The Gay Look

There is a term for people who can't take a joke , or criticism about their work , I believe it's referred to as "Thin Skinned". This is a condition i believe the gay and lesbian community currently suffer from . It tends to manifest itself in many different places . Recently it occurred on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . On this particular evening Leno was interviewing a young actor named Ryan Phillippe whose first role was on daytime's One Life to Live , where he portrayed a gay teenager . During the interview Leno good humourly said to Ryan " Say that camera was your gay lover " , as Leno pointed to the camera he then said " Can you give me your gayest look ? Say that camera is Billy Bob Thornton - Billy Bob has just ridden in shirtless from Wyoming " to which Ryan Phillippe started to squirm . The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation immediately sprang into action stating Jay Leno's remarks as " a misguided use of adolescent humor " . Even GLAAD president Neil G. Giuliano made a statement about Leno's remarks " We are proud of Ryan for refusing to participate in Leno's thoughtless attempt at humor . " The president of GLAAD continued by saying " Under the guise of comedy , the talk show host is demonstrating a lack of respect for the gay community and insensitivity to both his coworkers and the audience , to whom he owes an apology ". I can't help but think about Ryan Phillippe's surprise at these statements . Think for a minute , here's an actor going on The Tonight Show to talk about an upcoming film he's starring in , and leaves a living symbol of gay and lesbian rights ......who knew ! Here's something i can't understand , if Leno's comments enraged GLAAD so , then why do they stand by and let shows like Will & Grace continue without sanction ? That show tends toward stereotyping gays and lesbians . Granted there're some movies out there that try to show the gay and lesbian lifestyle in a serious light , for example Broke Back Mountain . Yet the gay community still shows hypocrisy . They want to be shown respect by their peers , but not to give it in return . Last year in San Francisco during a week long gay and lesbian pride festival several gay men entered a catholic church during communion dressed in the festivals full regalia in an apparent attempt to disrupt and belittle the church service . Where was GLAAD's condemnation of that ? But if apologies must be made i believe it falls on GLAAD to make them . If they can make fun of themselves on t.v. and cinema , but yet get bent out of shape when a late night talk show host does the same then their cause has no real standing . I think GLAAD should apologize to Jay Leno for the hell they put him through , and to Ryan Phillippe for trying to turn him into an unwitting poster boy for their cause .