Hegemony and Counterhegemony
in Bravo’s Gay W eddings
The wedding story, notes Capsuto (2000), serves as “one of the most
popular and engaging narratives in almost every entertainment medium” (p.
352). The wedding in American society serves as the accepted, expected way
that two people make their union “official,” either legally or emotionally, and as
a major ritual serves as an ideal way to study how people make choices in
planning for a public display (Leeds-Hurwitz, 2002). As a common, taken-forgranted event, it serves as an example of hegemony, what van Zoonen (1994)
characterizes as “the natural, unpolitical state of things accepted by each and
everyone” (p. 24). The assumption that weddings, as portrayed in myriad images
by the mass media (films, television fiction and non-fiction, and magazines), are
meant for a bridegroom (man) and a bride (woman) cultivates a view of
romance and relationships as being heterosexual.
On September 2, 2002, the reality television series Gay Weddings
premiered on Bravo, an arts and entertainment cable channel. An eight-part
series of half-hour episodes, it followed four gay and lesbian couples as they
planned their commitment ceremonies and ultimately “tied the knot.” The
show’s debut coincided with The New York Times announcement that its Sunday
edition would begin publishing notices of gay and lesbian unions (“Gay
Weddings Go Prime Time,” 2002). Gay Weddings drew largely positive reaction
from media critics and reviewers in both the mainstream and gay press
(Piepenburg, 2002; Mansfield, 2002; Alter, 2002; “Gay Weddings Go Prime
Time,” 2002). A rerun of the series opposite the 2003 Super Bowl resulted in
Bravo’s highest ratings, a success which eventually led to the creation of the gay
relationship series Boy Meets Boy (Cook, 2002).
In what Calvert (2000) terms video verite style. Gay Weddings offered
viewers the “fly on the wall” perspective that marks the reality TV genre,
defined in Broadcasting and Cable magazine as programming that “draws on
the drama of real events and occupations to attract viewers” (“Special Report,”
1993). The program provides a new and groundbreaking portrayal of gays and
lesbians in television by tackling the controversial issue of same-sex marriage
that even prime-time “gay friendly” programs such as Will and Grace have not
been able to do (Peipenburg, 2002). Though the outlet through which the
program is disseminated might not equal the reach of the major television
broadcast networks, even as Bravo’s audiences continue to grow with some
260,000 viewers as of February 2003 (Downey, 2003), it nevertheless serves as
a means by which one can examine how television reflects the culture and mores
of modem life.