Popular Culture Review Vol. 13, No. 1, January 2002 | Page 34

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Popular Culture Review

other words, he is upset that gays do not conform to his preconceived stereotypes.
As Homer’s phobia escalates, he begins to worry that John might have a
negative “influence” on Bart. Homer is further convinced of such influence when
he sees Bart begin to behave like John—that is, behave in what appears to be a
“gay” manner. With a series of delightfully campy scenes. The Simpsons illustrates
the telltale signs, which include Bart choosing a pink rather than a brown Hostess
cupcake, using the phrase “You’re the living end,” and wearing a bright Hawaiian
shirt which, as Bart innocently tells Homer, “just came out of the closet.” The final
straw for Homer is when he sees Bart wearing a 1950s-style wig and dancing to a
song by The Supremes. At this point, Homer decides to take action. He thus
confronts John and very plainly tells him to stay away from Bart. In doing so,
Homer displays a classic “us versus them” mentality. When Homer is at a loss for
an adjective to describe “them,” John prompts him with the word “queer,” which
launches Homer on yet another tirade. “That’s another thing,” he says, “I resent
you people using that word. That’s our word for making fun o f you. We need it.”
With that, Homer proposes to take back both the word and his son. His plan for
doing so is to “make a man” of Bart by conditioning him towaid heterosexual
desire and exposing him to traditionally “masculine” activities.
Homer’s first attempt at “heterosexualizing” Bart involves placing him
for a few hours in front of a billboard that features three bikini-clad women
promoting Laramie cigarettes. In a wonderfully satirical moment, the show
demonstrates the absurdity of viewing gayness— indeed, sexuality itself—as merely
a learned behavior while simultaneously showing how easily other behaviors are
manipulated through exposure to advertising: when Homer returns and asks Bart
how he feels, Bart simply shrugs and says