Hello my name is Gay.

In class we discussed how gay male lead has been heterosexualized in order to be brought into the mainstream and we talked about Will from Will and Grace. I have to agree that this idea of a gay man is still present in our prime time television today. For example, Serena's little brother Eric. He is the only gay character on the show at the moment and he came out during the second season. It was a big controversy within the Van der Woodsen family. Lilly, Eric's mom, even put him away to a mental hospital to make it seem like everything was "okay." However, it is interesting to see how un-gay Eric really is. He is hardly seen with with boyfriend, Johnathan. When he is there is hardly any physical contact. Eric is not flamboyant like Jack from Will and Grace. He is very calm and straight. If anyone saw the show and never saw his boyfriend, I don't think that person would have ever accused Eric of being gay. Also Eric's story lines never really have anything to do with his sexual orientation. Maybe it's because hes not a lead role, but he doesn't definitely play a big role where he has stories of his own. Also unlike Will, Eric does not present any kind of sexual access with his female friends. Eric never caressed Jenny's breast or anything similar to that. However, I feel like many times Serena and Jenny are lost without Eric's help or opinion. Even though it may be something little, I feel like those two characters always seem to seek out for his opinion and help. So it was interesting to see how Eric is portrayed as not really a gay character but a character who has this title of being gay.