Do You Remember That Show Playing It Straight?

[Marco Sensual]

Playing It Straight was a 2004 American reality show in which one woman spent time on a ranch with a group of men in an attempt to discern which of them were homosexual and which of them were heterosexual. All of the men pretended to be heterosexual. The woman went on individual dates with the men, in addition to engaging in group activities with them. Over the course of the episodes, she voted to eliminate the men she believed to be gay.

At the end of the show, the woman had to choose one man. If he was heterosexual, the man and woman would split the prize money, but if he was gay, then he would receive all the money (and the woman would receive nothing).

I remember that i was pissed off when this show got canceled.A lot of gay men were pissed off when this show was canceled.Gay men wanted to see the other episodes.

It was a good show for gay men because this show fights against stereotypes.

I cant believe that a show with stereotypes Queer Eye For The Straight Guy was more popular than a show who portrayed gay men the right way. Playing It Straight.

Its shocking when a tv show who reinforce stereotypes is more popular than a show who fights against them.It should have been the opposite.Playing It Straight should have been more popular than Queer Eye For The Straight Guy.

In that show.All men are masculine.Straight men and gay men.This show helped gay men because it shows to straight people that stereotypes are not representative of gay men.Playing It Straight got it right.

In that show.Its hard to guess which men are straight and which men are gay.All these men are masculine.So its impossible to know witch men are straight and witch men are gay.You have to wait at the end of the show to know if these men are straight or gay.

Playing It Straight should never have been canceled.This show should still be on tv.Too bad that the ratings was low.

It was a good show.

 

[smirnoff-ice]

never saw it they didn't broadcast it in our country but the concept sounds quite interesting and yes seems to make people think about stereotypes.

if it's from 2004 there should be a chance to get some episodes in the internet somewhere? or short clips on youtube?

 

[RicanDAB]

I do remember that show and also being bummed about not being able to see the whole run.

For a short while, that show's remaining episodes were available to view online somewhere. I am not sure if you can still do so. I never saw them. I've gone ahead and cut and pasted the results of the un-aired show from an article online for anyone who was curious to know:

Spoiler

The results of the show are as follows:

Jackie made it to the final episode with only Banks, Chris and Sharif remaining. She went out on thrilling Western-themed dates with each of the men, but came to the conclusion that she actually had feelings only for Banks and he was her pick. To the probable jubilation of host Daphne Brogdon, Jackie's choice was, indeed, a straight guy and the couple pocketed $500,000.

In addition to their cash reward, if FOX publicity is to be believed (and why wouldn't it?), Jackie and Banks found true love and are still together long after filming.

Here's the final sexual orientation breakdown for the remaining contestants. As you can see, Jackie's gaydar became more successful as the show progressed:

Gay
Alex -- Law student, Washington, DC
Bill -- Event promoter, Valley Glen, CA
Bradley -- Bartender, Pflugerville, PA
Chad -- Corporate communications, Austin, TX
Chris -- Retired entrepreneur, Atlanta, GA
Eddie -- School teacher, Miami, FL
John -- Bartender, Atlanta, GA
Lee -- Financial consultant, N. Huntington, PA
Luciano -- Personal trainer, Miami Beach, FL

Straight
Banks -- Software consultant, San Diego, CA
Gust -- Real estate agent, Chicago, IL
Louis -- Manager, brokerage firm, Fort Worth, TX
Ryan -- Waiter, Santa Monica, CA
Sharif -- Musician, Arlington, VA

I do know however that Luciano ( BTW -- what a hunk ), one of the men from Playing it Straight was also a contestant on the first episode of Gay, Straight or Taken which now airs on Lifetime.

 

[biravatch]

I know America had Boy Meets Boy... never heard of Playing it Straight though.

 

[Blatino]

I was remeber watching one of the episodes, it was pretty cool

 

[RicanDAB]

Luciano again!

"Originally from Brazil" ... no fucking wonder ...

 

[LarsVenice]

Actually I Think The Name Of The Show You're Describing Is Gay, Straight Or Taken

No, Playing it Straight is a different show. I remember watching the first 3 episodes and then lost track of it. As I remember, half of the 14 guys were gay and half were straight, and so the contestant had a 50/50 chance of winning. She had to eliminate the guys one by one, and when each guy was eliminated, he had to tell her whether he was straight or gay. In the beginning, she eliminated as many straight guys and gay, and so she wasn't very good a selecting.

 

[Shepherd 2]

Gaydar is bullshit.
Any show suggesting it works is doomed to be cancelled.
People want to believe we all have gay signs painted on
our chests.
Take a look at the obvious stereotypipcal gay men
even today on TV sitcoms. I prefer to never watch.
Shep+

 

[theFallenGod]

Again with the stereotypes....

Please stop generalizing....

There were only 2 guys on "Queer eye" that were flamboyant ...the other 3 were pretty straight acting and looking ... so it more or less showed MORE of the whole community that "playing it Straight" which was meant to fool people anyway...

Queer eye represented gay men a hell f a lot more than playing it straight because it showed more of a variety and encompassed the whole community rather than just one single guy looking for money by pretending to be someone he wasn't

to add to this... which is a worse stereotype to perpetuate...
that we are culturally more progressive than straight people and that straight people come to us for advice or that we can pretend to be just like you if it involves money?

Once again you show that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

 

[eddielee]

A lot of television programs use gay stereotypes rather than show the diversity of the gay community. We don't all act like "Ross the intern" or know interior decorating. I have nothing against those who do, as I'm good at decorating!

I think "Playing It Straight" may have suffered more from lack of exposure than it's failure to portray stereotypes. What time a program airs, what channel it airs on, and what competition it has plays an important role in it's success.

 

[eddielee]

All that may be true, but the context of what he says is offensive.

I agree that the context was a bit harsh and could have been better stated.

 

[Soilwork]

Sorry, but that show was one of the most disgusting displays in history.

when she found out that she had chosen a straight man as gay, she suddenly began to appologize loudly... "OH... I'm SOO SORRY" as if being mistaken for gay is like being mistaken for a child molester or a murderer.

When she chose a gay man as straight.. no such appology.. more like "Wow.. you can pass.. COOL... THat's a real accomplishment."

And Softmen, you should be ashamed of yourself.

for all the grandstanding you do about how gay men are one way or another and blah blah blah, you should have been totally put off by it too.. but no.. you're all excited that gay men can hide.

We shouldn't have to, and the whole "Who is and who isn't gay presented as entertainment for clueless breeders" is offensive and lame.

I'm glad that got cancelled.

 

[Soilwork]

I can't believe you said this.."portrayed gay men the right way. Playing it straight"
I want to strangle you..

Get in line, take a number and get comfy.

 

[Soilwork]

And a REAL gay man would never pretend to be anything he isn't.

Playing games is for little boys.

Jasun.

Has.

Spoken.

 

[Soilwork]

I'm not looking to beat up on him, but I don't think he realizes what he says is really offensive.

He is not evident.

 

[theFallenGod]

He is not evident.

Sorry this one definitely deserves a .....

 

[Marco Sensual]

Sorry, but that show was one of the most disgusting displays in history.

when she found out that she had chosen a straight man as gay, she suddenly began to appologize loudly... "OH... I'm SOO SORRY" as if being mistaken for gay is like being mistaken for a child molester or a murderer.

When she chose a gay man as straight.. no such appology.. more like "Wow.. you can pass.. COOL... THat's a real accomplishment."

And Softmen, you should be ashamed of yourself.

for all the grandstanding you do about how gay men are one way or another and blah blah blah, you should have been totally put off by it too.. but no.. you're all excited that gay men can hide.

We shouldn't have to, and the whole "Who is and who isn't gay presented as entertainment for clueless breeders" is offensive and lame.

I'm glad that got cancelled.

When Playing It Straight came out.All my gay friends and me watched this show each week.Until it gets cancel.

We had a hard time guessing witch men were straight and witch men were gay.They were all masculine.So it was impossible to know who were straight and who were gay.

When Playing It Straight got canceled.We were pissed off because we wanted to see the other episodes and this show was a step foward for tolerance with gay men.Straight people could finally see that gay men are not these stereotypes.For once gay men were portrayed the right way.In Playing It Straight.They shown gay men who are representative of gay men.MASCULINE.It was about time.

In the tv show about sexuallity.Even the sexologist were saying that FOX got it wrong when they cancelled this show.FOX always cancelled tv shows too fast.If the ratings are low.FOX cancel.They are not aware that shows can takes more time before being popular.Playing It Straight could had been popuplar.But FOX cancel tv shows too fast.They were saying that for once gay men were well potrayed.Playing It Straight was useful for gay men.Because when straight people watched that show.They were surprise to see that these masculine men were gay.So these show was usefull to fight stereotypes.There is nothing wrong with gay men who are not masculine but they are not representative of gay men.So its normal to show gay men who are representative of gay men.MASCULINE MEN.

These sexologist got it right.

Only men who dont care about gay men could saying im glad that got cancelled.

Its the opposite.This show should still be on tv.Playing It Straight is 1 of the best show for gay men.Its not only for entertainment.Its mostly for showing men who are really representative of gay men.The producers of this show had mostly made this show for helping erase these stereotypes.

Playing It Straight was a good show for gay men.FOX had to screw up the chance to help gay men by showing what most gay men are.MASCULINE.

We can hope that a show like Playing It Straight will eventually return and that time it will be popular.

We never know.

 

[latinoguy19]

I saw Boy Meets Boy.

There was also a show where the "woman" had been a man and the man she chose found out at the end. He eventually left 'her'.

 

[theFallenGod]

once again... poor Softmen gets it all wrong...

Relying on a T.V. show for all his "facts"

he knows nothing about ie. masculinity or the actual gay community... and his narrow minded view obscures reality...

Real gay men and straight people DO NOT want to watch a bunch of people pretending to be something they aren't in order to win money by fooling other people...

Which is why this show got cancelled... it portrayed gay people as wanting to pretend to be someone else for money... not a representation of gay people at all.

 

[Joshua_me]

For me, the entire concept of 'Playing it Straight' was as offensive as hell.

Gay men are not here for your amusement, America...or Australia or wherever the F this show was produced...

"Say, honey ! Let's pop a big bowl of corn tonight and try to figure out which one of them is one of 'those homo's ! Look for lisps and shiny shirts.."

FUCK that.

It made 'Queer Eye' look like frigging Masterpiece theater....