This will probably be very controversial and, after a quick research, similar shows have been done before. Regardless, Gaydar would be great reality TV because of a major plot twist.
Before I reveal what that is, let’s discuss the premise of the show:
16 contestants (or 20, 32, 44, or whatever number the budget could afford to have) all locked up in a house for as many days as weeks the show needs to stay on air, with the sole objective or earning a big cash award based on challenges and bonds formed with other contestants in the house. So far it’s pretty much like any other reality show out there, right? Well, not quite.
Why?
Because this time the sexual orientation of the contestants is what will determine if they will or will not get their hands on the prize. Except no one can reveal their sexual orientation to anyone else because that’s the basis for elimination.
Half the contestants would be straight and the other half would be gay. If the last man standing is gay, the prize is split among all the gay contestants, if he is straight, the prize will be split among all the straight contestants. But it is not as easy as it sounds.
They will be facing the challenges in different teams randomly put together as the days pass. The losing team will have to select the two weakest teammates, who will then have to face each other off in a second challenge. The winning team will then have to vote one of them off the competition.
So why do they have to keep their sexual orientation a secret?
Well, because it’s the best strategy. Sexual orientation would have to be kept a secret because they wouldn’t know who to trust. Think about this scenario:
Contestant A (gay) tells Contestant B (straight) that he’s gay.
Contestant B (straight) tells Contestant A (gay) that he’s gay too.
Contestant A decides to trust Contestant B, thus Contestant B has an ally. According to Contestant A, if either him or Contestant B win the contest, the money is split among the gay men. However, Contestant B is actually straight so he can play along for a while or try to vote Contestant A if the opportunity arises, so the straight men get the money.
Many other combinations could happen, of course.
So all the contestants would have to depend entirely on their instincts and put up a huge act in order to make their way to the top. It’s game theory at its best. Interesting, huh?
Now, I know this show could be controversial because some people would probably think that it is inciting segregation between straight and gay men. However, if anything, this show would help to tackle that.
Having a gaydar is basically relying on a sixth sense full of stereotypes and preconceptions to help people tell when a man is straight or gay. So technically it is a socially acceptable form of stereotyping. So what if this show attempts to mess up with people’s gaydar to prove that gay and straight men can be equally good or equally bad at exactly the same activities? Wouldn’t that be amazing? Also, it would be thoroughly entertaining.
Challenges would be diverse in order to further accentuate this. They would range from pop culture quizzes to football matches, and from fashion sense to repairing a car. In fact, each episode would have two challenges, one in which straight men are thought to be better at and one in which gay men are supposed to be better at.
How ground-breaking would it be to see the opposite group to excel at said challenges? It would certainly help to dispel the misconceptions the contestants and viewers would have about each group.
So, if by any chance this blog is ever read by some top executive at Bravo or VH1, please call me. I have many more ideas to pitch.
