A review by apalubeskie
Hi Honey, I'm Homo!: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

I am not a huge nonfiction reader. I have enjoyed nonfiction in the past but it is not my go to. I am so glad I listened to Hi Honey, I’m Homo. It was a well researched and planned book about the the profession of gay characters on televisions. 

We start out in the 1960’s talking about shows like Bewitched being one of the first to test the waters with a gay character without confirming their sexuality. 

By the time we have been brought throughout history we are in 2022 and while gays may be a little more accepted than in the 60’s there is still a long way to go with equality of relationships in both the world and in the media space. 

Something I found interesting is when they were casting the roll of Chandler they left his sexuality open to the actor. Whoever got the part was going to determine if Chandler was actually gay or straight. When Matthew Perry got the roll it was set he was to be straight but would play the line. “Write is gay and play it straight.” There are serval jokes and comments about Chandler being gay throughout the show. 

From here we go into commentary about shows such as Will & Grace, Ellen, Glee and finish with Modern Family.  This was a show I absolutely loved because of all the different family dynamics that we were introduced to. This made it different from anything televised.  We got to see a gay couple happily married and adopt a child. We got to see them get married and live a happy and chaotic life together that heterosexual couples could also relate to. 

Overall it was a very interesting read and I’m glad I took the opportunity to do so.