On Mon, 2 Mar 1998 [log in to unmask] wrote:
 
[...]
>         Lately, a number of gay characters have made intermittent
> appearances on a number of sit-coms, including *Home Improvement,* *Just
> Shoot Me,* *Frazier,* and even *Seinfeld,* not that there's anything wrong
> with that! :-)
 
Yesterday I discussed this topic with a colleague, who drew my attention
to characters like Joey in *Friends*--according to his description, Joey
does not identify as a gay man, but the other characters have been trying
to persuade him to come out. He mentioned a similar situation on another
show--posssibly *Veronica's Closet* (which has only recently started
screening here).
 
This is obviously a change from the popular coding of non-heterosexuality
as insanity (pointed out by Kathleen), but in what direction? Perhaps
someone more familiar with *Friends* could hazard a guess?
 
Helen.
 
 ----------
Helen Kay
Department of English
University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072
email: [log in to unmask]
 
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