Grey's Anatomy star and bisexual actress Sara Ramirez recently took to Twitter to voice her opinion about a bisexual joke made on an episode of ABC's sitcom The Real O'Neals.
In 'The Real Acceptance" episode (which premiered on January 17), Kenny (played by openly gay actor Noah Galvin) is nervous about having a talk with his new boyfriend Brett. He goes on to call bisexuality a "worst-case scenario," linking it with other problems like having webbed toes or having money issues.
Ramirez, a passionate intersectional activist who has been vocal about bisexual visibility, especially since coming out in October of last year, took issue with the negativity associated with being bisexual, and urged ABC to recognize how a joke like that can perpetuate biphobia.
While Sara's response to The Real O'Neal's bisexual joke is completely valid, it also wasn't without its own backlash. In a rebuttal published on KSITETV, writer Shilo Adams had this to say:
"It was a tad jarring for a show as open-hearted and loving as The Real O’Neals to make a joke like that, given that its ethos is all about acceptance and living one’s truth, but within the context of the show’s narrative, it makes sense. Kenny O’Neal is a neurotic, anxious 16-year-old devout Catholic living in the Midwest who has one gay friend and has never met someone bisexual; in addition, he’s someone who has a mother who has constantly sent him a negative message about sex itself and the spectrum of sexuality, so to expect him to have a fully formed, wholly enlightened viewpoint about every aspect of the LGBTQ community feels a little unrealistic. Nobody in the LGBTQ community has it all figured out as soon as they come out, which extends to their knowledge of the rest of the community and is the entire point of The Real O’Neals. Coming out is a messy, complicated, amazing, terrifying experience that is absolutely impossible to perfectly navigate, so you’ll see people say and do things while they’re still trying to figure things out that are a product of their experiences prior to coming out. To hold Kenny to some standard that he was never going to live up to and then punish one of the few LGBT shows out there because of it speaks of inherent privilege, of having came out in a more accepting, less homogenous environment and forgetting that not every gay person is as lucky."
So what are your thoughts on The Real O'Neals' joke about bisexuality? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter.
