"I like the boys to be boys"

Tonight was the season premiere of So You Think You Can Dance Season 5, and as with any SYTYCD premiere, there were lots of really great dancers and really bad dancers. This show is a ton of fun, but I have a very serious problem with one thing: Nigel Barker. More specifically, his rampant homophobia.

Tonight in the premiere, there was a pair of two men who were dancing Ballroom together. They explained in their intro that they had originally had female partners, but it didn't work out, so now they partnered with each other. They came on the stage in typical ballroom performance costumes (think sparkles) and danced with each other. They took turns being the lead to showcase their talent, and they did alright. Towards the end they messed up a lift and both fell over, but they recovered alright. Overall they did passably. I would have put them through to choreography (and before I begin my rant, I should say they did go through to choreography). For those of you unfamiliar with the show, during the first audition weeks, you can either go straight through to the semi-finals, or they put you in choreography to see how you handle other stuff. It's better than a rejection, and it means they think you have potential.

Now for the rant. Mitch and Mischa (the two male dancers) finished their dance, and went up for judging. Immediately Nigel started in with "I don't know what to say. I prefer the boys to look like boys and the girls to look like girls." No comment about their dancing. Just that he prefers traditional gender roles for both partners. Are we really still that stuck in the past? I'm not saying the pair had to be put through. I thought they were passable but not anything amazing and unheard of. But Nigel's comments very much came off as him not being able to buy two men dancing a romantic dance together. If they're fighting, or trying to one up each other, that's fine, but love? Hell no. If you don't like effeminate men, why not have a dance routine with two strong men loving each other. Make them two soldiers from Iraq and have it be a commentary on Don't Ask Don't Tell. Have it be two football players. Have it be a lyrical hip-hop routine about the difficulty of gender roles in a same-sex relationship. SO MANY OPTIONS. But no, dancing must be a Man and a Woman.

If it had just been this routine, I would have shrugged it off as Nigel being so distracted by their bad technique that he blamed their same-sex-pairing. But Nigel has a history of expecting exceedingly traditional things out of his dancers, and I'm tired of it. This show is so great, but it also gets so stuck in certain ways of thinking. I'm not saying we should throw away traditional dance, because there is some amazing stuff out there for mixed couples. But I also don't think we should ignore all of the possibilities for same-sex couples. And if you're not going to include them can't we at least NOT making derogatory comments about them? This is 2009. 5 states have approved Gay Marriage. We almost had a gay American Idol (unless Adam is faking it and he's straight. Which I'm beginning to think might be true). We are far past this kind of homophobia, especially in the entertainment world. And shame on the producers of this show for not setting a better example for all of the young and confused boys and girls who love dance out there. You can't pick and choose when you're going to tell a finalist's story.

But why am I surprised? This is Fox. When the best portrayal of a gay couple happens on The Simpsons, how can any of us be surprised?