I Want My Gay TV

AfterElton.com has posted the results of their recent poll asking readers to pick their favorite gay TV characters, and they are, overall, both surprising yet predictable. Not to mention controversial, considering some of the comments posted on the site in its aftermath.

Seems some readers aren't too happy with the top two picks, Brian Kinney (Gale Harold) from Queer as Folk and Jack MacFarland (Sean Hayes) from Will and Grace. These two characters, they say, are representative of the two worst stereotypes of gay men, that of the sex-obsessed narcissist and the flamboyant queen. Granted, those are indeed stereotypes that are too often relied on in depicting gay characters on television (and movies and ...). However, stereotypes are based on truth and, guess what, there are sex-obsessed narcissists and flamboyant queens out there in the world (you could say "some of my best friends are"). Furthermore, quite a few of the top 25 (and those who voted for them?) could also be labeled as such.

What seems to have been forgotten is that the original question wasn't "which character best represents gay men on TV" (which, assuredly, would have netted far different results), it was "which character is your favorite"; in other words, this was a popularity poll, guys, and both QAF and W&G were, like it or not, extremely popular shows (it is worth noting that these two series also had the most characters in the countdown, with five and three respectively). Brian and Jack, regardless of their flaws (or maybe because of them) were (and, apparently, still are) very popular characters.

Inspired by AfterElton's list, I've posted a bonus MD Poll this week, asking you to pick your favorite gay TV character from their top ten. You can find the extra poll in the sidebar to the right, beneath the regular poll (which you can still vote on too, if you haven't already). Like always, the bonus poll will run for a week, so be sure to check back next Saturday for the final (controversial?) results.

UPDATE: This poll is now closed. Click here for the results, and click here to vote in the latest MD Poll.

Link via AfterElton.com.