Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 36

32 Popular Culture Review lifestyle and contesting how this is generally (mis)understood in American culture. I concede that in the process of establishing a gay sensibility, The Simpsons relies upon stereotypes that have often been exploited in television. However, I believe that such representation is not at the expense of the gay community, but in support of it. Notably, the most gratuitous stereotypes are never utilized for Smithers; more importantly, I think, the wide range of images displayed on the show reflects the very real diversity of the gay community as it exists in American culture. I believe that The Simpsons ultimately wants to both acknowledge gay lives and support them by maintaining a gay character in a major recurring role and overtly politicizing his sexual identity. The show allows Smithers, who is an integral part of the show, to be both openly gay and the focal point for its critique of the oppression of sexual “m inorities'’ in American culture. As I hope to have shown. The Simpsons continually seeks to expose cultural homophobia, to criticize the institutional apparatuses that maintain it, and to deplore the attendant exclusionary prac tices based on sexual orientation. Richland College Matthew Henry Works Cited Berkman, David. ‘‘Sitcom Reality.” Television Quarterly 26.4 (1993): 63-69. Cagle, Jess. “America Sees Shades o f Gay.” Entertainment Weekly 8 Sept. 1995: 20-31. Elirenstein, David. “More than Friends.” Los Angeles Magazine 41.5 (1996): 60+. Fejes, Fred. “Invisibility, Homophobia, and Heterosexism.” Critical Studies in Mass Communications 10.4 (1993): 396-422. Friend, Tad. “Sitcoms, Seriously.” Esquire Mar. 1993: 112-24. Frutkin, Alan. “Out in Prime Time.” The Advocate 14 May 1996: 48+. The GLAAD TV Scoreboard. Online. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Available: 13 Nov. 1998. Gross, Larry. “What’s Wrong With This Picture? Lesbian Women and Gay Men on Television” In Ringer, ed. 143-56. — . “Out o f the Mainstream: Sexual M inorities and the M ass M edia.” Journal o f Homosexuality 21.1-2 (1991): 19-46. Grossberg, Lawrence. “The In-Difference o f Television.” Screen 28.2 (1987): 28-45. Henry, Matthew. “The Triumph o f Popular Culture: Situation Comedy, Postmodernism, and The Simpsons. ” Studies in Popular Culture 17.1 (Fall 1994): 85-99. Jacobs, A.J. “Out?” Entertainment Weekly A Oct. 1996: 18-25. — . “When Gay Men Happen to Straight Women.” Entertainment Weekly 23 Oct. 1998: 2025. Jansen, Eric. “Endangered Species.” The Advocate 4 Apr. 1995: 22-23. Jones, Gerard. Honey, Tm Home! Sitcoms: Selling the American Dream. N ew York: Grove, 1992.