In the wake of the new US TV series, The New Normal, with its plot

PINK PARENTING
ON TELEVISION
WORDS_ LOUISA GHEVAERT
In the wake of the new US TV series,
The New Normal, with its plot revolving
around a gay couple and surrogacy,
we explore how television has played a
key role in promoting lesbian and gay
relationships over the last thirty years.
However, its role as an engine of social
change has had its fair share of highs
and lows along the way.
ISSUE 06 – SUMMER / AUTUMN 2012
16
WWW.PINK-PARENTING.COM
WHY IS TV SO IMPORTANT?
Television is an important cultural resource, which develops
people’s awareness and understanding of many different
issues, including sexuality. Television is a powerful visual medium which captures public imagination and commands massive
numbers of viewers. At its most memorable, it runs explosive
programmes and storylines that challenge people’s perceptions
and understanding of themselves, others and the world around
them. At its worst, it can be implausible and inane.
TV COVERAGE OF LESBIAN AND GAY RELATIONSHIPS
Thirty years ago, lesbian representation on TV was virtually
non existent. Gay men were usually camp stereotypes and
stories of coming out were always male. Gay-orientated TV
content was relatively rare on prime time pre-watershed TV up
until the mid 1980s.
It was British soaps like Brookside and EastEnders that
really grasped the nettle and began to represent hard-hitting
and dramatic storylines about lesbian and gay relationships.
These soaps appealed to both gay and straight audiences
across Britain and they captured media attention and
generated mainstream press headlines and coverage.
Channel 4’s Brookside was the first UK televised soap to
portray a gay man on TV. However, it was EastEnders that
portrayed the first openly gay man on a prime time prewatershed BBC programme. The BBC, funded by British TV
licences, commanded a significantly larger slice of TV
audiences than the privately funded Channel 4 and this had a
far greater impact upon the British public and caused
considerable media controversy at the time.
EASTENDERS’ LEGACY
In August 1986, EastEnders introduced Colin Russell, a middleclass graphic designer played by actor Michael Cashman. He
was the soap’s first gay character and his gay relationship with
Barry Clark proved to be a controversial storyline the following
year. Michael Cashman, who was himself from the East End,
went on to become a co-founder of influential gay rights
organization Stonewall and he was elected to the European
Parliament in 1999, where he subsequently became a
spokesman on human rights.
In 1987, EastEnders became the UK’s first TV soap to
screen a gay kiss. Although it only represented a small kiss by
Colin on Barry’s forehead, it caused public outrage and a
record number of complaints. The British press reacted angrily
and dubbed the soap ‘Eastbenders’ for a while and questions
were raised in parliament about the show’s gay-orientated
content during a prime time family viewing TV slot.
Despite the controversy, Colin and Barry’s storyline was
considered a breakthrough. It represented the gay community
on prime time television and their kiss attracted an audience
of 17 million viewers. As their relationship and storyline
developed, it was followed closely by millions of viewers across
Britain and it was used as a vehicle to highlight other gay issues
WWW.PINK-PARENTING.COM
including homophobia and inequality in the law (since in 1987
the legal age of consent was 21 and not 16 as it stands today).
Their gay relationship was portrayed with care and it proved to
be a turning point on TV.
EastEnders continued to push boundaries on TV and in
1988, Colin formed a new relationship with a work colleague
called Guido. The BBC developed Colin’s new relationship with
determination and in January 1989, Colin and Guido portrayed
the first gay mouth-to-mouth kiss on British TV. The episode
featuring their kiss attracted an audience of 20 million viewers
across Britain and angry front page coverage amongst right
wing press, fuelled by Conservative politics of the time which
called for a return to traditional family values.
Since then, EastEnders has continued its determined
promotion of gay relationships and issues through subsequent
characters like Ben Mitchell. In 2011, EastEnders sparked
further uproar and controversy when it aired a gay bedroom
scene pre-watershed between characters Christian Clarke and
Syed Masood and portrayed their desire to start a family
together and become parents.
One viewer praised the BBC arguing that the gay bed scene
was a ‘big step towards equality’ and another said ‘it makes a
refreshing change to see a positive portrayal of a gay couple
on prime time TV and I applaud everyone for making this
storyline such a powerful, moving and compelling one”.
However, other viewers were wholly unsupportive and argued
that the scenes should not have been aired pre-watershed.
Despite complaints from the public, the BBC stood firm in
its stance saying that it portrayed gay relationships in exactly
the same way as it did heterosexual ones and that the
bedroom scene was suitable for pre-watershed TV viewing. It
went on to say that it ‘did not discriminate by treating gay
characters differently to others in the programme’. This is a
world apart from the delicate line that the BBC walked in the
1980s when it first sought to represent gay relationships and
issues on TV and in doing so had to navigate the considerable
public sensitivity of the time.
BROOKSIDE AND ‘THE KISS’
British TV soap Brookside, set in Liverpool, built on EastEnders’
early legacy of gay representation on TV. Brookside ran from
1982 to 2003 and was at its peak during the 1980s and early
to mid 1990s. It enjoyed mass appeal as a programme and
from 1990 (when average viewer numbers reached 7 million)
programmes increased from two to three a week with a
weekend omnibus.
Brookside was instrumental in bringing about social change in
its representation of a lesbian relationship between characters
Beth Jordache and Margaret Clemence in 1993 and 1994. Up until
then, British TV had largely steered clear of lesbian storylines,
believing them to be difficult to portray and something
that uncomfortably challenged traditional portrayals of female
relationships. Brookside broadcast the first pre-watershed »
17
SUMMER / AUTUMN 2012 – ISSUE 06
PINK PARENTING
ON TELEVISION
© Modern Family: Bob D’Amico / ABC
NBC’s ‘The New Normal’ follows a mother who serves
as a surrogate for a Los Angeles-based gay couple.
» lesbian kiss on British TV on Christmas Eve 1993. The storyline
quietly built up for a while between characters Beth and Margaret and
came to a head on when Beth attempted to kiss Margaret and told her
she loved her. Interestingly, the storyline’s message took a while to
become mainstream and it was not until the couple actually kissed a
few weeks later that it received press and media coverage and
recognition on a national scale.
One of the programme’s producers, Mal Young, explained that the
show’s lesbian storyline needed careful scripting and acting so that it
was clear and understandable to straight audiences, given the lack of
lesbian representation on TV at the time. There was a distinct lack of
lesbian role models and it was a challenge to portray a positive image
of a lesbian and to subsequently positively reinforce this in popular
TV culture. The storyline’s success was partly attributed to strong
and engaging acting by actress Anna Friel who played Beth. However,
ISSUE 06 – SUMMER / AUTUMN 2012
18
Emmy and Golden Globe winning show ‘Modern
Family’ features gay couple Mitchell and Cameron
who adopt a Vietnamese baby girl called Lily.
the kiss was axed from the Saturday omnibus which aired at 5pm
as it was felt unsuitable for ‘family audiences’ and it stretched the
boundaries of mainstream TV coverage at the time.
HAS TV MADE SAME-SEX PARENTING MORE ACCEPTABLE?
It is clear that TV, and particularly British soaps, have been a powerful
medium for the representation of gay and lesbian relationships in
Britain. There has been a fundamental sea-change over the last thirty
years and there is now far greater equality in the representation of
straight, gay and lesbian relationships on British TV than ever before.
That said, the portrayal of same-sex parenting on British TV lags
behind TV shows in The US. Over the last two decades, many US TV
programmes have portrayed same-sex parenting with shows like
Will & Grace, Friends, Gossip Girl and Dawson Creek.
More recently, ABC’s Modern Family has brought the idea of
same-sex parenting to the forefront with it’s hilarious comedy of an
extended family involving a gay couple, Mitchell and Cameron, who
adopt a Vietnamese baby girl called Lily. Modern Family has received
numerous positive reviews from critics and has gone on to win an
Emmy, and a Golden Globe award for best TV series in 2012.
And not to be out-done, US TV giant NBC are to screen a new
comedy from Nip/Tuck and Glee creator Ryan Murphy, The New
WWW.PINK-PARENTING.COM
© The New Normal: Robert Trachtenberg / NBC
THE PORTRAYAL OF SAME-SEX
PARENTING ON BRITISH TV LAGS
BEHIND TV SHOWS IN THE US.
OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES,
MANY US TV PROGRAMMES
HAVE PORTRAYED SAME-SEX
PARENTING WITH SHOWS
LIKE WILL & GRACE, FRIENDS,
MODERN FAMILY AND NOW
NBC’S THE NEW NORMAL.
Normal, follows Goldie, a waitress and single mum
looking to escape her dead-end life, she is desperate
and broke - but also fertile, perfect for LA gay couple,
Bryan and David, with successful careers and a loving
partnership, there is one thing that is missing: a baby.
Goldie quickly becomes the guys’ surrogate and quite
possibly the girl of their dreams. At the time of going to
print The New Normal had been banned by Utah’s
KSL-TV station and “doesn’t want anything to do with
it during ‘family viewing-time.’” So watch this space!
Here in Britain, the numbers of same-sex parents
and modern family structures formed through donor
conception, co-parenting arrangements and surrogacy
are increasing year on year. Changes to the law in
recent years, together with the rapid and enthusiastic
take-up of IVF and surrogacy in Britain over the last
ten years, has changed the shape and character of
British families forever. However, same-sex parenting
in Britain can be a challenging exercise, not only in
terms of conception arrangements but also from a
legal perspective and it still remains a sensitive subject
in terms of TV representation.
Despite legal changes in Britain over the last ten years
which enable same-sex adoption of children, same-sex
couples’ eligibility for a parental order following surrogacy
and the scrapping of the legal requirement for UK fertility
clinics to consider the child’s need ‘for a father’ and its
replacement with the concept of a child’s need ‘for
supportive parenting’, the law has failed to fully keep
pace with the demands of same-sex parenting and
alternative family structures. The law in Britain is still
often a poor fit, representing outdated social and ethical
views from over two decades ago and this can lead to all
sorts of legal problems, which most of the time are not
represented on mainstream TV. Awareness of the need
for specialist legal advice and support to navigate some
of the remaining legal pitfalls associated with same-sex
parenting and alternative family structures is still not
intuitive and this can create all manner of difficulties in
practice. Strong TV representation of these legal and
practical issues in future would be a powerful education
tool and an engine for further social change.
All in all, although there has been a great deal of
progress in the recognition of gay and lesbian relationships and family building in Britain, there is still
considerable room for improvement. Gay and lesbian
representation on British TV can undoubtedly continue
to take a strong lead role in bringing about further
change in Britain and in particular, greater acceptance
of same-sex parenting and alternative family structures.
In short, the power of TV should never be underestimated and this is real food for thought.
Louisa Ghevaert is a leading expert in UK fertility,
parenting and family law and a passionate supporter
of parents, children and families. She is a partner with
Porter Dodson Solicitors & Advisors.
WWW.PINK-PARENTING.COM
OUR FIVE FAVOURITE PINK
PARENTING FAMILIES ON TV
WILL & VINCE / WILL & GRACE
In the final season of the ground breaking NBC
series, Will Truman is reunited with the ‘love of his
life’, Vince D’Angelo, and they agree to have a son
together through artificial insemination. Ben, their
son, only appears in the series finale in 2006, having
been raised by Will and Vince until he leaves for
college where he meets Grace’s daughter, Lila, falls in love and marries her,
reuniting the much loved couple, Will and Grace, once again.
ROSS, CAROL & SUSAN / FRIENDS
In season one Ross Geller divorces his pregnant
wife of three years, Carol, when she reveals that
she is a lesbian and is having an affair with Susan
Bunch, whom she met at the gym. After initial
post-relationship complications Ross and Carol
were able to get along, and shared custody of
their son, Ben. Ross even reconcilied with Susan, after Phoebe made
them realise that they could all be parents to Carol and Ross’ son.
MITCHELL & CAMERON / MODERN FAMILY
ABC’s hit show, Modern Family, has successfully
managed to address the topic of international and
gay adoption, with very effective humour. Long
term gay partners, Mitchell Pritchett and Cameron
Tucker, are first introduced to the viewers while on
a plane returning back from Vietnam after having
adopted a little girl called Lily. The comedy continually pushes and explores
the trials and tribulations of being pink parents.
CHRISTIAN & SYED / EASTENDERS
In true EastEnders style, Christian and Syed have
certainly had their ups and downs. From battling
with Muslim/Gay beliefs, to gaining custody of Syed’s
daughter Jasmine, the couple only need now to get
married. The couple have also expressed a desire to
have a another child and even had an offer from
boozy friend Roxy to be their surrogate. The on-screen duo are so well liked
that a Facebook page has been set up for all ‘Chryed’ fans around the world.
SEAN & MARCUS / CORONATION STREET
Corrie’s gay couple, Sean Tully and Marcus Dent
bring up Sean’s toddler Dylan after his mother
Violet asks them to take care of him. Sean helped
Violet conceive in 2008 when she and boyfriend
Jamie had fertility issues. Dylan’s arrival cemented
the couple’s previously rocky relationship and
made them the Street’s first gay parents, allowing Sean to finally have the
chance to become a ‘hands on dad’ with his son.
19