((Michael Portantiere is now in the third decade of his career as a theatrical journalist and photographer. His photos have been published in THE NEW YORK TIMES, the DAILY NEWS, and many other print and online publications. He was Editor in Chief of TheaterMania.com for seven years and is well known for his "Follow Spot" columns and photo features on the popular website BroadwayStars.com))
1)
GAY MEN ARE NEAT TO A FAULT AND ALWAYS IMPECCABLY GROOMED
The media have always used neatness and close attention to one's personal appearance as signifiers that a character is gay or, at least, “effeminate.”
In the stage, film and TV versions of The Odd Couple, both Oscar and Felix are represented as heterosexual. But Oscar the slob is the traditionally masculine one of the pair, while Felix is seen as stereotypically effeminate because he spends so much of his time dusting and vacuuming — that is, when he's not cooking. Thus does The Odd Couple evoke humor from gay stereotypes even though the character in question is supposedly straight.
(Trivia item: On a talk show many years ago, Tony Randall, who played Felix in the TV series, mentioned a planned but never filmed episode in which, through a misunderstanding, Felix came to believe that Oscar was gay. His reaction: “Funny; if it had to be one of us, you'd have thought it would be me!”)
On the flip side: The Sarah Silverman Program gives us not one, but two gay characters who dress like slobs, eschew personal grooming, and look like they've never been within spitting distance of a gym.
2)
ALL MALE ASSISTANTS ARE GAY, AND ALL HAVE A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR BOSSES
See Michael Urie as Marc on Ugly Betty, Rex Lee as Lloyd on Entourage, and, going back a few years, remember Wallace Langham as Josh on Veronica's Closet? His character always denied being gay, but come on. Scott Thompson's Brian on The Larry Sanders Show was another fine example of gay administrative support. And don't forget Bill Brochtrup as police administrative aide John Irvin on NYPD Blue, a performance so well received that Brochtrup reprised the role in a spin-off series titled Public Morals.
Even Kenneth the Page on 30 Rock — who seems to have no sexuality to speak of whatsoever — is assumed to be gay by half the staff and is even used as literal gay-bait in an episode (which he of course willingly does, being the good page that he is).
On the flip side: Marc's competition at Mode comes in the form of a straight male assistant, which in TV land is seen with the frequency of Halley's Comet. And David Spade's receptionist on Just Shoot Me was straight, although his overall bitchiness placed his sexuality up for discussion on more than one occasion. Even better, 30 Rock's “gay bait” episode had Will Arnett playing the gay executive as opposed to yet another gay assistant.
3)
IN ALL GAY RELATIONSHIPS, ONE PARTNER IS THE MAN AND THE OTHER IS THE WOMAN
La Cage aux Folles (1978) is one of the funniest films of all time, and is so brilliantly written and acted that it should offend no one. But the original movie, the Hollywood remake, and the Broadway musical version do reinforce the stereotype that there is a “man” and a “woman” in every gay relationship.
In the original film, Renato (Ugo Tognazzi) is the man and Albin (Michel Serrault) is the woman. The former is masculine in manner and appearance, and is enough of a man to have fathered a child with his ex-wife; the latter is an outrageously effeminate, highly emotional drag entertainer, completely in his element when he does himself up as a middle-aged matron and pretends to be the mother of Renato's son.
More recently, one of Chuck & Larry's running jokes is that everyone assumes that in the fake-gay firefighters' relationship, Adam Sandler's character is “the woman,” which is a source of endless distress for him. Bad enough that people think you're gay, but gay and a woman? Yikes!
On the flip side: Brokeback Mountain (2005) was a breakthrough film in many respects and one of those was in its portrayal of two men in love, neither of whom had the urge to be "the wife". In fact, both started off as working class ranch hands, something else gay men are rarely portrayed as being.
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