Gay, Interracial, Couplings

This weekend I read an interesting article in Alternet about the increasingly common couplings of black men and Asian women in America, a phenomenon depicted most recently in the television dramas ER and Grey's Anatomy.

In short, the article by Rinku Sen, publisher of ColorLines, outlines several of the complex dynamics at play when black men and Asian women unite. Sen cites, for example, a shared interest in hip-hop culture and civil rights as one of the potential factors that brings together the two groups.



I think that the very fact that such an article was even written represents an important advancement towards breaking down racial boundaries and barriers in North American society, at least in the heterosexual segments.

Of all of the movies that I have seen that deal with gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender characters or issues, I can only think of four big screen films that enmesh gay and interracial themes simultaneously: My Beautiful Laundrette (1985, Stephen Frears), The Crying Game (1992, Neil Jordan), The Wedding Banquet (1993, Ang Lee), and Touch of Pink (2004, Ian Iqbal Rashid).

As for television, Six Feet Under (2001-2005) gave its primetime viewing audience America's first, and so far only, gay and interracial relationship.

And that's it. Baby steps. Film production is market driven, and within the smaller market of gay moviegoers, there is an even smaller one of gay people, like myself, in interracial relationships. Nevertheless, I am optimistic. Perhaps with the continuing rise of the independent film movement, more films will be made that represent more lives in our pluralistic and constantly changing world.