When reading Shugart’s piece I found myself to be very familiar with many of the popular film and television titles referred too, especially the films. The majority of the movies used as examples of relationships between homosexual men and heterosexual woman are romantic comedies. This is interesting to consider due to the fact that you expect when this genre comes up to have the main characters both be heterosexual and tell a story about their relationship. However, Shugart points out that the stories between homosexual men and heterosexual women demonstrate similar stories because the gay male role is generally portrayed in a heterosexual light. One of my all time favorite movies is My Best Friends Wedding. Julia Roberts plays the heterosexual lead, Jules while Rupert Everett plays the homosexual male, George. The film creates a romantic storyline for Jules and George in an attempt for Jules to win back the man she actually loves. What’s interesting is in my opinion even when George is seen as her fiancé, he still carries a lot of the homosexual tendencies for me and in my opinion it really feels like he is playing the act of the homosexual man as intended as opposed to other films mentioned such as Object of My Affection or shows like Will & Grace. Shugart claims that even if they gay men are involved in homosexual relationships, they are not as successful as their relationships with the heterosexual women indicated that their “gay identities are ambiguous and potentially pliable,” (p.76). Also, these roles “satisfy heteronormative desires.”
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