#20 [2024/CBR16] Hi Honey, I'm Homo! by Matt Baume

I like to listen to audiobooks in my car, and I found Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture (2023) by Matt Baume on NPR's Favorite Books List. Baume discusses how sitcoms used characters and plots involving gay/trans characters or lightly disguised allegory that may have helped middle America become a little more tolerant than before.

Because this book generally goes in chronological order, many of the shows that Baume begins writing about were ones I was not familiar with. These included Soap and All in the Family. And even though I'd seen Bewitched, I could barely remember it. It was surprising to see how progressive some of these shows were--even way back then.  

When Baume hit later years, I knew he would touch on Ellen, Will & Grace, and Modern Family. It was interesting to hear about some of the behind-the-scenes discussions before Ellen came out on her show and the difficulty in getting Will & Grace greenlit. Baume also talks about the first onscreen kiss between the two gay fathers on Modern Family. After some criticism and pushback, they had a kiss in the second season. Modern Family is another show I haven't seen much of, but I do remember not really buying that relationship. They were sweet parents, but they came across as wholly platonic, always more goofy than romantic. It was nice to learn that this was somewhat addressed at one point.

Even when discussing the shows I didn't know, I did find this book interesting. Probably more than anything, though, is the reminder of how hard gay people had it back when some of these television shows were airing. (I'm not saying things are peachy now, but there's been drastic improvement). Harassed by police, fired, kicked out of your home; things were pretty drastic, and it was very, very brave to come out under these circumstances.