Not In My Neighborhood, Homo

By Max Phillips • Originally published on FifiLaBouche.com

Mr. Rogers may have welcomed us to his neighborhood each day, but he likely was no ally to the LGBTQ community

We all remember him as that darling of children’s programming on PBS from his long-running show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” And he’s been described as socially progressive in his personal life, but it seems that he had no room in the neighborhood for homos.

Case in point, Fred Rogers advised Officer Clemmons, a recurring character on his show played by Françios Clemmons, to stay in the closet. He even went so far as to suggest Clemmons marry a woman if he wanted to continue to be part of the neighborhood.

I was taken aback by this news while I was reading an article in the Advocate about Clemmons’ new book, “Officer Clemmons: a Memoir.”

How could Fred be so cruel? I thought to myself.

I’m a Gen-Xer, a child of the 70s. Mr. Rogers was a personal hero. My young mind was shaped by the likes of “Sesame Street,” “The Electric Company,” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

I also happen to be a gay Gen-Xer, so I get it.

He wasn’t being cruel. He was simply a product of that era. Clemmons claims that behind the scenes, Rogers supported him as a gay man, but he made it clear he could not be out if he were to remain on the show.

This we-love-you-but-stay-in-the-closet attitude defined a generation of LGBTQ who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. Our depiction in film and television tells the story. Media of that period usually didn’t portray LGBTQ characters in meaningful ways, often making us the butt of queer jokes.

America was laughing at us, not with us, according to Matt Blaum in his video “How Sitcoms Handeled Homos in the 70s and 80s.”

Men like Paul Lynde and Charles Nelson Reilly were the only role models we had to look up to at that time. Mincing sissy-men who drew laughter by leaning into their openly-in-the-closet personas. Regardless of their actual sexuality, the message sent to young minds was clear: homos are hilarious, just don’t be one yourself.

And forget about any representation for the rest of the LGBTQ spectrum. If Lesbians were represented, they were often the objects of male fantasy, while bisexual and transgender characters were virtually non-existent. Acknowledgment of the broad spectrum that human sexuality actually encompasses wouldn’t come for decades.

LGBTQ youth growing up in the internet age are having a different experience. While the not-in-my-backyard attitude still lingers, scores of out, proud, and well-balanced characters now exist on film and TV. And all over the internet examples of real-world LGBTQ folks are serving as role models for all of us.

Even for us queer Gen-Xers.

Be sure to read Advocate’s article on Clemmons, and check out his book that was released earlier this month.

The Importance of Being OUT

By Max Phillips (writing as Fifi LaBouche) • Originally published on FifiLaBouche.com

This week our copy of OUT magazine arrived and whose goofy grin should greet us from its cover? One of our all-time favorite gay nerds, Jim Parsons, that’s who. As we flipped through the pages we realized that some of this year’s top 100 have also made our list (or at least received a nod in our blog).

Here are a few from the OUT 100 that we found blog-worthy.


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Jim Parsons

Recently Mr. Parsons was honored with his third Emmy for his work on “The Big Bang Theory.” This inspired us to put together a list of Emmy award-winning LGBT actors. While we only found 15, we still think it’s progress.

In his OUT interview, Parsons notes that his coming out in a New York Times article generated only, “Minor Internet-related chatter,” citing that as progress. We agree. It’s refreshing for an actor to be heralded for his or her accomplishments, (like three Emmys, thank you very much) and not for his or her sexuality.


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Steve Grand

Mr. Grand crossed our gaydar when his indie country song and video “All-American Boy” made its rounds on the internet. We were drawn in by the overt homoerotic tone of the video, but were moved deeply by the universal theme of falling for the wrong man. Especially in a culture that still believes in ‘gay panic’ as a viable defense for violence against the LGBT community.

OUT magazine applauded him for using his life savings to self-release his video via YouTube. A clear indication that niche artists — like a gay country singer — can no longer be held back by big music labels, noting that, “the once-mighty labels have been outmaneuvered by technology.”


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Jack Andraka

Mr. Andraka quickly became one of our new favorite gay nerds. At first glance, he appears to be just a normal, everyday kid. But hidden under that mop of a hairdo is one big brain.

At 15 years old he’d already been working hard to develop his new test for pancreatic cancer and hobnobbing with big wigs like President Obama and The Pope. But OUT reminds us that he is still just a kid trying to find his way in the world. “I really have no clue where I want to go or what I want to be when I grow up,” Andraka says in an interview, “I still have a lot of decisions to make.”


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Cheyenne Jackson

Mr. Jackson had the dubious honor of a mention in our blog for news of his impending divorce from his partner of 13 years — and for some rather bizarre behavior.

While we were focusing on the negative, OUT reminds us that he’s actually having a stellar year — career-wise. He’s been busy filming “Behind the Candelabra,” “Full Circle,” and “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks,” and he released his first solo album, “I’m Blue, Skies.”

—Fifi LaBouche