First time reaction to 'Men on Films' - In Living Color
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2023
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DT - / dt.parker
Joe - / dipolarbear - Розваги
I am a 54-year old gay man, and I know gay people exactly like this. Of course, this doesn't apply to every gay man, but this "exaggerated" version makes for some really funny comedy, and it's okay to laugh at it because I don't think it comes from a place of hate.
…..yes, many Gayfolk behave this way; as many Blackfolk behave a certain way..
(Much Rap, not Comedy showcase this)
I am a Black Gen-Xer….
Very well said. ✌️
I agree💯 from an old so called fag hag😉😭
🏳⚧it was done with love
We gay guys used to watch In Living Color JUST for these skits!
I'm gay and at the time I watched this back then and still now, I LOVED these skits. You have to be able to laugh at yourself.
I'm a big fan of 'In Living Color'and I find Men in Film today, still funny as hell! Unfortunately with woke culture, you always have to be looking over your shoulder making us feel conscientious and unfree. It's very healthy to be able to laugh at ourselves...it makes us human and our lives a lot more enjoyable!
Thank you. Everyone is too damn uptight these days. Chill out and laugh a little!
I'm gay and 50.grew up worth this. Love it
Many in the gay community loved this series of skits when they came out. The "Men on…" skits were simply parodies of a particularly flamboyant type of person that many people know. They weren't suggesting this duo represented *all* gay men any more than Jamie Foxx's Wanda was suggesting she represented all women.
😂😂. Good point!
Yes, it's a stereotype, but most of us who are gay loved these skits. They were hysterical!
We weren't offended by these skits because they weren't mean spirited, it was comedy and we all understood that. We loved them and they were even played in gay bars.
Thank you for your words of wisdom. I agree with you.
Stereotypes are just exaggerated character traits prevalent in various ethnic, religious or gender groups. In some its not exaggerated whatsoever, it's spot on! Anyone who gets violently offended over comedy already has problems so deep rooted that only a bullet will cure that. Basically all the PC hypocrisy and lies were all subjected to today is pathetic and lame and the trouble makers should be ignored,discredited and given ZERO credibility! Once you acknowledge this bullshit that gives it traction! When the assholes targeted GOYA food products the Owners or big cheese in charge at GOYA told them to shove their proposed boycotts and forced changes right up their corn holes! The defeated morons moved on in a week! They didn't succumb to the blackmail and extortion! GOYA actually had very lucrative profits because the real people backed GOYA to the hilt and wouldn't play the game! RIGHT ON GOYA!!
There were many offended too
they did one when Blaine got hit in the head and became straight for 2 episodes. twan kept hitting him with things in the head in hopes of turning him back. Very funny
Omg! Really?! I missed those! Dang! Now I gotta find them! Lol Those two were hilarious!!!
Yessss it was sooo funny!
This skit was hilarious and I'm speaking as a gay brotha. In Living Color poked fun at everyone and everything, really, and it was done in a spirit of making us all laugh. Blaine an Antoine were queens of the highest order but very, very confident in their skin ... and what made it soooooo funny was that Damon and David were clearly not queens but pulled off their portrayals so well that they often had to stop themselves from breaking character. They did a skit where Blaine (Damon) hit his head and was "straight" and Antoine tried every which way to bash him upside the head to turn him back ... it was good fun.
Very well said. The genius of KIW and his very talented family was to do what comedy is supposed to do, push the limits, test the waters and let the viewers decide if it was funny or not. I was serving in the US Navy at the time and had recently come out while on active duty at the age of 21 (September 30th, 1992). I frigging LOVED just about every one of the "Men On ..." skits and because they did "Men On Film," "Men On Football (that aired during the 1992 Super Bowl Halftime & drew more than 20 million viewers)," "Men On Vacation," "Men On Fitness" & "Men On Cooking" clearly showed that a lot of viewers, including large numbers of the LGBTQ+ community (and very large numbers of POC LGBTQ+ members) found these skits to be FUNNY!
@@frederickseltzerjr2170 Thank you for your service! You are absolutely right. In Living Color will forever make people laugh because they were just unafraid. They went for it with every one of the skits. Some landed big time and are fan favorites while others never again appeared on the show, but no matter what, the intention behind them was comedy, not to offend. If we can't laugh at ourselves, then something is wrong with us!
Classic Men On….Now I have to find that one! Was flipping hilarious.
In Living Color was a show that pushed the envelope and tested the boundaries--ALOT!!! They were always fighting with network censors and they were always in trouble with the network, but the sketches were funny as hell!!😅
Too true! 😂😂😂
At the time, Blaine and Antoine were the only recurring gay characters on network television. David Grier based his character on gay actors that he had worked with on Broadway.
I'm a 73 year old gay man, who loved 'Men on Film' 30 plus years ago, because I think gay men recognized it wasn't coming from a place of hate or bigotry. Yes, it's 'camp', very camp, but that's a gay sensibility. We often make fun of ourselves in just this way, by being camp. And, honestly, we don't mind if straight people do the same, like the Wayans, as long as it's camp and not a form of gay 'Black face' as you suggested or a way to demean gay men. I can see where you might think that, but that wasn't the case with the Wayans. Young people today are (gratefully) aware of the bigotry and the inappropriate use of stereotypes, but you also need to be able to discern when the humor is hateful and bigoted and when it's not. I often see young people who don't have that discernment. They're reactionary and immediately think, no, inappropriate. You have to have the ability to think critically and figure out when it's inappropriate and when it isn't. Men on Film was never inappropriate. It was just hysterical camp and I don't know any gay man who didn't love it, because we could laugh at ourselves. It was just great fun. Many gay men even adopted the fancy finger snaps for liking and disliking something and often whined 'hated it' in the same way as Men on Film. The Wayans were really that influential in their use of camp in their humor.
But you are also right that not all gay men act, speak, or dress this way, or seem to have these prurient interests. My husband and I love football, soccer, bourbon, craft beer, and hanging out in straight sports bars. We're both war veterans. Most people don't immediately see us as gay. But we have trans friends, effeminate friends, campy friends, etc., but also many straight friends with kids/families. We all love to hangout together and if something like Men on Film is something shown or talked about, we all laugh together. You just can't take yourself that seriously all the time--you have to be able to laugh at it all.
It's so weird how it has to be a dozen comments of gay dudes (and I'm one) with a disclaimer saying "it's okay, this wasn't offensive and I'm gay." This was created in such a different era, where it was completely OK to laugh at life and not be offended by everything.
Yup❤❤❤❤
"Will and Grace" had many different portrayals of gays, Jack was flamboyant and Will wasn't. It's all funny and there are truths to both portrayals. The reason many people thought that most gay people were feminine acting is because that is what stood out. If you were gay and masculine acting then people didn't know.
Great point.
When Jack said he's got a little 🤏 vocabulary and a BIGGG dic-tionary😂😅 that was his best line ever. He was hilarious, he and Karen were great together, too
I'm a straight woman but use to love that show I thought it was a very funny show. I wish it was still on 😂
Oh to be a young adult back then and to laugh at comedy. Those were the days! After examples like this, young ones today can understand why ones in their 50+ years have a great sense of humor and are not offended by everything.
Facts!
I think Men on Cooking is their best sketch! And Men on Fitness.😂
….from a time where we were able to laugh & not be judged for it.
Yeah laugh at others expense. Those were the days huh 🤔? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@jdsthird …..relax Mr She-Them🫡
@@thepoeticbutcher3370 Oh stop making fun of me. It must be liberating like the good old days. Bullying people you don’t know. I bet you feel empowered and big. Let me feel those muscles 💪
@@jdsthird …..back to TikTok with you & your Victim Badge..
@@thepoeticbutcher3370There you go again. I don’t have that app. You recommend it my friend?
Your laughter was nervous laughter...
The cast was comfortable with who they are and had no trouble playing gay/ straight or wearing dresses as a men or suits/ pants for women. I hope you watch more of In Living Colour
The "Men On ..." and "Homey D. Clown" skits were the absolute best.
Dont forget fire marshall bill.
@hifijohn I've personally never been a Jim Carrey fan so those didn't do it for me.
The music video parodies were funny too!
This recurring skit got so popular that they actually did it live as an alternative Superbowl halftime show (NFL-themed instead of film-themed) a year or two later. The whole thing evoked two competing camps within the gay community at the time: some loved it, some found it very problematic (you can read about it on Wikipedia).
I remember watching that live.
I think the "In Living Color" halftime show got bigger ratings than the The Super Bowl did!!@@476429
Yup, the "tight ends" and "wide receivers." Those were the days.
@@476429 Me too.
😂😂😂
Guys, it's ok to laugh it was really funny back then. I remember rolling off my couch with laughter. Hilarious.😅🤣😅🤣. I love how you guys were holding back.
Ikr! 😂😂
So fun watching you youngens getting so embarrassed 😅😊😂
😂😂😂 ikr!
I'm 55 and gay, and I remember these sketches very well. My friends and I laughed at them and imitated the characters and everything. Maybe it's a little sad today to think of it this way, but in a way that was our representation back then.
If you want an example of a real-life gay actor doing a deeply exaggerated gay character, try Scott Thompson of the Kids in the Hall doing one of his Buddy Cole routines. I used to know some of those routines by heart.
I still say the 2 snaps and a twist part 😂😅
I'm a 60 yr old regular dude watching this and remembering how funny this was back then and getting even MORE funny now with you gay guys.
I've come a long way and doing it with you guys here. I laughed and teared😂 a lot on this just now. When is Bill Burr coming up next.... He's Our Comedic Medic Hero.
Okay, this was done at a time to where is was okay to make fun of people and LAUGH! The way they're trying to "delicately" express their opinions on this saddens my heart for them because they and anyone else born to this sensitive era missed the hell out. Thank God I was raised in the 90s 😏
It is sad....
I’m gay, and I have always loved these sketches, some of my absolute favorites from the show. One thing I really like about them is that the movies they go crazy for are NOT chick flicks or sensitive films (which was probably a bigger stereotype) but rather the same macho “bro” flicks that straight guys liked. The brilliance of these sketches is that they point out that a lot of the entertainment straight men enjoy (action movies, sports) has inherently homoerotic elements, but only the gay men are man enough to admit it!
I loved the one with "Great Balls of Fire", it got "two snaps up" on the name alone!.
They were so hilarious! I'm not LGBT, but to me what made these so incredibly funny was the slick innuendo that was made, and how they made fun of everyone else. They slammed the crap out of women in movies and it was still hilarious.
That's what comedy should be. Nothing and no one is really sacred. So long as you aren't attack those incapable of any type of self defense, or the ability to understand its a joke. Such as the intellectually disabled and young children.
You guys are too much, its ok to laugh at this stuff. Its like youre waiting for someone to tell you its ok to laugh. Its scary how the pc cancel culture has turned people into muted sheep who have to go along with what a few troublemakers have deemed acceptable. Its comedy, thats all!!
I just posted a reply saying the same thing. They seem like nice guys but they are too woke to react so why do reaction videos if you're this uncomfortable? It's not as much fun to watch them just sit there and squirm so I wish them the best but this was my last time watching them.
Thank you. Well said.
@@ellefavor8537don’t be too harsh. Our current culture has everyone so afraid of being accused of laughing at the wrong things. They were ok!
@@davidrigsby4828 what galls me Is somewhere along the line white apologists have convinced the sheep that racism is a white on black entity when in reality black people are just as racist if not more so than anyone else. Basically I just tell the stone cold truth,back it with crime data and if they don't like it ,I yell them to go F themselves!
1990, we made fun of everybody and everybody laughed. Good times for comedy.
But . . . they are poking fun at the ridiculous stereotype. Making fun of the people who held those stereotypes. . . . not the gay population. People were much more free and able to laugh at society 33 yrs ago.
Yeah who cares about people that are actually like that? Let’s just call them stereotypes and everything is fine. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@jdsthird …..your Mental Illness is out of hand.
I wish you well..
@@thepoeticbutcher3370 Why are you following me around the web? I’m starting to get uncomfortable 😳 It’s creepy.
53 yo gay man here... loved them back in the day! Not offended at all - we knew how to laugh at ourselves!😅
In Living Color was fantastic. Like SNL, so many superstars got their start from the show.
This is what we are missing... This was funny as hell!!! More people would laugh instead of being so mad. ❤❤❤❤ No we know gay people who aren't like that... ❤ In 86- My mother had a friend who was 6'4 and built. He used to dress up. His sister was a lesbian!!! Men are men and some are women!! Great comedy 🤣 Look up Men on Vacation!! Maybe sometime you will watch George Carlin!! Peace ✌️
Billy Porter. Billy Eichner. Andy Cohen. Dan Levy. Bowen Yang. For starters. All are current on the scene.
It’s called comedy. People in the nighties had a sense of humor. It seems people have lost their sense of humor, and offended by everything.
Fox was the Wild West of Tv back in the day. They went wherever they wanted and it was great. It pioneered the tv of today.
While certainly over-the-top, these skits worked because the two characters were always proud, strong, and confident. You had no doubt that they would triumph if ever accosted by homophobes.
True
I've always wondered, when a person who fits a stereotype hears themselves being referred to as "negative", how does that make them feel? Why should a flamboyant gay person be seen as negative?
I miss the 90's.
In the 90's, we knew all about the different types of gay people.
The 90's were not medieval times.
We knew there were gay men who appeared and acted the way we typically believe straight men look and act.
We also knew there were much more flamboyant gay men.
Heck, just look at what goes on at pride parades.
Difference between then and now, is back then you could get away with goofing on anyone.
As you SHOULD.
Yeah who care what the other person thinks or feels. Just do whatever you want. Freedom of speech. MAGA.
@@jdsthird….you are Mentally Unstable🫡
@@jdsthird I'm certain you have no problem when comedians goof on straight white men.
Especially more rural straight white men.
That's all ok, right?
@@Incomudro1963 …..this is probably a “Shut-In”, who has NO business around people..
@@Incomudro1963 Comedy 🎭 in good taste is awesome no matter the topic. There are some comedians who set out to harm others. I don’t like this type of comedy. But to each their own. I don’t knock others for enjoying what they enjoy.
I'm old school this was our shows in the 90s, we don't play and were very liberal but also respected
Things were not so "PC" even the gays laughed at this. It was all in fun. Loved In LIving Color
Still cracks me up to this day I remember first watching this, everyone in my house was laughing their asses off.
I’m gay. This is friggin’ hilarious! No offense taken.
My cousins where exactly like that! Half my family was homosexual.
Can't wait until "Maude Sits in Archie's Chair' reaction!!
Believe it or not, EVERYBODY loved these changes. This was just comedy. I miss the days when we laughed at everybody. You guys need to check out "Handyman". He's a physically challenged super hero. 💯🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Richard Simmons was very big at the time, go watch some of his old 'workout tapes', etc if you think this skit is so exaggerated.
Hey guys, 55-yr old gay dude here and I was watching these when they first aired! Always thought their 'Men on--' sketches were hysterical. They were obviously spoofing the stereotypes of what ppl thought gay guys were like but I and my friends always laughed, and you know what? It's STILL funny, lol. You guys were right, as long as its all in good fun it can be appreciated, after all, the big dumb straight guy is still today lampooned as the Toxic Male, loose girls are still treated as the 'bimbos', it is what it is but I just say everyone relax and enjoy life, its so short and there's so much stark reality out there its fun to just kick back and not take ourselves so seriously all the time. Anyway great reaction guys, keep it coming! Peace!
GenX Gay dude here. This shit was hysterical. We don't get offended. We laughed at everyone equally.
Everyone who watched In Living Color waited impatiently for these skits. Too funny then and now.
Both DT and Joe bring valid points to the discussion ... this (recurring) segment brought everything you both mentioned ... and then some. It's sad that in this day and age, comedy sketches will never again be this daring or in-your-face ... as a middle aged gay man, I have a thick skin and it's hard to offend me so I guess my opinion is biased.
When this first aired in the early 90’s, my friends and I loved it. We’d get together every Sunday night before going out to the clubs, and watched “In Living Color”. I began dating a guy I met at Tiffany that year. We thought it was hilarious. We’re still together 34 years later and we still quote the line “HATED IT!”. LOL.
FYI: whenever they say "hated it," it's because they're not interested in watching anything about women. Instead they want to focus on all stuff that deals with men (that they can perceive and enjoy in a sexual light).
As a gay man, I think it was great, They acted more gay than I could ever be. I love to be able to laugh at myself and enjoy a great comedy skit and knowing it's all in fun. Life is way too short to always be serious . Laughter is good for the soul! May it bring people together! Thankyou for showing it
Omigosh, the Men On sketches were seriously the most hilarious part of this show. In a show full of iconic characters like Fire Marshall Bill, Wanda Wayne and Homey D. Clown, that's saying a lot. In Living Color really pushed the envelope for its time.
Keenan Ivory Wayans was pushing the boundaries of how gay people dressed and acted, and if you ever saw documentaries on Studio 54 - they did dress like this, and went all out in the club, so, it wasn't that far off the mark. He was just testing the FCC, and the network. It was funny as hell, but, no shows could do this today. There'd be hell to pay.
Those were good times when we all could laugh and move on to our normal lives. Today, everyone is soft ass. 90’s were the last years of great comedy .
This is back when performing comedy was allowed.
Remember, this style of slapstick was written in an era where PC & cancel culture did not exist- & getting roasted at comedy clubs was the norm. Most knew this was a play on stereo types-we just laughed at ourselves as uncomfortable as we may have felt !
You guys don't have to be careful with your words, none of you have any bigotry in you, that is more than obvious. These skits helped a lot of people to lighten up, especially homophobes. Nobody was worried that two men in a skit would represent an entire culture or group!
By and large, these skits did not offend the gay community. We were in on the joke. It was satirizing the stereotypes, it wasn’t looking down on gay people. There was no ill will intended. While I appreciate that society is sensitive to these issues, sometimes we’re overly sensitive, and you need to learn to laugh at yourselves. Sometimes a joke is just a joke, with no ill will is intended.
For a while we all used to go around looking at each other and saying "hated it". These skits were awesome. In Living Color was the best.
Will & Grace also contributed to the changing image with humor
The very next day after these characters aired for the first time, everyone at work was "Two snaps up!" LOL
One of the reasons they were good at doing his impressions and saying the lingo is because they got a lot of it from the gay men they knew. David Allen Grier has said that he got the lingo from gay man he used to act during his time as a stage actor.
Looking forward to your impressions of Homey D. Clown from In Living Color. Homey don't play that!
Times were different, attitudes and perceptions were not so easily offended. I attribute that to the fact that everyone was fair game when it came to comedy. Everyone. Comedy allowed the way for more difficult topics. People didn’t get their feelings hurt because they didn’t take everything personally. I am a Gen Xer, this is from a completely different understanding and time that barely, if at all, resembles present day. You do the art a disservice by viewing through today’s lense. Your take and interpretation are based from a place that is just inaccurate for the 90s and before. You were absolutely correct when you said it couldn’t be done today. Much of the greatest comedy pieces in history would die a million deaths if it were being performed today. I am sad for your generation because many amazing things are lost to you. I love your reactions and interpretations, but also wanted you to know that to understand anything before 2008 you have to turn off the critic in you and remember that everyone then not only got the jokes, we laughed our collective asses off! Keep looking back, there is much to learn about “how things were”. Thank you for the trip down Memory Lane.
4:22
“Touch me in the mornin'
Then just walk away” were the lyrics to a Diana Ross song
Hands down my favorite show my senior yr in HS. I miss good comedy when people weren't so sensitive and we laughed at everything
Here's the thing. This, and other, skits from these guys played in every gay video bar across the country. No one complained, nor were traumatized. We laughed. We knew it was an exaggeration. But I do agree that peeps are so sensitive that it would likely not be a skit on a new series in 2023.
I loved "Men on Film"! You should react to "Men on Film During Super Bowl Half Time".
The one guy always seems easily offended or shocked it’s funny. Lol It wasn’t making fun of gay people. It was an exaggerated version of C and Ebert. You did get that. It was a great show and definitely risqué for its time.
That’s what I don’t get
Men on film will forever be iconic and sooo many actual gay men loveddd it and still to, they recite sayings from Men on film still today
Watch the gay couple in Modern Family
You might want to check out Men on Football performed live at halftime during Super Bowl 26. It was NOT the halftime entertainment for the Super Bowl, but was aired at the same time on another network, Fox. We switched channels to Fox at halftime to watch this. I am gay and I, along with all my friends loved these ‘Men on’ skits because they were witty, hilarious, and done in good fun.
I loved In Living Color!! It was raw and funny as hell! When Comedy was still Comedy and you could laugh at it without worrying who was going to see you laugh and call you a racist or something like that.
In Living Color was a ground breaking show. It pushed the envelop in every way and everyone loved it!!!! And I don't recall any gay men being offended and no one ever correlated this type of comedy to blackface. It is in no way the same thing!!
Those skits are still hilarious to this day 😂
Im a gay man, was in my early 20s when these sketches were aired and my friends and I loved them!
They felt more celebratory than derogatory and, honestly, we loved the attention on what was an extremely popular show!
In 2023, i kinda feel like the "outrage" would come from those who were offended by "gay stuff" being promoted on network television.
Cameron on Modern Family was a very flamboyant character played by a straight man is a prime example. He was flamboyant but was seen as a real person more than anything.
Guys, let's not forget it's comedy, they weren't trying to poke fun at anyone. These two are incredibly talented, and they played their parts very well. It was great fun, and as I remember, there wasn't any real protest or uproar about this.
I'm just happy you guys know who Siskel
and Ebert are/were.
Check out the MEN ON FOOTBALL as well .
They poked fun at everything. One of my favorite shows when it first aired. If you are worried about Men on Films then you better prepare yourselves for Handicap Boy who is a superhero.
Handyman!
First of all, it is funny. Used to like watching them when they were on. Loved Men on Fitness. lol '
It is sad though that most people think that this is how all or most gay men act, sound, and dress. It's actuall a very small minority of them that do...
And if it was the majority it would be okay and no one would judge them. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
……definitely disagree about it being a small Minority; it may not be Majority, but….. .
@@thepoeticbutcher3370 I don’t spend my time thinking about gay folks and culture. They can do them and I’ll do me. No business of mine.
@@jdsthird ….go outside😊
There are a few MEN ON skits to see .
I’m a over 50 black gay man and yes, through out my life I’ve known many different types of black gay men, and while yes, some were effeminate, this is a bit of an extreme exaggeration. I miss those skits tho, they were so damn funny. Try “Men On Art” too.
Love Joe's reaction. He's not uptight about the jokes❣️
Back then I knew a few gay men who acted like this. Yes they were flamboyant but men were like that then. The series were making fun of social issues all the time. More please of other skits.❤😂
I can't wait to see your faces! Lmao!
Their Super Bowl episode is also a RIOT. Gay people I knew LOVED Men On Film. Hilarious!
The 90s were awesome. It was probably the last decade before people started becoming perpetually offended. Funny was just funny.
As a gay man , we used to watch this in a crowded bar room on the screen and we all laughed histerically. It was feel good fun and not from hate. In a way it showed heterosexuals , that it was unrealistic to think all gay people were like this.
So I’ve watched a few of these guys’ reaction videos, with Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, All in the Family and now In Living Color. I had to chuckle a few times because at times DT and Joe, particularly DT, looked a bit uncomfortable at the jokes. They were looking like…..is it ok to laugh at this? 😂
In living color was the best weekly variety comedy show and more consistently hilarious than SNL.
In Living Color was an insanely funny show. A huge rabbit hole of stuff out there like this. Try Fire Marshall Bill.
True story this used to air when it was new either on Friday night or Saturday night. All us gay guys would meet at one house to watch it and then I’ll go out to the clubs after, but we had to watch every episode!! Back then it was quite rare to have gay people on TV
What a fun time
Y'all are adorable! ❤😂 It was just an exaggerated depiction of gay "reads" of popular culture! 😂😂😂
First off the "Men on" series is funny as hell. I was alive when that first aired, and no they could not do that skit today. There has been a long-standing conversation in my community about straight people portraying lgbtqiaa+ people, even when it's not mocking, they are celebrated for playing those not seen as the norm. There are many things from the 80s and early 90s that are just too problematic because people are more informed now.
David Alan Greer also said he wouldn't do Men on Film or the other spin-offs these days.
I’m a 53 year old gay man who LOVES LOVES LOVES “Men on Film”!!!!! This is so hysterical, and you’ll find most (if not ALL) of the gay community loves these guys! I think what most people need to realize is that gay community knows how to make fun of ourselves and not be offended. This DOES NOT OFFEND US!
you hit it the head with your point about what they are showing us is how so many in america saw gay people at this time. this (meaning everything about these guys-the way they talk, dress, focus, the sexualizing of everything, etc.) is what so many in america thought represented gays. in the same way they would do those sketches on IN LIVING COLOR that sent up black culture as all blacks being criminals, or rappers, or basketball players, etc. most of the humor on this show was about sending up the stereotypes that america put marginalized communities into to define them.
IN LIVING COLOR knew how crazy and frankly stupid america was to do this. they understood the horror of this. while they also deeply understood the hilarity of this. as black men in america, everyday it had happened to them. so IN LIVING COLOR was all about exploring that madness. the "men on..." characters and sketches were merely an extension of that horror/hilarity phenomenon. and as a 55 year old gay man, I laughed back then and I still laugh now. the characterizations were detailed and pretty brilliant. I knew many men who were just like this in many ways. and I got that they were in on the joke, because they also had been victims of the joke, and they got where the joke had come from to begin with. I thought it was bold and really funny.
Thank God I was born in 1982 because nobody has a sense humor and everyone's so sensitive. This show was funny back then and it holds up now.