Hi RealJames,
If you had an option in the vote
- They are sometimes entertaining but not doing the honest gay community any favours
I would have voted for that one. My wife and I often watch Japanese dramas and they occasionally touch on the topic of being a gay male. (Haven't seen any gay female situations yet.) Unfortunately the image is always the same. If you dress up like a girl so that we know you are different to us then we will laugh and accept you, no problems. If you dress like a normal guy and we wouldn't know you are gay if we walked past you in the street, run for the hills! The gay characters in these dramas are often portrayed as having a 'problem' and experiencing heavy internal conflict and sometimes end up killing themselves or running away.
Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love Japanese dramas (apart from the more bizarre ones) but this is a theme I have seen a few times and it makes me think the idea of being a non-transvestite gay in Japan is still taboo.