Queering the Guido or Guidoing the Queer? Performing Gender and Identity on Comedy Television

Abstract

With the onset of the new millennium and premium channels, a shift in the representation of queer Italian Americans on television begins to emerge. Although subscription channels pioneer more inclusive programming, queer Italian American visibility continued to exploit antiquated ethnic stereotypes, leaving the situational comedy genre of network television to usher in a more evolved and multi-dimensional queer Italian American character. This chapter considers how Will & Grace, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Difficult People understand LGBTQIA PLUS_SPI characters of Italian descent on television and invites the reader to consider why queer Italian American characters exist only as stereotypes regarding ethnicity or sexuality. Moreover, it questions: Can an Italian American queer identity exist only if it inhabits a fantasy world sustained by television, where stereotypes are a means to make palatable that which was taboo for the Italian American community? Finally, the chapter maintains that, as a lens to observe and understand LGBTQIA PLUS_SPI Italian American identity, humor facilitates discussions about social injustices and changes affecting the queer community. The driving force of the three series, laughter, depoliticizes gender and sexuality and creates more palatable queer Italian American spaces on television.