BETWEEN
SADDAM
HUSSEIN
and
Satan
as
lovers,
gay
school
teacher
Mr.
Garrison
and,
of
course,
Big
Gay
Al,
“South
Park,”
the
television
program
and
the
fictional
town
in
the
animated
series
on
Comedy
Central,
has
always
been
fairly
gay.
It’s
“gay”
in
the
homosexual
sense,
not
gay
like
when
Cartman
says,
“You
guys
are
so
gay.”
“South
Park”
outdid
itself
last
Wednesday
when
the
first
30-minute
episode
of
a
slate
of
new
shows
made
being
gay
the
new
cool
trend
in
town.
Always
with
the
quirky
cartoon’s
figurative
finger
on
the
pulse
of
pop
culture,
the
show
stole
the
“gay
is
good”
vibe
that
has
been
sweeping
across
the
country
ever
since
“Queer
Eye
for
the
Straight
Guy”
became
a
ratings
success,
the
U.S.
Supreme
Court
made
same-sex
sexual
intimacy
OK,
and
gays
won
the
right
to
marry
in
two
Canadian
provinces
(Ontario
and
British
Columbia).
In
one
of
the
show’s
funniest
moments,
as
all
of
South
Park’s
townsfolk
are
trying
to
outdo
each
other
and
be
the
“gayest,”
Mr.
Garrison
retorted:
“If
straight
people
are
gonna
steal
our
culture,
then
us
real
gays
are
just
gonna
have
to
step
it
up
a
notch!”
THIS
LED
ME
to
thinking
about
a
recent
announcement
about
the
casting
on
ABC’s
sitcom
“Less
Than
Perfect.”
TV
Guide
reports
that
the
show
has
cast
Joanna
Kerns
(the
mother
on
“Growing
Pains”)
and
Valerie
Harper
(the
feisty
star
of
“Rhoda”)
as
lesbian
moms
of
the
character
played
by
Andy
Dick.
They
tried
to
get
Tyne
Daly
and
Sharon
Gless
of
“Cagney
&
Lacey”
fame
to
star
in
the
show
but
Daly,
who
recently
won
an
Emmy
for
Outstanding
Supporting
Actress
in
a
Drama
Series
for
her
portrayal
of
Maxine
Gray
on
“Judging
Amy,”
apparently
declined.
Casting
Kerns
and
Harper
as
lesbians
is
reminiscent
of
when
Sally
Struthers
(of
“All
in
the
Family”
fame)
and
Debbie
Allen
(the
dance
instructor
on
“Fame”)
played
lesbian
moms
on
Lifetime’s
“The
Division.”
ALL
OF
THESE
DEVELOPMENTS
seem
to
demonstrate
that
being
gay
is
the
new
cool
thing
in
TV-land.
And
with
a
little
sprinkling
of
fairy
dust,
what
would
happen
if
many
more
shows
embraced
positive
gay
themes.
On
“Judging
Amy,”
guest
star
Rosie
O’Donnell
would
reprise
her
role
as
a
stern
judge
while
trying
to
woo
Judge
Gray
(Amy
Brenneman)
for
behind-the-bench
visits.
On
“Tarzan,”
Jane
would
leave
the
title
character
for
the
jungle
man’s
aunt
(the
lovely
Lucy
Lawless)
and
the
heartbroken
Tarzan
(ex-underwear
model
Travis
Fimmell)
would
go
skulking
off
alone.
As
for
“Trading
Spaces,”
there
is
nothing
that
anyone
could
do
to
make
this
show
any
gayer,
especially
after
a
recent
episode
featured
a
gay
couple,
their
lesbian
neighbors,
and
an
impromptu
visit
by
a
Divine-esque
drag
queen.
Even
reruns
of
“The
Brady
Bunch”
would
have
to
be
revamped.
Mike
(the
late
gay
actor
Robert
Reed)
and
Carol
(Florence
Henderson)
would
finally
tell
the
kids
that
they
got
married
to
be
each
other’s
beards.
They
would
explain
that
the
reason
Alice
(Ann
B.
Davis)
lives
in
the
house
is
because
she’s
shackin’
up
with
Mrs.
Brady;
and
Sam
the
Butcher
is
really
Mike’s
leather-loving
boyfriend.
Gay
viewers
have
suspected
what’s
really
going
on
for
years.
Finally,
it’s
cool
to
let
everyone
else
in
on
the
joke.
Thank
you,
“South
Park,”
for
making
gay
cool
again.
