Leno's 'gayest look' joke not funny

I don't watch much television, especially late-night shows. Conan, Letterman, the whole bunch - I just don't find them funny. But worse than all the others, in my mind, is Jay Leno. Though I shiver at the thought, I could sit through a Fall Out Boy concert in its entirety before I could do the same for the Tonight Show. To top it off, Leno is so lacking in wit that his only apparent back-up is bigotry.

On March 20, Ryan Phillippe stopped by the set of the Tonight Show to promote his new film, "Stop-Loss." Leno's initial discussion with the actor revolved around earlier portions of his career, including his stint on the soap opera "One Life to Live" as Billy Douglas, the first gay teen character on television. After inquiring whether or not Phillippe's mother was proud of him when he got the role, I guess Jay just couldn't help himself from proceeding with what he thought was comedic gold. He asked Phillippe to give camera two his "gayest look," pretending it was his gay lover Billy Bob just having ridden in shirtless from Wyoming.

Oh, Jay! Those Brokeback Mountain jokes were so hilarious the first time around, why not reuse them!

What I'm dying to know at this point is what exactly does Mr. Leno consider a "gay face"? A male one? An "effeminate" one? One covered in bruises due to hate-motivated violence, as Jeff Whitty (librettist for "Avenue Q," among other things) pointed out on his personal Web site? And while many in the gay and ally communities are in an uproar, what will the network do about it?

My guess is probably nothing. But frankly, if ABC can refuse to renew Isaiah Washington's contract for an incident of prejudice that occurred on the set of Gray's Anatomy, then NBC needs to get their act together.

The lack of public knowledge already says something to me. When Washington called fellow cast member T.R. Knight a "faggot," it exploded in the media, and Washington didn't do himself any favors with his statements that followed regarding what had happened. It has been over a week since Leno's stunt, and I did not even hear about it from someone until this past weekend, completely by chance.

Incidents like this are exactly the kind of heteronormative reinforcement that we as a general public so often let slide. Though he appeared visibly uncomfortable and threatened (though somewhat jokingly) to leave the set, Ryan Phillippe remained to finish the rest of his interview. What we needed him to do was walk offstage. I hope he at least makes good on his comment that that might have been his last visit to the Tonight Show.

There are plenty of people out there who will think I take this too seriously, but if we all just laugh it off, we become just as complicit in the ongoing oppression of LGBTQ individuals and their rights. The late-night television hosts are the cream of the crop when it comes to people with privilege in this country - old, white American males who can seemingly make disgusting displays of bigotry into humorous monologues.

Jay Leno has about as much right to demand to see anyone's "gayest look" as he does to relegate someone as talented as Kevin Eubanks to the role of a "token black guy who I require to laugh in response to the worthless drivel I spout".

Some might argue that humor is what brings the public's attention to sensitive social issues like these. Be real, folks: There is a huge difference between satire and plain old humor (neither of which Jay Leno exhibits successfully). Where satire proves a point through its disconcerting moments, garden-variety humor encourages amusement at the expense of someone else. Even people present in the audience that night who might have found themselves laughing uncomfortably at Leno's pressing request were still laughing, not thinking.

The fact that a mainstream entertainment source finds it acceptable to contribute so wholeheartedly to the ongoing intolerance of the LGBTQ community is my justification for watching as little television as I do. Allowing Leno to strengthen societal inequality without reprimand because "it's just a joke" is exactly how prejudiced attitudes and heterosexism get transmitted to future generations. So, Jay, consider my columnist photo my "gayest look" - and assume that like all the other photos on mygayestlook.com, you're getting the bird as my final word.

Chelsea is a junior in English and music and is wondering what she can do with a B.A. in English.