Last week’s guest editorial from an openly gay teacher, Patrick Robert, set out to prove one thing: with gay marriage in the (hopefully) near future, gay culture is in dire need of a makeover. Yes, we are proud, wonderful, unique people, However, keep in mind that stereotypes don’t just appear out of thin air. Face it — we’re an over-sexualized, party-hungry group of people whose entire belief system revolves around an LA Fitness Membership.

You’re thinking, “hold on, I find that assumption offensive. I don’t think that necessarily defines me as a person.” You might be right. To be fair, I find it offensive too. Nothing bothers me more than watching a group of people publicly receive a soulless, offensive, ignorant, stereotypical depiction. Once a stereotype gets out there, it’s hard to shake. Slavery ended in 1865, but it wasn’t until 1964 when segregation came to a halt. Figure several years after that until biracial couples weren’t considered taboo any longer, and you’ve got yourself a long time line of discrimination against African Americans.

While the “token black” character still makes the occasional appearance in the media, there has thankfully been a decent amount of African American programs in the past that helped break the mold, i.e., “The Cosby Show,” “Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” “Sister, Sister,” “That’s So Raven,” etc.

I wish the same could be said for recent gay film and television projects. Instead, a shocking number of gay stereotypes still linger. Yes, at least we are being portrayed in mainstream media, but at what cost? Cameron and Mitchell of “Modern Family” are hilarious. On “The New Normal,” Bryan and David are adorably quirky. “Glee” boasts a cast made up entirely of underdogs, one of whom is the strong but young Kurt. The problem may not present itself to everyone, but it’s extremely jarring for me. These popular, lovable characters are made so glaringly gay that it becomes the main point of focus in their role on the program. Why do characters need to be so stereotypically gay in order to gain a devout fan base? For me, it would be more effective to see a character struggle, battle demons, triumph, learn and grow – all before learning that they are homosexual.

With the Miami Gay and Lesbian film festival this weekend, we have the opportunity to see a plethora of unique gay characters. From a documentary based on a group of prosecuted gays from Palestine to a love story based on two men that fall for each other in a small town in Texas, this festival has more gay diversity than anything we’ve seen in mainstream media in the past few years. Hopefully the big wig entertainment execs will catch some of these films and realize the need for diversity with gay roles in mainstream media. Sexuality is just a facet of ourselves. There’s so much more to us than our sexual identity, and when that is finally recognized by the rest of the world, I’ll be able to rest easy. It’s not all bad though. We’ve come a long way from the “bend and snap” hair stylist from Legally Blonde.