Corrie's Marcus - madly in love or just mad?

(This post was originally posted by Flaming Nora on the Coronation Street Blog November 2012, reposted to this blog with permission.)

Reposted with permission from Mancunian Matters.  Written by Sam Taylor

Can Coronation Street really get more desperate for story ideas?  Marcus the gay midwife has suddenly turned straight and is madly in love with a woman. 

Not only do trams randomly crash into the most ill-fated street in British history, but it seems people’s sexual orientations can change overnight. Marcus is, or was, a confident, openly-gay man. We had been through his tumultuous relationship with Sean that all ended in tears. There were even rumours the two would marry in 2011.

You might think it’s stupid that I’m using my time to discuss fictional characters on a poor quality television soap, but shows are meant to reflect ordinary lives, and more worringly, affect people’s perceptions too. The power of the box cannot be underestimated.

Proper cases of homosexuality are not psychological.  You can’t just change it overnight after meeting a very attractive person of the other sex.

However, the amount of homophobic bigotry that still exists in our so called multi-cultural society leads many, particularly young, gay people to live in fear of their sexuality. And stories like this on Coronation Street could very well lead to many young gay men keeping quiet and tragically staying in the closet, perhaps even forcing themselves into the delusion that they are straight.

“You love Kylie Minogue and Canal Street – you do not love her!” Jason screamed at Marcus. Perhaps you found time for laughing at this comment, but it’s the sort of thing that will no doubt have a powerful effect on teenage boys struggling to come to terms with their own sexuality.

And the stereotype is crudely encapsulated in Sean. Why can’t the producers accept that gay men are ordinary human beings?

Marcus and Maria’s first kiss could be seen as incredibly insulting to the gay community.  No doubt he’ll be gay again by the end of the year and the writers will pat themselves on the back for a job well done – but there is little respect for genuine portrayal of sexuality. It is the cheap TV were all knew it was.

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