General Hospital New Gay Character Felix Is A Racist Stereotypical Effeminate Stereotype!!

I have tried to get into the ABC soap General Hospital’s storyline with the new gay character Felix but I am apathetic towards him. I am conflicted about Felix because on the one hand I am pleased to see a gay black man on television.  Most of the gay and lesbian characters on television are white, middle to upper class professionals.

However, I am extremely disappointed with the General Hospital writers, why does Felix have to be such an offensive stereotype? Why can’t a gay black man be masculine on television? Why is Felix so effeminate? Felix sells cosmetics to pay for nursing school and he sometimes wears make up. Why can’t a gay black man be shown on television to be a real man? Are there really gay black men who act like this sissy Felix?

I am a gay black man and I don’t wear make up, or care about fashion or cosmetics. I also don’t hang out with women either. I have female acquaintances but I don’t spend my time listening to women complain about their love lives.

Some gay people say that effeminate gay characters are needed because not all gay men are masculine. However, since Felix is also a black character I am concerned he is being marginalized due to his race and sexual orientation. Is Felix going to have a boyfriend or a storyline of his own or is he just going to be the black gay guy who makes silly jokes?

On the internet, some people love Felix he says outrageous jokes usually relating to sex and he’s a snap queen. Felix is a dangerous and racist stereotype of a gay black man he is just someone to laugh at he’s a token character not to be taken seriously. Felix also has no life and he just listens to the white female characters complain about their love lives. It is so disappointing how black characters are treated on the daytime soaps. Why have black characters on soaps at all if they are just going to be racist stereotypical token characters?

Let’s be honest here, there is a paucity of powerful black characters already on daytime television gay and heterosexual. Black characters on the daytime soaps are basically used to support the white characters yet they don’t have their own storylines anymore.

On Days of Our Lives, since Lexie Carver died back in June 2012, her husband Abe, her son Theo, and brother Cameron have been pushed to the background.Renee Jones quit Days of Our Lives back in June 2012, she said she wanted to quit acting. However, Renee’s talent was wasted on Days of Our Lives because the writers focused most of the attention on the white actress Alison Sweeney. Jones character Lexie and James Reynolds character Abe in the past had incredible storylines.

Another black character on Days of Our Lives who deserves more screentime is Maxine. Unfortunately,  Maxine is the stereotypical black mammy. Maxine is fat, a  loudmouth,  sassy, and always listens to the problems of the white characters such as Daniel and Jennifer. Maxine has no love life, no family she’s just the faithful black mammy her  sole purpose is to make the white characters feel better about themselves. It is so racist and offensive in the year 2012, that a black female character such as Maxine has no complexity she’s just a token.

On Young & The Restless, the Winters family which is African American are segregated from the white cast. The Winters family doesn’t have any decent storylines and they are treated like garbage by the writers. When are black characters gay and straight going to be treated with respect on daytime television like their white counterparts? Or, are black characters just going to be treated like tokens. Now some people might argue, “well don’t complain, at least there are some black characters on daytime television.” However, what’s the point of having black tokens on daytime television when they have nothing interesting to do?

Days Of Our Lives Gay Scene: Will & Sonny In Bed Together But Their Relationship Is Lacking Passion.

On numerous internet websites, some fans of the Will & Sonny gay storyline on the NBC soap Days of Our Lives are disappointed about the lack of passion. The problem is clearly the writing, which is disconcerting. Days of Our Lives, is the only American soap opera with a decent gay male storyline.   On the ABC soap General Hospital just created a new  gay male character Felix but he’s a flamboyant, cardboard cut out stereotype of a gay man.

Some fans have complained that the actors Freddie Smith and Chandler Massey lack chemistry. Most of the blame is placed on Chandler Massey some fans believe he just isn’t comfortable kissing another man. Chandler Massey appears awkward, nervous,and uncertain sometimes with his acting when he is kissing Freddie Smith. I don’t know if this has to do with the fact Massey is heterosexual in real life? Maybe Massey is self conscious about kissing Smith and there are deeper more underlining issues he has with playing a gay male character?  Smith is also heterosexual in real life but he seems more natural and comfortable playing a gay male character.

But since Massey is an actor shouldn’t he be giving 100% in his performance when his character is a gay male? I think Massey and Smith have chemistry but the culprit is the writing isn’t giving the actors the freedom to explore their characters sexuality.

In some scenes recently, Will & Sonny come across as best friends, not boyfriends, and definitely not as lovers in a serious romantic relationship.

Will and Sonny’s gay romance comes off as too chaste, too safe, too restrained. There seems to be this tension which is obvious, that the Days of Our Lives executive producer Greg Meng and his writers are fearful of upsetting the heterosexual audience. Why bother creating gay male characters if they are just going to be shadow puppets? What is the point? It is almost the year 2013, if people can’t handle seeing two men in bed together, or making out then they need to get a life or change the channel.

In this clip, it is nice to see Will & Sonny in bed together like any other couple. However, the kissing isn’t that great in this scene the actors Freddie Smith and Chandler Massey’s lips are closed. Closed mouth kissing is pathetic because it isn’t passionate. One of the theories floating around on the internet is, since Days of Our Lives core audience tends to be older people the homosexual romance is being watered down. I agree with this theory because, when I compare Will & Sonny’s relationship to the heterosexual characters there is clearly a double standard.

Another point to consider is, since Will is keeping a secret from Sonny about the paternity of his unborn child this is the reason he’s distant from his boyfriend. I hate the baby storyline, and I think it was a terrible decision by the writers to create it because it sends mixed messages to the audience. I am cognizant that on soaps there needs to be conflict and angst but I feel this particular storyline is boring. I notice other soaps such as the British soap Hollyoaks also has a baby storyline for a gay male character. I understand gay people have children just like heterosexuals but these baby storylines are boring. I am also concerned that once Will’s baby is born, the gay romance is going to be destroyed.

The reason passion in a relationship is important is, how can the audience truly root for Will & Sonny when the writing is restraining the characters simply because they are gay men? How can the audience believe Will & Sonny are truly in love with each other when the writing doesn’t allow it?  Why should the audience care about Will & Sonny when they aren’t allowed to truly be equal to the heterosexual characters on the show?

Whoopi Goldberg & Sherri Shephard Blast Caroline Wozniacki For Racist Serena Williams Joke.

On the ABC talk show The View, the ladies discuss the recent controversy of the young white female tennis player Caroline Wozniacki so-called joke about Serena Williams body. At a tennis exhibition in Brazil, Wozniacki decided to stuff her bra and tennis skirt with towels to make fun of Serena’s body. In the mainstream media the consensus by  white tennis writers are that Wozniacki was just making a joke. The question these white writers fail to ask is why is Serena Williams constantly the one being made fun of?

Sports websites such as ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Fox Sports, have all claimed Wozniacki’s attempts at being funny isn’t racist. However, the vast majority of these sports writers are white men and they also have white male skin privilege. It is very easy for people who do not experience racism to tell black women they need to be quiet about racism and sexism. White privilege allows white tennis writers the ability to ignore race since they don’t have to think about race on a daily basis. White privilege also means white people have the luxury to not deal with race when they don’t want to and ignore it. The white tennis writers have chosen to ignore Wozniacki’s racism because the harsh truth is racism and sexism is very much a part of the professional tennis industry. The tennis industry is still very uncomfortable with the fact women’s tennis is being dominated by Serena Williams a black woman.

The white tennis writers lack  the racial sensitivity, knowledge,  and the awareness to discern the history of racism and sexism against black women. For centuries, since Sara Baartman tragedy in the early 19th century, black women are constantly mocked, ridiculed, and demonized for not having bodies that conform to the Eurocentric ideal. The ideal female tennis player body is supposed to be blonde, thin, such as Maria Sharapova or Caroline Wozniacki. Tennis writers for years have mocked Serena Williams because she’s a black woman, due to the fact her body has curves, and her buttocks is larger than her white female counterparts.

I am glad people on twitter, You Tube, Facebook, and the internet are saying enough is enough!

The racism Serena Williams experiences in professional tennis is more subtle. Nobody would dare call Serena a racial slur to her face.However, I believe there is still discomfort by some white people in the tennis industry about Serena Williams domination of women’s tennis. Tennis is still a very elitist sport, dominated by rich whites and the country club set.

Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shephard pointed out as black women they have a right to speak out against racism when it relates to the black female life experience. Goldberg and Shepard explained that Wozniacki’s joke is indeed racist against black women.

Goldberg makes a cogent argument, why are these white male and female tennis players such as Caroline Wozniacki and Andy Roddick making fun of Serena’s body? Why is it a black female tennis champion is ridiculed because her body does not conform to racist Eurocentric body image standards? Why should black people be silent to this prejudice and bigotry?

Serena Williams is constantly criticized and ridiculed by the racist tennis establishment because she’s a a black woman dominating women’s tennis which is still a predominately white sport. Let’s be honest here, Serena Williams is thirty one years old,  a part time player yet she is clearly the best female tennis player in the world. Serena won Wimbledon singles and doubles, Olympic gold medal in singles and doubles, US OPEN, and the WTA Championships. Serena has dominated the so called number one and number two ranked women Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova with a stunning 8-0 record this year.Wozniacki’s joke I believe is due to jealousy, Serena also dominates Wozniacki she has a 4-1 record against her. Since Wozniacki can’t beat Serena on the tennis court she has to find another way to ridicule her by mocking her body because she’s a black woman.