I am gay, but I find this show’s representation of gay people actually very very unrealistic and even offensive.

They would have everyone believe that of these 30 or so characters of inter-mingling family and friends … that many of them have gay children and grand children. That in itself is not true to life.

Like sunshine and roses, everyone is loving and accepting. No one bats an eyelash. It is all hugs and acceptance and love and tolerance. It is ludicrous.

Lets recap. John has a son who is gay. Sami and Lucas have a son and a daughter who are gay. Paulina has a daughter who is gay. Shane and Kimberly have a son who is gay.
Justin and Adrienne have a son who is gay. Chloe has a father who is gay.

That is an awfully small circle of friends and family. Its like the show is being “inclusive” just because it can. It does no one any favours to include such fairy tale type stories. It gives people a false impression of what being gay actually is.

Family and friends are NOT immediately accepting and embracing … At least not all of them. I found Erica Kane’s reaction on All My Children much more realistic. She was initially in denial and horrified. Only with time did she come around.

I loathe the character of Leo. He is a disgusting sexual predator and is not funny or amusing at all. However, I sadly find him to be the most realistically written gay character out of the plethora of gay characters on this show.

It is somewhat similar to some of the backlash that The Cosby Show faced. It featured a black family that was successful, rich, happy, well adjusted, and solved every problem with humour, love, and kindness. It was not realistic in the sense that it never really addressed any of the issues that face black families in America, thereby making the show feel as if it existed in a different universe or world even. Pardon the spin-off pun!

Sure, it was a comedy. But other shows tackled race issues in the framework of a sitcom. All in the Family, The Jefferson’s, Facts of Life, etc. Some of the best comedy comes from real life awkward situations … And so does some of the best drama!

I know Days is a soap opera. I know it is fantastic, over-the-top, campy, and not meant to be taken seriously. I guess in a universe where people come back from the dead every other week, we should also be expected to believe that every gay character is rich, happy, well adjusted, with accepting parents, siblings, and loving family and friends. That is just not the case.

When gay people say they want representation and inclusion in tv and film, we mean that we want it to be meaningful and important and not just throw away fluff. Unfortunately, for the most part, DAYS’ gays are just that.

The reality of being gay is much different from what this show presents. There is shame, guilt, fear, uncertainty, pain, strained family relations, depression, suicide, promiscuity, experimentation, drug and alcohol abuse, and so much more.

I am by no means saying that those things ALWAYS happen … But certainly more often that not. If you showed me a gay person like one on this show … Who came out with no problem, every family and friend was supportive, no sexual experimentation occurred, no substance abuse issues happened, no discrimination was faced, and they went directly into a committed monogamous relationship, I would show you a liar!

It would be nice to see a realistic portrayal of a gay person, but it will never happen on this show. My question is … if you are not going to include any truth in the gay stories or characters, why tell the stories at all?

This is like a Gay Fantasy League similar to Fantasy Football. Ron Carlivati has assembled his fantasy gay team of all beautiful, attractive, well adjusted, rich people that just does not happen in reality.

There is a lot of drama that could be mined from some true storytelling related to a gay person. And it is about quality over quantity. I would rather watch ONE well written gay character than watch 6 fanciful superficial ones with no substance.