Velociriot!

Trigger warnings: homophobic language, discussion of closeting and internalized homophobia, sexual assault
Spoiler warnings: up to and including 3×05 of “Shameless,” as well as the preview for 3×06

So you want to have a serious talk about queer representation on television? First thing’s first: notice that as the battle for same-sex rights continues in the political sphere, same-sex romances and queer characters are becoming increasingly more visible on our favorite programs. Even Fox — home of the famously-bigoted Fox News — boasts shows like “Glee” and “The O.C.” in its repertoire. But don’t get too comfortable.. There are still a lot of problems with queer representation on television, most especially the fact that queer characters are often used as plot devices or white flags waved by heterosexual writers (“watch our show! WE HAVE PEOPLE LIKE YOU!”).

That being said, it’s refreshing to see shows that don’t take advantage of their queer characters. It’s especially refreshing to see shows that feature a range of characters and don’t shy away from race and class intersectionality. A primary example of this type of gem is Showtime’s “Shameless”. The show, adapted from an award-winning UK series of the same title, first premiered in 2011 and is currently in its third season. On Tuesday, Jan. 29, it was renewed for a fourth season, much to the delight of its fans.

“Shameless” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on Showtime.

“Shameless” chronicles the lives of the extremely dysfunctional Gallagher family (and everyone they know). William H. Macy plays Frank Gallagher, an alcoholic and outstanding criminal; as his determination to scam money and stay drunk keeps him from taking care of his six children, his oldest, Fiona (Emmy Rossum), makes it her duty to take care of her five siblings and keep them all together in spite of repeated threats to their general welfare (including interventions from various federal agencies and even more pressing problems, like lack of money, food, heat, water, and human decency). “Shameless” does not shy away from the harsh realities of being poor in modern America — Fiona and her siblings are by no means perfect and they often make very bad decisions in order to gain even a little bit of footing in their lives.

The show is categorized as a dramatic comedy because it covers very serious themes — teenage pregnancy, racism, infertility, rape and sexual assault, alcoholism and drug addiction, and sexuality, to name a few — in comedic ways. Simultaneously, “Shameless” boasts a cast of characters whose identities depend on multiple elements, rather than just stock stereotypes. Frank is a selfish, narcissistic alcoholic who will do anything — even allowing a woman to anally penetrate him with dildos — to stay sheltered and fed. Fiona works multiple jobs and attempts to raise her siblings while fighting off the shadow of her mother’s abandonment, all while attempting to learn love and trust for the man she’s dating. Her best friend, Veronica Fisher (Shanola Hampton), is a black woman with a common-law marriage to a white man, currently attempting to battle infertility so she can have a child with him.

Going into the intricacies of every character on “Shameless” would take entirely too many words and end in a lot of rambling emotional verbage, so we won’t. But we will go into the intricacies of the show’s queer characters. Why? Because “Shameless” isn’t afraid of its queer characters. It isn’t afraid to display queer people as flawed, or scared, or desperate. Ian Gallagher (Cameron Monaghan) is a disciplined ROTC member who hides his sexuality for the majority of the first season of the show, all while sleeping with his much older (and married) boss at work. He rejects a girl (Mandy Milkovich), then gets beat up by her big brother (Mickey) for it, then confesses to her that he’s gay and gains a best friend and a fake girlfriend. Unexpectedly, he also gains a new fuck buddy — Mickey (played by Noel Fisher) and Ian begin a relationship that is fraught with emotional turmoil and a lot of sex. But the emotional parts are very, very subtle. While Ian tends to wear his heart on his sleeve, Mickey keeps his emotions cooped up inside.

Ian’s journey is fascinating for several reasons. When the series begins, he’s a closeted gay kid very much invested in having a military career who’s acting as the sub to an older, married man’s dom. Then he gets involved with Mickey and is visibly infatuated, despite Mickey’s repeated insistence that Ian means nothing to him beyond sex. Later, while Mickey is in juvenile detention (yet again — as the series progresses, Mickey is in and out of juvie because of violence and other misdemeanors), Ian adopts a sugar daddy and pours his lust into encounters with peers, etc. He’s had several sexual partners on the show of various ages and classes — though poor and white, Ian gets involved with a range of men, from Middle Eastern and middle class to white and wealthy. Now in the third season, Ian is still with that sugar daddy, but his relationship with Mickey is also progressing in a somewhat unexpected way…

Noel Fisher (left) and Cameron Monaghan (right) messing around on the set of “Shameless”.

As mentioned earlier, Mickey consistently tells Ian that “he’s nothing but a warm mouth.” But as his story progresses, it’s becoming clearer and clearer that much of this detachment from the sexual acts he’s doing with Ian — and the feelings that can be seen on his face in several scenes — is internalized homophobia. Mickey comes from a violent home; in the first episode where we see Ian and Mickey recognize and give into their lust for each other, Mickey’s father spots them in bed together and grunts, “you two look like a couple of fags.” It’s important to note that Mickey’s father doesn’t show any recognition of the fact that the boys have actually had sex, or that they’re undressed — the mere act of being in bed together makes him label them as “fags”. Later, Mickey tells Ian, “kiss me and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out.” Their relationship is very cut and dry, at least from the outside — Ian tops, Mickey bottoms, and they never act like a couple. For two seasons, they sneak around and have sex and the only admission of “feelings” that the audience sees is when Ian, desperate for comfort, seeks out Mickey and tells him that he needs to see him. We also see Ian tell Mickey that he misses him while visiting Mickey in juvie, a sentiment Mickey doesn’t return.

Of course, as sneaky sexual relationships usually go, the two are caught out by Frank — whose attitude toward his son’s homosexuality, even when displayed so brazenly before him, is extremely apathetic. (This apathy isn’t surprising — Frank isn’t phased by much; in fact, he performed sexual behaviors for men in order to get enough money to rescue one of his children [at Fiona's demand] after attempting to sell the child to pay a debt. The fact that Frank’s sexuality and the sexuality of others is of no consequence to him is fascinating. Plus, it demonstrates a facet of sex culture — people turning to queerness for cash — which adds some weight.) Despite his lack of reaction, Frank’s tendency to run his mouth scares Mickey to the point that he makes it his mission to murder the man in order to prevent his own father from finding out that he’s fucking a dude. Let me reiterate: Mickey is more willing to go to prison than to come out to his father. While that may seem extreme, it brings to light an important fact of many queer people’s realities: it is often incredibly unsafe for queer people to admit their queerness, even to family members or friends. While hate crime laws do exist in most states, violence against queer people (especially those on the trans* spectrum) is common and, unfortunately, commonplace.

Despite his determination to murder Frank, Mickey doesn’t follow through with the crime; instead, he assaults a police officer and is put back in detention for his efforts. This point is still very revealing of his fearing his own sexuality: rather than come out, or face the threat of being outed, Mickey would rather return to juvenile detention. He hides from his attraction to Ian because it would put him in danger, but also because admitting that attraction would make him a “fag”. Though Mickey never talks about these feelings (and some of this analysis is embellished by perusal of fan theories on websites like Tumblr), it is apparent that much of his refusal to recognize that he is, essentially, Ian’s significant other (even though they have no label) is due to the fact that he doesn’t want to admit to himself or anyone else that he’s gay. He only discusses his sexuality in terms of sex. His return from juvie in season three is pocked with remarks about how he missed Ian not because he missed Ian himself, but because he missed having someone fuck him rather than the other way around. (Being fucked in prison would have made Mickey “someone’s bitch,” as he explains — and that is unacceptable to him.) 

However, now that we are moving further into season three, Mickey’s feelings are becoming more apparent. He’s expressed jealousy of Ian’s other lovers in the form of verbal and physical violence, run down the street with Ian playing grabby hands and flirting, and even kissed him following a conversation with Ian about why he’s still sleeping with his sugar daddy. In previews for next week’s episode, Mickey invites Ian to stay at his house for a few days after Child Protective Services takes the Gallagher kids away from their home. The preview features a bloodied Ian sitting scared in front of Mickey’s dad, the very same man Mickey has expressed so much fear of and the same man who labeled the boys’ first sexual encounter with each other with a homophobic slur. This brief 46 second promo is very telling. First: Mickey is setting aside his fear of his father to be with Ian (he uses his father being out of town as an excuse to invite Ian over) and is doing something very boyfriendly. Could it be that he is beginning to accept not only his feelings for Ian, but his sexuality as well?

The thing about “Shameless” that’s really great is that it tells stories like Ian’s and like Mickey’s. It also introduces characters like the young Molly, a new character whose outward appearance is female but who possesses a “girl penis.” Her gender identity is clear, though the reasons for it are blamed on her mother “hating men” and raising her as a girl because she didn’t want a boy.  Her progression hasn’t begun, though she was told that she was a boy in the most recent episode and did not react positively. This reveal, while played for comedy, was also very startling — Molly’s “girl penis” has been discussed at length since her introduction as a character, though everyone around her reacts to it differently.

“Shameless” does not shy away from race and class intersectionality and it also doesn’t shy away from queer stories — and a range of them. In addition to Mickey, Ian and Molly, we see Ian’s former lover Kash suffer through his sexuality while also attempting to live the life of a good Muslim and we see his wife’s response to the reveal that he’s gay. She forces him to give her another baby and eventually, he leaves her for another man. We also see the social and economic downfall of Ian’s current lover, Lloyd, whose wife throws him out and changes the locks to keep his material belongings from him. (Lloyd is also the father of Fiona’s boyfriend Jimmy — his discovery of his father’s sexuality is wrought with second guesses and questions, a response that is expected but also very frustrating, given how many other serious issues plague the characters in the show.) Of course, Molly isn’t the only queer female character on “Shameless” — Ian’s mom leaves her family to be with a woman of color, which is controversial in the show’s contexts for many reasons (from the betrayal of her family for leaving to the fact that she’s with a woman to the fact that this woman is black).

Additionally, we get to experience a range of reactions to the queerness of these characters, from happy acceptance to apathy to severe violence. And it is this range of representation that is missing from queer stories on television (and in other fictional mediums). Queer people are not defined by their queerness — and that’s often forgotten by writers and fans alike.