Apparently Gay People Can't Play Straight People?

I am going to start off by saying I am not an avid magazine reader. To clarify what I mean by magazine, I am implying publications like Time and BusinessWeek. However, when I find myself in an environment, such as the dentist's waiting room, I enjoy reading Newsweek. I have always found it to be an entertaining yet informative magazine. Though I do not subscribe to it, I always enjoy reading it when the opportunity arises.

With that being said, I am appalled by a recently published article. The one I am referring to is the article released on April 26, 2010 and written by Ramin Setoodeh that states homosexuals, in terms of acting, cannot "play" straight. Setoodeh claims throughout the article that knowing of an actor's sexual orientation taints how the audience will view their work. It also will inevitably ruin what you are watching because the actor simply cannot adequately perform.

These claims are absolutely ludicrous and, frankly, anger me immensely. The example used in the article was Sean Hayes ("Jack" from Will and Grace) who is playing a straight man in the Broadway musical Promises and how he unsuccessfully portrays a heterosexual male pursuing a woman. I will admit, I cannot weigh in on his performance, but saying that since Sean Hayes failed (to ONE person) in this musical also mean that other gay actors cannot pull it off either is beyond stupid. This situation can relate to Fejes' article, which states that portrayals of gay people are focused on one representation. Setoodeh's article limits the depictions and conceptions of homosexuals even more by limiting the broad gay community. Gay males are already viewed as being erotic, wealthy, and educated while lesbians are portrayed as being more manly. By saying they can only be these things and are incapable of anything else, only further's society's attempts to box up the gay community and control it.

I am going to conclude by mentioning some gay people who I think "play straight" impeccably well. Jonathan Groff, who plays "Jesse St. James" on Glee, is a great example. His character is the mysterious new addition to the Glee Club and is dating the female star, Rachel. The intense and passionate looks Jonathan communicates when he is with Rachel would leave anyone convinced that he is a straight man. I actually found out last week the actor was gay in real life and was completely shocked. Point made. Another is Anthony Rapp, who played the original "Mark" in the musical Rent and pronounced himself as bisexual. Though his character Mark did not have too much of a love story, his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Maureen was a very important. Rapp did an amazing job of playing the awkward man after his girlfriend dumped him for a woman. Two honorable mentions in this portion of my blog are Neil Patrick Harris, who is undeniably funny as the playboy "Barney Stinson" in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, and Cynthia Nixon, who plays the intense, type-A "Miranda" in the hit show Sex and the City.

Start getting your facts STRAIGHT Setoodeh.