So the gay rodeo champion from Texas, Steven, got evicted this evening. Steven was the token gay guy.
I was thinking, it seems like all the reality shows have a token gay person. MTV's Real World always had at least one gay (with only one or two expections).
Real World: New York - The first season, as far as I can tell from Wiki, did not have any gay housemates, but it didn't seem to follow what became the typical format for the all the seasons I actually watched.
The Real World: Los Angeles - Ah, the first gay cast member, Beth A., actually a replacement for a cast member that got married. She initially got along with all her housemates, her status as a lesbian caused another housemate, Tami, to ponder her own biases, and she came into conflict with Tami on the Mexico trip.
The Real World: San Francisco - Pedro Zamora was a Cuban-born American AIDS educator. A native of Havana, Cuba, he came to the United States during the Mariel Boat Lift. An honors student whose mother died from skin cancer when he was 13, Pedro had wanted to become a doctor, but after discovering he was HIV positive in November 1989, decided to finish high school and become an educator instead. In the premiere, Pedro informs the housemates, by showing them his scrapbook of his career as an AIDS educator, that he has AIDS. Pedro's roommate Puck made derogatory remarks about his life as an educator. Pedro distanced himself from Puck. Pedro confided to his friend Alex that he feared the stress caused by his conflicts with Puck were causing his health to further deteriorate.
He then announced that he would move out if Puck did not. Puck was voted out, and Pedro remained. Pedro was also shown falling in love with Sean Sasser, and they exchanged wedding vows on the show. During his last days, he received a phone call from President Bill Clinton thanking him for his work. Pedro died on November 11, 1994, mere hours after the final episode of his season of The Real World aired. He was 22.
The Real World: London - According to Wiki, London was a boring season. There's not really much to say about it.
Real World: Miami - Dan Renzi is an openly gay student at Rutgers University and starts a modeling career with Irene Marie Models while in Miami. He dates several men and his parents come to visit. His mother is accepting of his homosexuality but his dad and brothers choose to ignore it. When the show ends, Dan is offered a modeling job in Italy and has to say goodbye to his new boyfriend. It was later revealed that Dan's mother learned he was gay by reading a letter sent to him.
Real World: Boston - Boston was my favorite seasons of all the seasons I watched. I'm not sure why exactly, but it was.
Genesis Moss is a lipstick lesbian and has had a troubled past and says during her childhood she sometimes lacked basics like food. She has a long-distance lover. She becomes friends with a gay drag queen named Adam and spends a lot of time dancing/partying at a gay club. After a child at the daycare center says that she hates gay people, Genesis overhears this, and Kameelah telling the girl that homophobia and bigotry are not acceptable, and is brought to tears.
Elka Walker was not gay, but she was my favorite housemate in Boston. She is a Mexican-American who comes from a well-to-do background with conservative values. She says in the casting special that she doesn't know many gay or lesbian people and wasn't sure how she would feel if one of the roommates was gay. Before she leaves for Boston Elka's father requires her to sign a contract saying she will not smoke, do drugs or have premarital sex while in Boston. She gets her eyebrow pierced against her father's wishes and she finally stands up for herself against his controlling ways in a tear-filled phone conversation later in the season. Her boyfriend Walter visits from Ireland. Elka insists she is a virgin and will stay that way until marriage.
The Real World: Seattle - Ah, the season with the slap heard around the world. Also, the first season to include two cast members that knew each other previously. The opening was changed to say "seven people" instead of the usual "seven strangers."
Stephen Williams was not portrayed as gay on the show. He is an African-American, whose initial warmth and friendship with Irene sours dramatically as the season progresses. Sensing that Irene is planning to avenge their arguments by embarrassing him in some way, he hides her much treasured cuddly toy - and denies knowledge of its whereabouts when she searches for it while moving out. As a parting-shot while leaving, Irene purposefully calls Stephen aside and laughingly calls him a homosexual in front of the cameras. By way of response, Stephen reveals that he has the toy and taunts her by holding it over the pier, then throwing it into the water. He then approaches her as she is being driven away, opens the car door, and slaps her. After some tense deliberation, the housemates agree that they want Stephen to stay. Stephen is ordered to attend a series of anger management classes, which he completes successfully. Stephen was subsequently arrested on charges of homosexual solicitation in 2001. On the Real World Awards, Stephen states that he is happily engaged to his partner Sheldon.
The Real World: Hawaii - The first season with more than one cast member who was not straight.
Justin Deabler is an openly gay student at Harvard Law School and a self-described child prodigy. He does not develop a rapport with the others. He takes exception to Teck directly asking him if he's gay in the first episode He refers to Kaia as "ineffectual" and says that "Teck's schtick is so tired it's comatose." He tries to sabotage Amaya and Colin's relationship during the India vacation, but after the trip, he leaves the house, leaving partly due to his frustration with the other housemates, but citing as his primary reason a family emergency at home.
Ruthie Alcaide is a bisexual Filipina college student at Rutgers University. She has a penchant for over drinking, which often results in her passing out at bars, and inappropriate behavior like giving a table dance for her boss' wife. During another binge at the house, she takes a drinking glass and throws it, shattering it. During the first episode, she loses consciousness, and her house mates call the paramedics. Her housemates, along with Ruthie's two sisters, explore the possibility of sending her to a rehab center, but cannot do so without her consent. After Ruthie drives home from a bar intoxicated, her housemates have a meeting with her and tell her she must go to rehab or be evicted from the house. Ruthie feels betrayed, but goes to rehab, eventually returning when her stint is completed.
The Real World: New Orleans - The most memorable thing about this season was the blurring out of Danny Robert's boyfriend's face.
Danny is a gay man who, during his stay in the house, was in a relationship with Paul Dill, a serviceman in the military. To protect Paul's identity during his visits, his face was blurred each time he appeared on camera. After his time in the military ended, Paul and Danny appeared together in an MTV special, with Paul's face no longer blurred.
The Real World: Back to New York - Nothing worth noting from Wiki.
The Real World: Chicago - This season had two gay housemates and dealt with the events and aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks.
Aneesa Ferreira comes from an interracial relationship - her mother is Jewish-American, and her father is West Indian. Aneesa is a very liberal lesbian who does not mind walking around nude, or even showering with a male roommate, much to the dislike of small-town girl Tonya. She has a quick temper but also is very funny and caring. Throughout the season, Aneesa clashes frequently with Tonya and argues with her mother by phone frequently, mainly because of her mother's lack of acceptance of her sexual orientation. She enters a brief relationship with a woman named Veronica, but Veronica's history with her ex gets in the way of getting close to Aneesa. Aneesa then finds romance with Danielle, who, while often overbearing and bossy, allowed Aneesa happiness during her months in Chicago. In the house, Aneesa shares a room with Theo.
Chris Beckman is an artist and is openly gay. He has struggled in the past with alcoholism but takes up a job as a bartender during the show, much to the bewilderment of Kyle, who wonders what this does to Chris's recovery. Chris maintains his body by working out a lot, but some of the roommates see his exercise to be on the obsessive side - and maybe compensating for something else. While in Chicago, Chris enters a relationship with a man named Kurt, with whom he seems compatible. However, Chris ends the romance because he wants to focus on his recovery instead of a serious relationship. Chris's relationships with men do make the other male roommates a bit uncomfortable. Chris also does modeling during the season, and asks Kyle to join him. Chris shares a room with Kyle and Keri.
The cast is shown as they learn of the September 11th attacks, however the series was criticized for staging this, as the cast was actually at Wrigley Field for a photo shoot when they learned of the event.
Come back later for a break down of the rest of the gay members of the many seasons of MTV's Real World.
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