On Objects and Affections: Contemporary Representations of the Gay Man/Straight Woman Dyad in Popular Film and Television Page: 77
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relaxation, but leave such decorative details as flowers and place settings to women.
Convention holds that the home is a workspace for females and both Nik and Christopher
lean more towards the feminine as the home is a literal workspace on these two shows.
The episode closes as Nik prepares a pink pasta dish, and his guests are seated at his well
planned table. The viewer can only see the guests, comprised of two women and one
man from a distance. Given the queer subtext of the episode, and the order of the seating
arrangement, it is plausible to read the dinner party as composed of a lesbian and a gay
couple. Who would be more appropriate for a pink dinner party? Now I want to look at
an episode of "Interior Motives" because it serves to further illustrate my discussion of
queerness.
At the beginning of the episode, dressed in a toga and spitting water out of his
mouth, Christopher Lowell, with his lispy speech, announces that "Interior Motives" will
be "Designing With Water." As mentioned previously, this introduction is not unique to
this episode, as every episode begins with Lowell dressed in full costume performing a
parody of whatever that day's topic is. After the show's introduction, which is apparently
taped prior to the beginning of the show, Lowell enters the studio audience area of the
set. Now he is dressed like a traditional host, wearing a button up shirt tucked into a pair
of slacks. It so happens that on this day his shirt is pink. The show promises to take
viewers to elaborate custom-built swimming pools, to teach viewers how to make their
own water ponds in their yards, and finally how to build various indoor water fountains.
This show as a queer text does not stem from the subject matter as it did on "Savoir
Faire." Instead, the queerness here is literally embodied in the persona of the host. His
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Pillion, Owen L. On Objects and Affections: Contemporary Representations of the Gay Man/Straight Woman Dyad in Popular Film and Television, thesis, December 2000; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2706/m1/80/: accessed April 23, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .