says connects to a gay network within the Holy See.

La Repubblica‘s sourcing seems to have been corroborated. So how much of this new scandal should you believe? Well, La Repubblica is not the only publication with an outline of this scandalous dossier. Panorama, an Italian weekly, has a similar report out late this week and according to the AFP, both publications have sources (perhaps the same source) who said the same thing: that the investigation shows transgressions that “revolve around the sixth and seventh commandments” — “Thou shall not commit adultery” and “Thou shall not steal.” It’s assumed in multiple reports that homosexual sex acts fall under the “adultery” umbrella.

The Vatican’s bank sounds fishy. La Repubblica says that the seventh commandment (“Though shall not steal”) has to do with the Institute of Religious Works, the Vatican’s Bank. “The three cardinals continued to work beyond 17 December last year. They came up with the latest events concerning the IOR — here you go to the seventh commandment,” reads the report, according to a rough Google Translation. On February 15, Pope Benedict appointed Ernst von Freyberg, a German lawyer, to head the scandalous bank.

The Vatican’s response isn’t exactly comforting. They Church isn’t flat-out denying the inflammatory allegations from La Repubblica, and they’ve pulled the classic act of neither confirming nor denying. Vatican spokesman Father Ferederico Lombardi said in a statement:

Neither the cardinals’ commission nor I will make comments to confirm or deny the things that are said about this matter. Let each one assume his or her own responsibilities. We shall not be following up on the observations that are made about this.

Pope Benedict’s successor will have a rough first day. If this damning dossier was really a big enough deal to have forced the first papal resignation in 600 years, who gets to deal with it? That undertaking will go to Benedict’s successor. According to La Repubblica, the dossier will stay in a secret papal safe and delivered to Benedict’s successor whenever he is elected — and that isn’t all, La Repubblica said this gay blackmail thing is just the first in a series of articles by the paper

Huffington Post Article: The Gay Jackie Robinson Will Apparently Be White

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Posted: 02/21/2013  9:00 am
By Adam Amel Rogers

For what seems like a lifetime, those who follow gay issues in sports have been addressing the same tiresome series of questions: “Is America ready for an openly gay athlete in one of the four major team sports?” “When will a current player finally come out?” “How will it affect the locker room?”

The list goes on.

While we wait patiently for a major athlete to come out and put these questions to rest, at least we can see our dreams (and, at times, our nightmares) play out in Hollywood.

Last week, USA Network’s Necessary Roughness became the latest in a long line of TV shows to imagine an athlete’s coming-out process. The depiction of quarterback Rex Evans making the decision to come out as a gay man has largely been treated with care, compassion and complexity.

The storyline reflects evolving attitudes toward LGBT equality in American culture, and it differs from previous coming-out plots in that Rex isn’t fired or forced onto injured reserve. But there is one trait that Rex Evans shares with most of his fictional gay athlete predecessors:

He’s white.

I am currently researching the history of LGBT athletes on television for a study that is due out this fall, but one doesn’t need a content analysis to see that an overwhelming majority of gay athletes depicted in entertainment media are white.

The gay quarterback from Showtime’s Queer as Folk? White. The gay tight end from ESPN’s Playmakers? White. Eric Dane as a gay quarterback in the movie Valentine’s Day, the gay defensive back on ABC’s Coach and even the animated gay jock from ParaNorman? White, white and… white.  I am still searching the annals of TV history, but so far the list of portrayals of gay athletes of color seems to be limited to Santana, the Latina lesbian cheerleader from Glee; Calvin, the African-American hockey/football player from Greek; and Theo, the African-American backup quarterback from Arli$$, who combats gay rumors by purposely getting photographed in a hot tub with two underage girls.

Of course, diversity problems are nothing new in Hollywood. Even after years of media diversity advocacy, TV is still largely white (only 22 percent of all broadcast TV characters this season are people of color) and largely straight (4 percent of characters are LGBT). Drilling down deeper, LGBT people of color have always been plagued by invisibility in media, but the lack of LGBT athletes of color on TV is particularly befuddling because it is so wildly dissimilar from real life. Over 82 percent of the NBA, 70 percent of the NFL and 39 percent of MLB are made up of people of color, so when the first active player in one of these sports does decide to come out, there is a pretty good chance he won’t look like the TV versions that precede him.

Television portrayals of LGBT characters have long been on a steady ascent, not only in number but in complexity of character. Characters from shows like Will & Grace, Modern Family and The New Normal have done wonders for changing hearts and minds on LGBT equality, but they have also contributed to the lack of visibility for non-white LGBT people. This is particularly troubling considering that a 2012 Gallup poll found that white people are the least likely group to identify as LGBT (3.2 percent, compared with 4.6 percent of African Americans).

Television isn’t the only problem, though; the perception that openly gay athletes are predominately white also seems to exist in the real world, via the rumor mill. OutSports maintains a historical archive of gay rumors in professional sports, and the most prominent professional athletes who have faced rumors about their sexuality have been predominately white. It isn’t exclusively white, but for every Kordell Stewart there are many more Troy Aikmans, Steve Youngs and Mike Piazzas fighting off the gay rumors.

The athletes who have came out after their career’s end and those who have come out in other sports have told a very different story than the fictional gay athletes on TV and in the rumor mill. This list includes African-American athletes like Glenn Burke and Wade Davis, Latino athletes like Orlando Cruz, Asian Pacific Islander athletes like Esera Tualo and even some white athletes like Billy Bean.

The reality is that years down the line (or much sooner than that, if you believe this recent ESPN.com poll), when there are many active openly gay players in the four major sports, they will reflect a wide spectrum of diversity, and hopefully entertainment media will start portraying this diversity accurately.