August, 1997
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Lesbian Among 'The Real World'

by Tim Nasson

In its sixth season now, MTV's The Real World offers not much surprise in plot - by now all must know that a half dozen or so college-age somethings, who have never seen each other before, come together in a commune-like setting, with cameras watching every move, and I mean every move, and microphones picking up every sound that they utter.

The most interesting thing about each new season is watching how each person deals with a camera and microphone being constantly in their face, the sometimes gorgeous creatures that are picked to flaunt their good sides and even, believe it or not, the locales.

This season's episodes take place in Boston from January 1997 through mid-June. Just as the characters are getting to know each other for better or worse, so the seasons also change from worse to better.

As in the previous five incarnations, The Real World sets its sights on confrontation and also includes a token gay character.

I spent the afternoon of June 16 (the day after completion of the Boston season) with the cast of the show at the place they called their digs for six months - an old Beacon Hill Fire Station which was converted into a funky abode for the wannabe stars.

This year's lucky winners? Twenty-year old, lipstick lesbian Genesis, who grew up in Gulfport, Miss. Twenty-five year old Syrus, one of two Black characters, who grew up in Santa Monica, Calif. Sean, the 25-year-old, testosterone-charged lumberjack from Wisconsin. Elka, a 19-year-old Mexican who grew up in a border town in Texas. The most gorgeous of the bunch, Jason (is he gay I wonder? He did say his best friends were women while growing up), a 24-year-old Arkansan. There is also Montana, the most confrontational and bitchy of the brood, a 21-year-old from Manhattan, whose name comes from a Kurt Vonnegut novel. And Kameelah, the other Black character, a 19-year-old from San Diego.

In addition to these seven main characters, one will find a plethora of others walking in and out of the firehouse and of each of the character's lives, including friends, hangers on, romantic interests and relatives, among others.

"Being able to do the The Real World was very educational," says blond-haired Genesis, who has been out as a lesbian since the age of 18 and in a relationship for more than two years. Nonetheless, it wasn't all peaches and cream for the girl that some of the guys on the show and many she came into contact with in the city would have loved to go out with.

"At first, when none of the other members of The Real World knew I was gay, it was a little uncomfortable, but after a few days, everyone kind of got over it. The first night I thought I was going to have to sleep alone because one of the girls was too afraid to sleep in the same room as me." Hello Kameelah, get over yourself.

"One of the best things about being in Boston was the freedom I had with my sexuality," Genesis continues. "There is no freedom at all in the deep south where I grew up. As far as I can recall there seems to be only one gay bar on the entire Gulf Coast. And here in Boston the bars aren't afraid to advertise that they are gay bars either. I was shocked at that. I mean, I got to Boston and said to myself, 'And nobody has burned these places down?' It really rocks."

"The whole attitude in general in this city is one of tolerance and was a certainly one of the pluses of being in the city. The worst thing was the horrible winter weather. I would never want to spend another winter here again."

Most of the other kids echoed her sentiments. However, they each had other observations to make about each other and the city itself and also of what they got out of being chosen to participate in the television show.

Among the more interesting?

Walking around the two-story firehouse that had everything but the firepole in tact, amidst a few other reporters that were patiently taking turns with each cast member, Jason and I decided to take a walk out onto the tree-lined street in front of the fire station to get some piece and quiet and so that he could smoke a cigarette. Nose ring in one nostril, his hair cut short and wearing jeans and a blue button-up short-sleeved shirt, we sat on the steps of a brownstone a few doors down and talked about his life.

"I never really wanted to get into acting," he began, "I did do some high school theater, but never thought I would be on a television show. It was really easy though. I walked into a coffee shop where they were holding open auditions for the show and filled out an application. Ten minutes after I left, I was called back for an interview and that is how the ball got rolling. I still didn't think I was going to be picked and quite honestly still am in awe over the whole thing."

How serious is Jason about getting into acting now that the whole MTV thing is behind him? "For the next four weeks or so, I am going to go back down to Arkansas to help my father on his farm that has been in the family for over a hundred years. It's hay season down there and he can use some help."

Jason's girlfriend whom he met in Colorado at college has a few turns in the show. Do they stay together? Hmmm.

When asked if they exaggerated their lives for the camera, most members are quick to say 'No.' Jason's perspective is a little more grounded. "Cameras suck. Plain and simple," he says. "It took a while to get used to them being on you everywhere you went, but without them constantly on you, you wouldn't be yourself. If they were on you just a few hours a day, then you could say 'Oh, he's acting for the camera.' But these things are in bed with you. Everywhere but the bathroom. And you don't even get complete privacy in the bathroom, because the microphone is attached to you at all times. If you take a shower, unless you left your clothes in the bedroom, the microphone was with you then too. Who knows if the control room was listening at every actual moment? But every minute was being recorded. How can someone fake six months of their life?"

Sean, who has won lumberjack competitions throughout the world, comes from the biggest family and is next to the youngest with five brothers and five sisters. Eager to start raising his own family, but still sans a companion, the hunk de tuti turned not a few heads as a bouncer at a restaurant/bar in one of the city's most glamorous neighborhoods, the Back Bay. "I like getting wild and crazy and working at the bar was a lot of fun. I am always up for that." What else he was up for we will let you see for yourself.

In addition to part-time independent jobs such as Sean's and Genesis' as a door woman at Boston's preeminent Sunday night gay club Avalon, the whole bunch had to devote four afternoons a week to working with kids at an afterschool program. While it didn't start off well, it got easier. "We made our mistakes," said all members of the show, "But all in all, we learned a lot form the experience at the afterschool program."

What seemed to have been the most annoying thing for each of the cast, next to having to be videotaped 24 hours a day, was not being able to tell anyone that they were from The Real World. "We had to tell people that we were shooting a documentary," said Jason. "After a few weeks though, most people in the neighborhood and city got a clue. But we still had to try and bullshit them. As it was, we had people shrieking on the sidewalk under our windows every night, 'We know you guys are from The Real World.' Why don't you come out and play?' "

Not a stiff price to pay, considering that they had the opportunity to live in an art-deco, funkily furnished (fish in beakers instead of fishbowls), converted firehouse, in what is one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the world. They were even close neighbors of Sen. John Kerry and wife Teresa Heinz, who are worth nearly three quarters of a billion dollars.

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