I’ve been watching Looking, HBO’s new show about the lives of a few gay men in San Francisco. It’s like a very grounded Tales of the City set in modern day. And it’s kind of like Lena Dunham’s Girls, but with guys. Who are gay.
The second episode was called “Looking for Uncut.” Cool, huh? I was pretty excited that intact men were getting some premium cable attention. In the show, naive and inexperienced Patrick (Jonathan Groff) hits it off a Latino guy and his friend help him prep for the date.
‘You know he’ll probably be uncut if he’s a real Mexican. Are you prepared for that?”
Patrick, even after living in San Francisco for eight years, has never encountered a real-life foreskin up close. He Googles “Uncut Latino Cock.” Probably a first for television. He feels like he’s prepared for the date (and the sex) only to find out that his partner is cut. Patrick was relieved. I was disappointed.
I felt like this was a reflection on the naivete of Patricks character, his small world-view. But Nathan from the Foreskin Facts blog sees it very differently. He thinks the show is perpetuating the myth of the dirty foreskin, making it seem “strange, foreign.” I get where Nathan is coming from and I appreciate his dedication to promoting positive foreskin awareness. But I’m not sure I share his opinion that the show itself disparages the intact dong. To portray is not to condone. One character on the show is foreskin-ignorant. He’s a flawed and somewhat confused character. Just because he’s uneasy about uncut men doesn’t mean that the show is putting down prepuce. In fact, it could be seen that Patrick is being mocked for being small-minded. It’ll be interesting to see if the topic of natural penises come up on the show again, especially now that Patrick seems to be very interested in his English (and presumably uncut) boss. Patrick and Looking may get a chance at redemption.
What did you think? Did you see the episode? Check out Nathan’s article and tell me who you agree with.