Why more G Actors than L Actors?

[Asian_Casanova]

This is a question that I need to ask; why is there more Asian American (I can think of at least two) actors that are gay as opposed to gay AA women actors?

And please don't take this the wrong way (no pun intended) and be offended but do you think that gay Asian actors reinforces the effeminate stereotypes (I'm thinking of George Takei dancing in some ballet play--I actually saw a picture)?

Again please don't be offended or ban me or my post.

[VV o n g B a]

with the sample size being so small i'm not sure u can draw many conclusions as to why. but i don't fault u for asking b/c they become the defacto face of asian american men. one would hope ppl don't generalize that observation.

[kimpossible]

Lack of diverse roles enforces stereotypes. I think you're confusing characters or roles with the actor themselves. A gay actor can take a straight role and if they are not out or outed then you'd never know. The same can be said about gay characters filled with straight actors. Takei and BD Wong usually play either straight or sexually undefined characters in mainstream shows or movies. I assume those are the "two actors" you mentioned?

[Chester]

There's also the character of Lloyd, Ari's secretary in Entourage, a role with semiotic implications that are worst of breed.

I don't know if it is statistically true, but in terms of my anecdotal perception, it feels as if the gay/straight ratio for Asian male characters is higher than it is for white male characters...or any other race/ethnicity, for that matter.

To me, it's just another example of presenting Asian males in an emasculated manner -- just add the flaming queen to the list already populated by the chaste kung-fu master and the ching-chongy coolie. And it's not like we haven't already talked about that topic about sixty million times before...

[YelloFello]

Originally Posted by Chester

I don't know if it is statistically true, but in terms of my anecdotal perception, it feels as if the gay/straight ratio for Asian male characters is higher than it is for white male characters...or any other race/ethnicity, for that matter.

I have made the same observation too. It appears that a disproportionate number of Asian males portrayed on TV are homosexual, even though in reality I don't believe there are any studies confirming that a higher proportion of Asian males are gay compared to other races. I've read before that the proportion of gay men is basically the same across all cultures, which makes sense to me. This assertion too, however, was not confirmed by any study.

Nonetheless, one must question the true motives behind such portrayal of gay Asian men. Is it to demonstrate genuinely the humanity, experiences and realities of gay men in general? Or is it hidden prejudice under the guise of phony make-believe tolerance?

[Thaddaeus]

Originally Posted by YelloFello

I have made the same observation too. It appears that a disproportionate number of Asian males portrayed on TV are homosexual, even though in reality I don't believe there are any studies confirming that a higher proportion of Asian males are gay compared to other races. I've read before that the proportion of gay men is basically the same across all cultures, which makes sense to me. This assertion too, however, was not confirmed by any study.

Nonetheless, one must question the true motives behind such portrayal of gay Asian men. Is it to demonstrate genuinely the humanity, experiences and realities of gay men in general? Or is it hidden prejudice under the guise of phony make-believe tolerance?

way to lay it on thick. the few asian males i see on TV don't play particularly manly (or heroic) roles, but i wouldn't say there's a concerted effort to cast asian males as gay or feminine characters. the tendency to cast asian males in gay roles -- if such a tendency even exists, which i doubt -- is probably not a conscious one, and there's certainly no invidious "true motive" behind it.

i also get a sense that the casting industry is "motivated" somewhat by the model minority garbage, and asians' visceral hatred of the MM title makes asian-men-in-feminine-roles all the more interesting. you see, showbiz (decreasingly) is an art form, and as far as asian-men-in-gay-roles goes, i bet casting managers (like marketing managers) are more or less driven by the adage about art imitating life (the same adage drives most decisions to cast black men in "thug" roles), and they realize that stereotypes sell. stereotypes, being what they are, make characters more believable, too, and believability is a big part of any successful showbiz product. of course, you could say all of this assumes there's a strong link between "model minority" and femininity/gayness. that's not necessarily true, though, and nor is it necessarily true that such a link exists, but i think that's another discussion.

[Chooky]

Originally Posted by YelloFello

Nonetheless, one must question the true motives behind such portrayal of gay Asian men. Is it to demonstrate genuinely the humanity, experiences and realities of gay men in general? Or is it hidden prejudice under the guise of phony make-believe tolerance?

I think that such representations actually reflect a "we don't really know what to do with Asian males" reality, and may reflect igorance or expedience rather than prejudice , although it would be ludicrous to rule out that possibility. Such depictions are redundant and don't uphold any reality.

In a convoluted way the redundancy of these representations actually does reflect the redundant exclusion that seems to be the experience of many Asian males, you just have to read between the lines to see it.

The same goes for Asian lesbians who will be unlikely to see themselves represented appropriatley because they (often) despise the ultra-feminine, compliant qualities that white society says all Asian women possess.