We’re going to chat about the show 1 Girl 5 Gays.  I know…it’s been on for over a year.  But I guess it’s taken me that long to decide quite how I felt about it.  And the thing is…I’m still not completely sure.  The best I can do is “love/hate”, and that’s not very good, is it?

What contributes to the “hate” part of the equation is pretty obvious, but worth stating nonetheless.  I hate that on a show that aims to present a spectrum of the gay community, the panelists all seem like they were scouted at the exact same circuit party.  Virtually everyone in the rotating cast of “Gays” is perfectly toned and coiffed within an inch of their life; they’re all copies of the same Ken doll, just clad in different outfits, depending on “type.”   To be fair to the cast, a lot of them actually did know each other socially before the show.  And, as with many groups of friends, their fashions and opinions tend to run closely with each other’s.  Furthermore, as any circuit queen will tell you, fatties tend to not be allowed.  Unless, of course, they’re willing to be the token “bear”, which is exactly what young Phillip is on the show.

Having to bear the brunt of representing guys with a BMI over 0 is a daunting job, certainly.  There’s no right way to do this; you discuss your weight a couple of times, and suddenly, people think that’s all you talk about.  You ignore the issue, and your weight becomes (ahem…) the elephant in the room.  But I digress…

The show shouldn’t be called 1 Girl 5 Gays; it should be called 1 Girl 5 Friends or 1 Girl and This Particular Groupa Queens.  The fun of 20 questions is that you’re getting a range of answers, from a bunch of different people.  (Every college freshman knows that it’s just plain boring going up against a bunch of sluts in a game of “Never Have I Ever.” Why?  Because there’s no mystery, no surprise.  Anything you can think of, they already have.  So it’s best to just chug your entire beer and call it a night, y’know?)

This is not to say that the cast doesn’t disagree; most of the time they do.  I just find myself watching and consciously being distracted by how similar most of the panelists are to each other.  There are only 3 or 4 Gays of Color (in a rotating cast of 20 or so), only 1 overweight Gay, 0 trans men, 0 fathers, and 0 Gays over the age of 35.  Put bluntly, we’re watching a group of like minded friends bicker, and that gets tiresome after a while. 

Others have critiqued the somewhat glib tone of the show, claiming that it treats gay men as accessories.  Seemingly there is some truth to this as the host, Aliya-Jasmine, is the only cast member present in all episodes.  For this reason, it is tempting to view the show as one big exercise in selfish fag haggery, with the “Girl” interchanging her “Gays” at will, configuring them to suit her mercurial whims.  I can’t really get behind this argument, though – a cursory viewing of any episode will illustrate that if anyone is there for “window dressing” or to be played with, it’s the female host.  The guys prod her, play with her hair, and speak suggestively to her at will.  If anything, the Girl v. Gays power struggle is a draw.  Still, it is a little troubling that she maintains a steady presence (and therefore establishes the most fully formed “character”) while the men just rotate in and out. 

Now, on to the “love” part.  I do, believe it or not, love watching this show.  Aliya-Jasmine’s questions range from the outrageous and tawdry (ie. Grindr profile pics, preferred penis size) to the sweet and banal (first gay role model, thoughts on having children.)  Something straight audiences take for granted is that their (even fairly outré) desires are widely broadcast; from adolescence, movies like Porky’s or American Pie allow them to see themselves on screen and know that they are not alone in their even most pedestrian desires. 

Aside from the occasional art house or niche flick, the less than glamorous, messy sides of gay life are still not really explored in pop culture.  Our sex is supposed to be either porn star hot, or take place in some Tom Ford Gucci ad.  Realistic depictions or discussions of gay sex are really are not as widespread as one would hope.  Essentially, I think of 1G5G as filling the gay Porky’s void; it’s a smorgasbord of the naughty and the gross and the erotic, which allows us to say “Oh my God, really?  Me too!”  I hate to be so easily pleased, but I’m just glad there’s something like this on TV.  I’m solidly a member of the any representation beats no representation camp on this one.