Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 35

“T h e Whole World’s Gone Gay!^’

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reindeer in a pen, man.” At this point, the reindeer get restless, and the misguided
hunting trip results in Homer, Bart, Moe and Barney being attacked by the angry
herd. They are subsequently rescued, however, by John, who scares the reindeer
away with a remote-controlled robot version of Santa, ‘Iheir cruel and evil master.”
Moe and Barney lament being saved by “a sissy,” but Homer, having now confronted
his own homophobia, rises to John’s defense—albeit in typically bumbling Homer
fashion: in an effort to be politically correct, Homer first calls John a ‘"fruit” and
then, realizing the term might also be offensive, a “queer.” “Queer,” he says, “That’s
what you like to be called, right? Queer?” “Well, that or John,” John drolly replies.
Regardless of the faux pas, by the end of the episode Homer has come to see John
as fellow person rather than as a
person.
Not surprisingly, "‘Homer’s Phobia” received accolades from the Gay &
Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, which each year awards the best and brightest
media representations of gay and lesbian individuals and the gay community. At
the Ninth Annual Media Awards ceremony in April of 1998, “Homer’s Phobia”
won the award for ‘"Outstanding TV: Individual Episode.” I think it a well-deserved
award, for the episode offers its mainstream audience cogent critiques of a number
of myths surrounding homosexual identity. Foremost, “Homer’s Phobia” critiques
what is perhaps the most common misconception about homosexuality: namely,
that gayness is somehow contagious. Homer is thus a stand-in for all of the
homophobic individuals in our culture who believe that homosexuality is a
contagious ""disease.” I think that what the show intends to illustrate with this
episode is the speciousness of believing that one can ‘"catch” gay ness or learn to be
gay according to proximity. This is a timely message considering the current "‘ex
gay” movement taking place in America and the religious right proposition that
homosexuality is a disease that can be “cured.” It also fits in well with recent
claims from within the gay community itself that a gay identity is not simply a
choice that one makes. “Homer’s Phobia” also critiques the narrow-minded belief
that violence and aggressiveness are part and parcel of a (heterosexual) masculine
identity. The episode shows that homosexuality is not a threat to such masculinity;
indeed, it implies that heterosexual male identity would benefit from the
incorporation of certain emotional qualities traditionally associated with gay men.
Lastly, I think this episode illustrates that homosexuality itself is not a threat to the
family but that homophobia is; in essence, homophobia is destructive to the
heterosexual as well as the homosexual community.
As stated at the onset. The Simpsons consistently critiques the mistreatment
and exclusion of many so-called minority citizens in American culture. I thus see
the representation of gay life on The Simpsons as a significant political move. By
enacting a gay sensibility. The Simpsons is re-articulating ‘"gayness” for its audience,
thereby making mainstream what is still derisively referred to as an “alternative”