OK, not sure this is totally offensive, but it pissed off my hubbie, so I thought I’d throw it out there.
During last night’s finale of “American Idol” (wow! way to go, Cook!), Fox teased the next season of its lie-detector game show, “The Moment of Truth.” In typical Fox fashion, it was kinda melodramatic, including this promo:
Announcer: “And get ready, ’cause we’re pressing the cringe factor further than ever before.”
Host asking question to male contestant: “Have you ever been physically attracted to another man?” (Audience gasps.)
I guess it’s the idea that even being attracted to a man would cause you to “cringe” is what sounds rude. Of course, ask me that, and I’d  happily run down a list of mancrushes. And it wouldn’t really offend me to be asked if I have ever been physically attracted to a woman — sure! Why not?
But aside from my dad — the straightest man I know, but also a total sweetheart to his gay son — I can  hardly think of living your life and not being attracted to a man (mostly, Brad Pitt). And I can’t see why, even for a straight guy, admitting it would be so awful — even on national TV.
Now, a lot of the questions on this show are about sex because people find that uncomfortable to talk about. But maybe it’s precisely because we don’t see his answer — a truthful “no” wouldn’t be such a big deal in any circumstance, and a truthful “yes” he’s comfortable with shouldn’t matter to anyone — that the segment seems homophobic. Cringe at an attraction? Geez, let’s hope I don’t go on the show and tell them what I would do (and have done) to another man.Â
The moment of homophobia
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hes hot! what was the answer?
Nah, not offensive. Sex and scandal sell and if the guy’s married then it’s all the more juicy for the audience. Of course, when the show appears, the true offensiveness will be how he answers. A simple yes or no will suffice. But a gagging convulsion-filled NO will make it much more interesting for us to comment on. But that won’t happen. Plus, gasping could very well have been edited in.
The truer gasping question would be “Have you ever been attracted to an animal?” in which gasps and “ohmygawd”s would have not been in short supply. And funny too.