Real gay world

It is generally believed that about ten percent of the American population is LGBT. But on the 21st season of MTV's The Real World, which begins airing Wednesday 7, queers come in at a whopping 35 percent. That might not reflect America, but the new Real World was filmed in Brooklyn, after all.

It is generally believed that about ten percent of the American population is LGBT. But on the 21st season of MTV's The Real World, which begins airing Wednesday 7, queers come in at a whopping 35 percent. That might not reflect America, but the new Real World was filmed in Brooklyn, after all. (Maybe you saw our cover last week.) Though the pioneering reality television program has historically been friendly to the LGBT community, this season brings audiences J.D., a gay man; Sara, a former lesbian in her first heterosexual relationship; and Katelynn, a post-op bisexual transgender woman (and the first transgender person ever cast)—all of whom get jobs at the Center, and all of whom are out of the closet, post-transition and secure with their identities. With that kind of confident queer army behind it, The Real World is geared to show the country just how mainstream "gay" has become—and how the show helped to make such mainstreaming possible in the first place.

"The season I remember most was San Francisco when Pedro and Puck were on it," recalls J.D., 22, a dolphin trainer from Miami Beach. "I was 9." For gay kids of the '90s who grew up glued to the set on Wednesday nights, names like Pedro, Norm, Dan and Genesis frequently make their way onto lists of inspirations and into coming-out stories. "I felt Pedro's life and mine were parallels," says J.D. about Pedro Zamora, the season three cast member who was openly gay and living with AIDS at the time the show was filmed. "We were both from Miami. We were both young gay men. He inspired me to take care of myself and protect myself. He had such an amazing story and he was such a great mentor for the young demographic worldwide. Those types of issues during the first few seasons inspired me to audition."

In this season's premiere episode, we learn J.D. is gay just as the Statue of Liberty heaves into view while he's on a New York Water Taxi heading to Red Hook for the first time. It's kind of corny but cute. "I felt liberated to be myself," he reveals, "and there's every dynamic of the LGBT community in the house, so it has a lot of meaning for Lady Liberty to be right outside." Scott, one of the straight roommates, offers a more heterosexual perspective: "I just thought, Cool, the Statue of Liberty. I didn't feel liberated or anything."

Of the approximately 20,000 applicants per season, only two to three percent are LGBT, explains executive producer Jonathan Murray. And of those, between one and three applicants are transgender. To make up for it, the execs reach out into different minority communities in hopes of diversifying the cast. Among the LGBT community, the outreach is especially difficult because of the age factor. "The kids on The Real World are generally 18 to 24, and that's still a time in life when not everybody's comfortable being out of the closet. And we don't necessarily think the best place to come out to your parents is on The Real World." Despite being harder to find, Murray says LGBT cast members are the most desirable. "One of the factors that makes applicants good candidates is if they've had to face challenges in their lives. Most gays and lesbians have had challenges, so they tend to be an interesting group."

All three LGBTs on this year's show have had their share of hard times, from abuse and foster care to falling for the opposite sex for the first time and being born in the wrong body. And life certainly wasn't going to get any easier upon moving into their shared flat; for one thing, one of their roommates is a devout Mormon who they thought might be intolerant. "I was like, Of course they would cast a trans person and a Mormon in the same season. Why wouldn't they?" remarks Katelynn, 24, a trans activist from West Palm Beach. But Chet, the metrosexual Mormon, didn't pose much of a problem after all. "Everyone was like, Oh, can we come out to Chet? Of course you can!" he says. "I have gay friends at home who cut my hair!"

Where stereotypes and personalities flared and clashed in seasons past, this bunch is proving to be almost painfully understanding, articulate and optimistic. And they seem to believe that they have a purpose beyond winning a four-month holiday on their way to B-list fame. Katelynn describes this year's casting choices particularly well: "Typically when you watch The Real World you see all these party kids. You see insipid, vapid, unintellectual individuals. It would seem I'm the antithesis."

The Real World: Brooklyn premieres on MTV Wed 7 at 10pm.