Tom Hanks Says He Won't Play Gay Ever Again, Ryan Field Books

Tom Hanks Says He Won’t Play Gay Ever Again

As the world continues to change, so is everything LGBTQ related. In this case I’m talking about actors who once played gayface. Before 2000, any straight actor who took on a gay character in a movie, TV show, or even a play was considered brave because no on else wanted to do it. In the film, Philadelphia, which I saw when it was first released, Tom Hanks did a brilliant job playing a gay character. The entire film depicts an era. However, Hanks recently stated that he wouldn’t ever do that again…and rightly so.

I remember being annoyed when Brokeback Mountain came out. First, the book was written by a straight woman who had no business writing gay content. We didn’t know enough about cultural appropriation back then. Second, the actors in playing gay parts were all straight. And many of us were pissed. I was working for a blog back then called BestGayBlogs.com and I remember the heated discussions. The more passive gay men, who just want everything to be nice, didn’t seem to mind all the cultural appropriation associated with Brokeback Mountain. But others, like me, were livid.

Of course no one listened to us, and they still aren’t listening today. Straights love nothing more than watching or reading gay content that was created by other straights. And, oddly enough, there are a certain amount of self-loathing gay men who will say, “it’s just acting. It’s acting.” And that’s sad because these poor souls obviously don’t think enough of them selves to thing they are better than or equal to straights. Not to mention the fact that just because someone can do something doesn’t mean they should be doing it.

Well, bless him, Tom Hanks recently came out saying he would never play a gay role again. Here is a quote in his own words:

“Let’s address ‘Could a straight man do what I did in Philadelphia now?’” said Hanks. “No, and rightly so. The whole point of Philadelphia was don’t be afraid. One of the reasons people weren’t afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man. We’re beyond that now, and I don’t think people would accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy.”

Here’s more. Well, I agree that we’re moving forward. However, The Policeman, is a recent movie with gay content written by a straight woman, and acted by straight Harry Styles. Although Styles claims he doesn’t like labels, until he comes out as gay he’s NOT gay. Then there was Call Me by Your Name, and I can name several others. All gay content but controlled by straights.

So we still have a long way to go until people finally understand that we are a marginalized group just like all others, and you can’t appropriate us or exploit is anymore for monetary gain. Within our own community we have a long way to go. Gay marriage is not the only issue we’re still fighting.