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Queer as what?

Tucson, meet "Queer as Folk." No one has ever heard of it - in America anyway. That is, until now.

"Queer as Folk" is a British drama that follows the lives of three gay men in Manchester's gay village: Stuart Jones, every man's dream who shags a new bloke each night, his best friend Vince Tyler whose mother is more a gay man than he is, and Nathan Maloney, a 15-year-old coming out with a vengeance.

However, America will never see this show - at least in its original form, and it's not because it isn't good television.

Entertainment Weekly named it the Best Show of 1999 That You Will Never See. France and Sweden have already picked it up for broadcast.

So, why then will we never see "Queer as Folk" as is?

The answer: sex and the hierarchy of the media portrayal of sexuality in the United States.

At the top stands male heterosexuality, followed by female heterosexuality. Then one reaches male homosexuality and at the bottom lies female homosexuality.

"Queer as Folk" features some explicit gay sex scenes including one with young Nathan. But a sex scene with a minor will not stand up to this country's puritanical attitudes towards the media's representation of sex and will not be included in a possible American version of the show.

This is only exacerbated by the fact that it is a sex scene between men.

American censors view sex as sex, with little consideration of thematic issues it embodies within the show.

"Queer as Folk," however, is more than just the sum of its sex scenes.

The show marks an important step in gay representation on television - a step needed in this country in the wake of gay-oriented hate crimes and anti-gay legislation.

Most of the gay characters on television in this post-"Ellen" era are found on sitcoms where stereotype replaces real character development.

Even though a show like "Will and Grace" debuted with little backlash, the representations on that show pigeonhole gay men into two extremes. Are you a Will or a Jack?

In a comedy, gay issues are laughed off, like racism was in "All in the Family." But being a drama, "Queer as Folk" must take its gay themes seriously - something American audiences have yet to see.

Even on television dramas in this country like "Dawson's Creek" and the now defunct "Wasteland" - which feature a homosexual male character as part of a larger ensemble cast - "gay" characters deal with "gay" issues like AIDS and the angst of coming out.

Their representation rarely extends beyond those issues.

"Queer as Folk" has defied this typical representation. By immersing its show with nearly all gay characters - where homosexuality exists outside stereotypes - the show is free to explore issues that have a more universal reach, as would be found in any non-homosexual drama.

The show is not a drama about gay men, but a drama about men who happen to be gay. It is a subtle difference, but an important one.

Representation in mass media is vital and important for any minority group. What is needed, however, is the right kind of representation.

The propagation of stereotypes does not move a culture forward in accepting diversity. "Queer as Folk" is emblematic of the right kind of representation, and I fear what may happen if the show becomes properly Americanized for the viewing audience.

Hopefully, it will be sooner than later that stuffy, puritanical America will come out of "Veronica's Closet."