Ok, Ugly Betty fans, let's do some audience-participation for a second: if you had no idea that Betty's nephew Justin was gay, raise your hand.Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Didn't think so. It's pretty obvious that Justin is gay, even if he hasn't come out and said it yet. That's not just me talking, though. Entertainment writer Lydia Marcus has an essay on The Advocate's web site saying the exact same thing. In the essay, she's responding to a previous Advocate article that quoted a representative from GLAAD saying that Justin can't be counted as a gay character because he hasn't come out yet. "He's a character with a flair for the dramatic and someone who has a sense of style. To say he's gay based on that means viewers are letting stereotypes decide for them the definition of gender and sexuality," said the rep.
Marcus' response? "From the first episode I was able to ascertain that Justin was gay from his swishy personality, his feminine vocal patterns, and his obsessive interest in fashion. There's no need for "a special episode" to spell it out. The boy is gay-gay-gay." She calls GLAAD's view "archaic," and goes on to tell stories about how friends of hers came out of the closet without actually saying the words "I'm gay."
I don't get it. Why can't a character like Justin just exist and be himself without having to make some grand statement about himself? It's an aspect of Ugly Betty that I like, as does Marcus; that Justin can be the way he is and it's not a big deal. Justin and Marc can be gay, Wilhelmina can be a vixen, Walter can be a snivelly wimp, and Betty can still wear braces and bad sweaters. It's all a part of the show's charm.
I hope there's no "special episode" where Justin declares that he's gay. Marc's advice to him to be himself but "learn how to run really fast" pretty much confirmed that he was already. Betty's just fine the way it is; why weigh it down unnecessarily?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-20-2006 @ 1:20PM
Jane said...
Well, even if he is... so what? Does he the first gay you see on the planet? I just don't get why much ado about nothing...
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12-20-2006 @ 1:55PM
CaHaRa said...
I'd still tap it
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12-20-2006 @ 2:11PM
tv junkie said...
Totally agreed, I'm sure the show isn't pretentious enough to do a "special epsiode." They already did a pretty good job with Justin's father question him why he's not doing any sport or normal boy stuff, and that's a great way to address Justin being gay without making a huge deal about it.
Now, talking about gay stereotype, how about NBC's "Heroes"? the whole fiasco with the character Zach not coming out anymore because the actor's agent didn't want her client to be typecast as gay? now that's just nonsense.
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12-20-2006 @ 2:05PM
David004 said...
He's like 8, this whole thing is sick.
I don't give a damn unless ABC pulls the same shit that NBC did with Heros, that was fucknig pointless and wrong. What an asshole network NBC is, sad day when you can lose to Fox.
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12-20-2006 @ 2:51PM
Joel Keller said...
Jane, did you read beyond the headline? I said something very similar to what you did near the end of my post. I was happy that the show wasn't making a big deal out of it.
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12-20-2006 @ 4:48PM
Jaymez said...
$20 says the actor, himself, is gay. Not that it matters. I don't watch the show. I don't know what the word to describe the show is, but it isn't "good".
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12-21-2006 @ 3:34AM
Brent McKee said...
I am not a big fan of magazines or groups declaring that fictional characters who are created by others have attributes (such as religion or sexual orientation) that the creators of the character either haven't revealed, or on occasion haven't even thought of yet. I've seen people demand that creators reveal that relatively minor characters in comic books are Gay. Worse, I've seen writers reveal the "fact" and then have later editors decide that the original revelation wasn't "canonical". It's annoying.
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12-21-2006 @ 1:08PM
TomB said...
I think Ugly is handling this character very well. They aren't. Just a young man in a supportive family. It's obvious that he's unconditionally loved and they'll be there for him no matter what.
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12-21-2006 @ 9:00PM
OYesSheDid said...
Gay kids ROCK!
If all children had the chance to be loved and supported in their youth, and not be pigeon-holed into a certain "lifestyle" (straight or gay or whatever), there would be so many more healthy adults.
I am gay, and I was treated like I was "bad" when I was young and it was suspected. I carry a lot of baggage now that I will never get over. I wish no other kids had to deal with adult issues at young ages.
Live and let live! Rock on, Justin! :)
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12-22-2006 @ 9:01PM
Scott Schrantz said...
I'm with #3; he's a bit too young to have any kind of sexuality, gay or hetero. Obviously his character's gimmick is that he's only 12 and he's already a screaming queen, but being gay involves a little more than just watching FashionTV. He's not going to be having any kind of sex until at least the fifth season, if the show makes it that far, so just let the kid grow up first.
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12-23-2006 @ 11:28PM
Jennifer said...
I've heard a fair number of gay guys say they knew they were gay at 6 years old. Hell, I knew I was straight at six years old. It's possible to know early, even if you're too young to know what to do with the gender of your choice.
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12-25-2006 @ 8:07PM
Jenny Jackson said...
I agree, there is no need for a special episode as long as they don't deny that he's gay. And as for a young boy like him knowing that he's gay, it's not about sex, at least not as we adults think of it. Being gay is about identifying and just not being straight. If you're 8 and you're straight, do you think about sex? Not like a 18 year old, but you identify with certain people and you are "attracted" to certain people. Who we are attracted to later in life, can be traced back to when we were kids.
To be honest, it would all be simpler if we just decided to lose all the labels and just fall in love with whomever we fall in love with.
Personally, I hope Betty and Henry gets together as soon as possible! ;)
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12-31-2006 @ 12:40AM
Ivan said...
I agree with number 11. People know their genders at a younger age than most 'adults' are comfortable with understanding. I myself knew I was straight around seven years old. So to show that on TV is great because it's more normal than people think it is. I had a gay friend when I was in Second Grade. He never told me but I knew it because he loved flowers and talked only with girls. He just didn't want to hang out with 'the boys'. He thought they were stupid and that girls were cool. When we played games he wanted to be the girl. I thought it was awesome!
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1-15-2007 @ 7:45PM
Dan said...
that was totally me at that age, being gay ISN'T ALL ABOUT SEX you know, I didn't know what it was or where babies came from, but I was gay.
Why do some think you can be straight at any age, but must be 18 to be GAY!! it's just who you are!
Dan
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3-15-2007 @ 9:23PM
Miguel said...
Justin totally rocks!
It makes me happy that kids all across the country can see a kid who's smart, well-balanced, confident and WONDERFUL!
Go, gay Justin, go!
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