In May, we are finally going to see some lesbian/bisexual
women among the many reality-show contestants currently monopolizing
the airwaves.
First
up is UPN's America's Next Top Model, premiering Tuesday,
May 20th, a reality series which features ten models vying for
the title of America's Next Top Model--which basically means lots
of free publicity and a modeling contract. Among the contestants
is Ebony Haith, a twenty-four-year-old African-American make-up
artist from the Bronx with a shaved head who describes herself
as "comical, charismatic, beautiful and religious" and,
according to her bio on UPN's official Top Model site,
"enjoys basketball and ice skating, and is most proud of
the time she spends volunteering to produce and direct youth performances
in a community based organization."
What
they don't mention on the sites is that Ebony is a lesbian. Although
many of the bios for the other contestants mention their boyfriends,
Ebony's contains only the vague statement that "she has been
with her significant other for 10 months."
In
television promos for the series, however, UPN is milking Ebony's
sexual orientation for all the viewers it can get, showing a scene
in which the judges ask Ebony "So you're a lesbian?"
and Ebony replies something along the lines of "I've always
been very up front about that."
Then
on May 29th, the fourth installment
of CBS's Amazing Race kicks off with its first lesbian/bi
contestant. The show has featured almost a dozen
gay male contestants over its first three seasons, but never an
openly lesbian or bisexual woman--until now.
Tian
Kitchen is the pioneering contestant, a free-spirited "model/actress/singer
who 'needs to be the center of attention,' according to her bio
on the official Amazing Race site, and has "one
of the highest IQs of all contestants though she's only completed
'some college.'" Her alternative sexual orientation is revealed
in her bio through the statement that although Tian and her straight
teammate, Jaree Poteet, have been friends for several years, "Jaree
was disappointed when she found out that Tian, 'likes girls.'
Jaree got over it, but admits that if Tian ever hit on her, it'd
be over between them."
CBS' decision to emphasize Jaree's "disappointment"
at Tian's sexual orientation, and Jaree's fear of being hit on
by her friend, is clearly rooted in homophobia (would a straight
woman ever say that about her straight male friend, or vice versa?).
It is likely no accident that the first lesbian or bisexual woman
on the show is teamed up with a straight woman rather than another
lesbian/bisexual woman, since Tian is far less threatening to
heterosexual viewers this way.
Although reality TV has taken over the primetime
airwaves in the last few years, lesbian and bisexual women have
primarily been confined to MTV's Real World or Road
Rules series, with only two or three lesbian
or bisexual women on non-MTV reality series. This is partly because
many of the shows revolve around dating (Joe Millionaire,
The Bachelor, etc.), and the world just isn't ready yet
for Who Wants to Marry a Lesbian Millionaire? But that
doesn't explain why we don't have more lesbian/bi women on contest
shows like Survivor and American Idol.
So
it's a nice change to see more lesbian/bi contestants popping
up on reality TV finally, even if they apparently have to be models
to qualify. Not exactly your typical lesbian, but then few of
the heterosexual women who compete on these shows are representative
of the average straight woman, so why should lesbians get special
treatment?
That's
what equal opportunity is all about, after all--allowing lesbian
and bisexual women the same chance as their heterosexual counterparts
to embarrass and humiliate themselves on national television.
July
10th Update: Ebony was eliminated from Top Model
in the fourth round, and Tian and Jaree were eliminated from The
Amazing Race in the seventh round.
Interestingly,
CBS removed the statement about Tian "liking girls"
from her bio on the site only a few weeks after the show started,
and no reference to Tian's sexuality was ever mentioned on the
show. Tian briefly addresses both topics in our interview
with her.
