Dallas and the gay audience

[captainarcher]

As a gay man, I always wondered if Dallas had as many gay fans as Dynasty.

 

[Willie Oleson]

More closeted gay fans, I guess.

Saying "I'm a Dynasty fan" is basically an euphemism for coming out.

 

[Crimson]

DALLAS had to be the least obviously geared towards gay sensibilities of all the 80s soaps, except maybe for the flamboyantly drag queen-y Dream season.

 

[tommie]

Tops tend to prefer Dallas.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Tops tend to prefer Dallas.

Flippers give them both a fervent chance, ultimately disappointed by each, and thus driven into celibacy.

 

[LMLDallas78]

There's a really interesting article about this on Dallas Decoder. The writer is openly gay and most of it comes from his own point of view.
He also makes reference to there being a hint that Gary might have come out as being gay. It's a great read.

I've always admired his writing and observational skills. Don't always agree with him but he is a massive Linda Gray fan.

I couldn't remember how to access the page but once on the site, I put in Linda Gray gay icon (I remember seeing her photo when I first read it) It's more about Sue Ellen than Linda also various topics covered on Dallas and the impact on the gay audience.

 

[Willie Oleson]

Saying "I'm a Dynasty fan" is basically an euphemism for coming out.

I was kidding, of course.

I don't know where the idea of "being gay defines your whole personality" comes from. They love all kinds of stuff just like heterosexual people.
On the other hand it makes sense that a prime time series that deals with homosexuality - especially during a time when this was considered unusual - would be differently appreciated by a gay audience.

I don't think anyone started watching DALLAS with the thought "I hope it's going to be very gay / not gay at all".

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Funnily enough, in the '80s people really didn't think of DYNASTY as being "the gay show" -- it was just a big hit, an international phenomenon like DALLAS, that everybody was aware of whether they watched it or not.

Decades later, of course, it's all like: "them Carringtons is a bunch of f*gs."

So, perspectives change.

 

[Monzo]

Dynasty is probably the gayest soap of the four big soaps, and thanks to Steven, it was also the soap that was closest to gay home. You saw a father's rejection of his son's homosexuality, while Dallas was pure escapism from normality. Homosexuality was not an issue, you could imagine that every character would accept it (or not).

In Dallas (and other soaps) everyone could do what they wanted, so I'm not surprised that the gay audience liked it, but I'm still amazed that Christians watch soaps. It's currently Pride Month and daily soaps post Happy Pride Month on social media. Most reactions to such posts are positive, but some are negative, most of them referring to the Christian God, for whom homosexuality is a sin. This always makes me ask myself why Christians watch soaps at all, because they contain one sin after another: murder, adultery, theft, lies, the list goes on and on.

Dallas was certainly not only watched by atheists or agnostics. Shouldn't Christians have turned off the TV on Friday nights and instead prayed that no one watched Dallas with all the sins that were committed there? I remember when Dallas came to West Germany, there were calls from churches not to watch the show under any circumstances because of its shameful morality.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

What made DYNASTY the gayest of the four had, ironically, nothing to do with it having gay characters.

It's the thing that caused it to be dismissed as "a woman's show" which is what also made it the gayest.

"A woman's show" is not a show of strong, prominent women (KNOTS had that and never fit the derisive "woman's show" bill) but a show where vanity and flattering of the women (even as they're insulting each other) is the entire point, and cohesive plotting or character development is secondary at best. Empty but overwrought romance as a time killer.

Like drag, with no relevant narrative required.

the Christian God, for whom homosexuality is a sin.

Although Jesus never mentioned the topic. And it's a matter of debate as to whether the New Testament brings it up.

Leviticus, in the gnarly Old Testament, makes a couple of condemning references that appear to be about homosexuality, but that's beside calls for child sacrifice and not eating pork.

 

[CeeCee72]

Just as an aside on the whole church/gay thing, it astounds me that modern Christians put so much time and energy into demonizing gayness when that didn't even make the top ten lists of sins. Maybe they should take some time to go after the liars and adulterers?

Back on topic -

Dynasty was "gay" because as snarky said, it felt like watching a cheesy harlequin romance novel on screen every week.

 

[Monzo]

Would Dynasty have been just as gay if Steven had been straight? Alexis hated Steven's wives but was supportive of his gay lovers, what more did it take for her to become a gay icon? On the other hand, Claudia became unpopular with the gay audience when she stood in the way of Steven's happiness with Luke.

As for the original question: Does gay only refer to men or also to women? Because I don't find Dynasty particularly exciting for lesbians, Dallas offers much more variety of different types of women, as do Knots Landing and Falcon Crest.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

Would Dynasty have been just as gay if Steven had been straight?

Yes.

Alexis hated Steven's wives but was supportive of his gay lovers

Alexis pretended to support her children as a manipulative way of saying, "See, I'm not like your father!" But she's competitive with all women.

Unlike Sable, who did seem to care for her children, even if she had questionable ways of showing it.

 

[Crimson]

DYNASTY is considered "gay" for the same reason it's considered "camp"* -- somewhere along the way those two terms seem to have become intertwined.

* Seems like anti-camp to me, but that's a different conversation.

 

[Snarky Oracle!]

* Seems like anti-camp to me, but that's a different conversation.

Camp was a step up from what DYNASTY actually was -- the term was used to justify often abysmal storytelling.

 

[shaqattaq32]

Dynasty is “A gays” under 25 — they look good but they’re shallow as hell.

Dallas is guys who call themselves “tops” but who actually have helium heels.

Knots Landing is bitchy, intelligent, obese, suburban HOA member, washed up “guncles” over 40.

Falcon Crest is self-hating super-religious closet cases.

 

[shaqattaq32]

Dynasty is “A gays” under 25 — they look good but they’re shallow as hell.

Dallas is guys who call themselves “tops” but who actually have helium heels.

Knots Landing is bitchy, intelligent, obese, suburban HOA member, washed up “guncles” over 40.

Falcon Crest is self-hating super-religious closet cases.

Can someone do Melrose Place and BH90210?

 

[Swellin]

I think Sue Ellen was a gay man stuck in a woman's body. Loved alcohol, shopping younger men and had bigger hair and make-up than most drag queens.

 

[Mustard]

As a gay man, I always wondered if Dallas had as many gay fans as Dynasty.

I'm a bisexual man, so I suppose I'm in the list. Dallas is definitely far more engaging than Dynasty overall in terms of storylines. Dynasty loses a lot of that after its first 2-3 seasons, while Dallas remained excellent for years and years. Knots Landing never really crashed at all, just a slight decline in its later seasons.

It's odd with Dynasty because it went up like a rocket early on, before the plots became strangely unengaging from about Season 4. It was captivating in terms of some character interaction, but the storylines were pretty hard to get engaged in after those early seasons compared to Dallas and Knots Landing. Dallas and Knots Landing, on the other hand, focused early on with getting viewers to be familiar with the communities of the Ewings and the Cul-de-sac families, and then they became more gripping later on and lasted for years.

Dynasty is probably the gayest soap of the four big soaps, and thanks to Steven, it was also the soap that was closest to gay home. You saw a father's rejection of his son's homosexuality, while Dallas was pure escapism from normality. Homosexuality was not an issue, you could imagine that every character would accept it (or not).

In Dallas (and other soaps) everyone could do what they wanted, so I'm not surprised that the gay audience liked it, but I'm still amazed that Christians watch soaps. It's currently Pride Month and daily soaps post Happy Pride Month on social media. Most reactions to such posts are positive, but some are negative, most of them referring to the Christian God, for whom homosexuality is a sin. This always makes me ask myself why Christians watch soaps at all, because they contain one sin after another: murder, adultery, theft, lies, the list goes on and on.

Dallas was certainly not only watched by atheists or agnostics. Shouldn't Christians have turned off the TV on Friday nights and instead prayed that no one watched Dallas with all the sins that were committed there? I remember when Dallas came to West Germany, there were calls from churches not to watch the show under any circumstances because of its shameful morality.

LOL. Those conservative Christians are such hypocrites. How many of them indulge in "sin" themselves? The seven deadly sins make it impossible not to be sinful. Pride is one of those sins. Are they not guilty of pride? Anger is another of those sins. Are they not guilty of anger?

 

[Jock's Ghost]

As a bisexual, I dont connect it to anything but compelling television. DYNASTY was fun, most of the time, it mistreated all of its characters eventually. I loved Joan Collins, just for her ability to carry that show. I didn't find any of the males attractive. Joan was the most attractive to me.
DALLAS- loved all the actors and Hagmans shark behavior.
KNOTS- just good storytelling and acting. Joan Van Ark carrying that show.