Why the Gay Teen on "Glee" drives me nuts... and makes me want to sing at the same time.

He has a crush on a straight guy.

He sighs over toile.

He gives the lady he wants to set his dad up with a makeover.

Argh!

But then there was the episode where he was the football star. Kicking in the winning field goal. (To Beyonce's "Single Ladies", blasting over the football stadium.)

And those scenes with his Dad, who's a bit lost about having a gay son - but bottom line, loves Kurt and accepts him. Those scenes make me so happy it almost hurts.


The character Kurt is this frustrating mix of stereotype and not-stereotype, and I guess it's really a reflection of how few gay teen characters there are on TV that I care so much about how this one is representing for us.

And that's really the crux of it, isn't it? If you had 20 gay teen characters on major network shows during a TV season, it wouldn't be a big deal if one was a bit swishy. It wouldn't feel like that one character had to represent for ALL gay people, right?

But Kurt Hummel seems to be the only out gay teen on my TV, and so I cringe at each new exclamation of "fabulous!"

And it's not that I don't love my effeminate gay brothers and butch sisters - but I'm sensitive about the stereotypes. And I'm uncomfortable that one of the few representations of gay teens on TV is feeding into that stereotype.

And yet, people are falling in love with Kurt. Moisturizer regimen and all.

And that's something remarkable.

And really, playing a complex, three-dimensional queer character - even if some of those dimensions are what middle America expects - is progress. Especially because some of the dimensions Chris (and the writers) add to it aren't cliche gay - they're just "Kurt." And those are my favorite moments.

And did I mention, the boy can sing?

Last week's Dionne Warwick hit "A House Is Not A Home" was Bee Gees-high, and well... beautiful.

I downloaded it, and I've been playing it. And guess what? I found myself singing along.

What do you think of the gay teen character (Kurt Hummel) on Glee?


There's this great interview with the openly gay actor Chris Colfer, who plays Kurt, here at Vanity Fair online. The best line is when he's asked about his upcoming gay love interest on the show, and he explains why he wants the guy to be less hot than him...


Namaste,
Lee