In the January 24th issue of Newsweek there is a Periscope item written by Ramin Setooden, entitled "Having a Gay Old Time." It reads:
In the coming weeks on "The O.C.," Marissa develops a female love interest. But what some fans really want to know is whether there's more than just brotherly affection between the show's male leads, Seth and Ryan. "Well, yeah, they're lovers," creator Josh Schwartz tells Newsweek.
He's kidding--but not everyone's so sure. These days, looking for romantic tension between male TV characters is a popular side attraction to the actual plotlines. A phrase has even sprung up in the blogosphere--"HoYay!" meaning "Homoeroticism Yay!"--to describe awkward glances or sexually ambiguous dialogue between guys. "The director sets up a soap opera--two male characters clenching their jaws--and you're totally thinking to yourself, 'Just Kiss already!'" says Sarah Bunting of TelevisionWithoutPity.com. [Way to go Sars!] "It's almost funnier when the writers aren't aware."
They ususally are, Schwartz acknowledges. "The O.C." has HoYay!-like moments, "from time to time"; the boys hetero love interests even mock them about their relationship. In addition to Seth and Ryan, other couples attracting online attention include Clark and Lex [Omar shout out!] on "Smallville" (maybe it's a love-hate relationship?), several of the characters on "Everwood" and most of the men on "Lost" (wouldn't you get lonely on a desert island?). But some online forums are flooded with fans who see HoYay! in almost every scene, even in dramas like "ER," "The West Wing," and "CSI." Hence the need for the HoYay! backlash to begin with HoNay!" which, as you can probably guess, stands for "Homoeroticism Nay!"
So, who'd have thought that I would have been in front of this curve, by about two years or more?
1 comment:
Ah yes! After 4 seasons of quietly wondering to ourselves if we are creating the HoYay! in our own twisted, man-starved minds, we finally get the acknowledgment our wives have been praying for.
I haven't really noticed it much on The O.C yet, but the sexual tension on Smallville is so thick that you could eat it up with a diamond-crusted spoon. I have often found myself thinking "Just kiss already!"
To tell the truth, so many weeks without a new Smallville has left me Jones-ing a bit for the good ole days. It seems that I'll still have to wait another week for my beloved injection of the Ho-Yay! And when that time comes (to quote Omar), we can all just hug and be fabulous!
Sigh . . .
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