Jay Leno can't stop sticking his foot in it.In what should have been a nothing-but-positive interview about his admirable pro-same sex marriage position (even if it's less about equality than inevitability; at least it's public support), he's asked about the "gayest look" controversy and undermines his apology yet again by saying the reaction to his asking Ryan Phillippe to pretend the camera was his gay lover and give it his gayest look was "a little over the top" and helpfully explaining to those of us who complained that "there are bigger issues than that. That's a classic case where you're not talking about morality or lifestyle, you're just talking about silly stuff." He might as well just come right out and say, "My apology was just to shut up the hysterics."
Meanwhile, never one to pass up a chance to make fun of women, Leno also noted, while ostensibly praising same-sex marriage:
Well, the nice thing about gay marriage is you have TWO people excited about the wedding. In straight marriages, only one person is excited. Gay marriage, both persons are excited.A "women want to get married; men don't" joke? How big a hack is this guy? Hey, Jay: Take my wife…please!
And I know how Mr. Leno hates humorless bitchez deconstructing his awesome humor and all, since it's just "silly stuff" and shit, but when you make a sexist joke about straight marriage in contradistinction to same sex marriage, it has the inevitable consequence of reinforcing the idea that gay men and women aren't "real" mean and women, that their sexuality stands them outside any common experience of man/womanhood. If Leno's generalization about straight men and women didn't do precisely that, his point wouldn't be that both people in a gay marriage are excited, but that all lesbians want to get married and all gay men don't. Instead, he effectively others gays by implying that they're different, or suggests that gay men are practically women.
Either way, it's a nasty joke—smearing gays even as he purports to support their equality. And let's not forget that was buckshot from the blast he aimed at women. If he hadn't just had to get in that dig at women, he wouldn't have othered gays.
But he did.
[H/T to Shaker Tracey, who hat tips Queers United.]
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus