Why Gene Hunt is gay

[teyla]

I just realized something.

I've watched all 16 episodes of LoM at least two times now, some of them three times. On the second rewatch, I was trying to find my ship. Because yeah, Sam/Gene is the obvious one, but I didn't see much future there, not with Gene being either an actual heterosexual with homophobic tendencies or a fake heterosexual with homosexual tendencies so deep in the Nile that even a trained team of rescue divers wouldn't get him out.


I thought about shipping Sam/Nelson - and still am, because, hey, shiny shiny ship, isn't it? The gay and the racial issue in one fic. Besides, Nelson is fun, and Sammy needs some cheering up. But while the ship is nice, it doesn't really fit into the show. I will have to think of a way to make it work, because I want the angst of Nelson getting hurt/being killed in a hate crime and Sammy desperate and unable to talk to anybody about it, but for now, I let my mind wander into a different direction.

I was thinking about writing a Gene/Sam fic in which Gene is hot for Sammy but can't admit it, and so it happens that he gets desperate at some point and tries to simply take what he can't bring himself to ask for, only to have Sam beat the shit out of him and tell him that if he wants this, fine with Sam, but he's not going to get to take it by force. After some sulking and wound-licking there would be a long talk and then some hot steamy man sex with a side dish of guilt thrown in.

Now, in the process of finding a plot that would bring Gene to the breaking point, I did some research to find out about gay society in 1973 - and this was when I had my revelation.

Gene Hunt could be a stereotypical homosexual for that day and age - closeted, but definitely out to himself.

I have this smart book - Hogwarts Homosexuality, a History - and there's a chapter in there about gay liberation in the late 60ies till the 80ies. '68 - or rather '69 - was a turning point for the gay liberation. In '69, the Stonewall Riots happened in NYC, in which the gay community protested against the police raiding the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street. '71, the Gay Liberation Front released a manifesto in Britain, and in '72, 2000 men and women marched in Hyde Park under the flag of the GLF. In the same year, the first issue of Gay News was released. However, the average early 70ies gay man wasn't all that hot on all the attention. Homosexuality had been legalized in '67, gay communities had formed in bars and bookshops and baths, and many members of the gay population wanted to rather enjoy what they had than continue to march and scream for more. Also, the female part of the GLF wasn't too happy with the prevailing focus on the male gay society and split off in '72. Many other sub-groups followed, and the GLF scattered.

Now, 1973, we have the GLF still quite strong and united, although on the brink of breaking up. The members of the GLF are mostly people between 25 and 35. So that would exclude Gene Hunt. Let's assume he is gay, and aware of that. He's married in canon, but his wife is so invisible that she might just as well be no more than a facade. By 1973, Gene Hunt has trained himself to keep a very, very low profile about his sexual life. He probably almost never practised his sexuality, until very recently when all this Gay Liberation stuff started. With a population of about 500,000, Manchester is quite a big city even in 1973, and there are a couple of gay bars and places for the gay community to meet and interact. Gene has started visiting them, but he is known there under an alias, never takes anybody home or goes with them, and his visits are rare and random. At work, he play-acts his facade of the heterosexual homophobic copper like he has done all his life. It's not even a facade to him. It's who he is in his work life. Actually, the secret visits to the gay districts feel much more like a farce to him. He doesn't know what to think of this Gay Liberation idea, all he knows is that keeping the sex life separated from the work life has worked well for him all his life, and whose business is it anyway whom he fucks and whom he doesn't?


Right. Now I've talked a lot. I think it's time now that I wrote the fic in which Sam finds all of this out and shows Gene that there can be more to a gay relationship than a quick blowjob in a toilet stall.

Because Sammy would never let Gene blow him in a toilet stall, now would he. That wouldn't be appropriate at all.

Comments

[ausmac.livejournal.com]

Hi, I see you made it *(-: I've friended you, hope you don't mind, but we seem to have many similar interests. (oh, by the by, you should post a link to your Sam-in-jacket drawing, its lovely and I'm sure the community would like it).

I agree with your interpretation of a potential gay Gene, it's pretty well the same one I base my own viewpoint for Gene when I write him. Gene is very determined outwardly, but I think as far as his own sexuality is concerned he might feel a bit vulnerable, and Sam Tyler could give lessons on vulnerable.

Anyhow, welcome, and I hope you do write that story!

[wihluta.livejournal.com]

So this would be... how many fandoms you're in now?! *gg*

Never mind me, I'm just trying to keep track. :-)

Oh, and your justification sounds good to me. Admitedly I only watched... how many eps? 4 or so, but still, it sounds like it could fit Gene.

[mikes-grrl.livejournal.com]

Actually, that is pretty much the premise of my whole "Undercover" series. The next 'chapter', "Appearances" (still being written) deals with this issue more directly than previous chapters have, particularly Gene's reaction to the modern 'gay rights' movement which Sam, of course, supports and Gene thinks is short of insane.

In Manchester, Gay News was available, but a 'local' gay rag was not published until 1978; on top of that, and more pertenant to Gene Hunt's story, the Chief Constable of the GMP was viciously homophobic. Club raids and 'stings' were the order of the day and being queer (which was still considered a derogatory term in the 70s) was literally a life destroying matter.

I've speculated that Gene is 'old school gay' which is exactly how you've described him: living a secret life and in a set 'role' and very much a product of those times. It's a terribly interesting perspective that only a few of us (DorsetGirl in "Signals", for one really good example) have explored.

Would love to see your own story that you described. Sounds lovely!

[ardnaid.livejournal.com]

Gene cannot be gay because he must be with Alex. :( My little heart desires it. But being in the closet would explain why he hasn't done anything even though he's had 9 zillion chances.

I don't know if you've seen Ashes to Ashes yet. If not, disregard this comment.

P.S. Life on Mars DVDs will soon be owned by me. I must have John Simm at my fingertips (mmmm) so I can easily share him and an amazing show.

[hry2007.livejournal.com]

My feeling is that, if Gene is queer, his outward homophobia make him not all that worthy of sexual pleasure. I mean, if a married closeted coworker made a pass at me, I'd be pissed, as would most out queers. The hypocrisy would piss Sam off, and Gene making a pass is assuming that Sam is cool with adding even more skeletons to that closet. (pun not intended.)

Sam's not out, of course, but I find the idea of him being in the closet harder to buy and from Gene. It's one thing to simply not be out, and another to have an asshole persona for cover-up.

Stuff to chew on, but Sam isn't the king of healthy relationships so there's some leway in any pairing :)

[violethamster.livejournal.com]

I think this scenario is the one that conflicts with canon least. Gene seems to hide personal stuff under his larger than life persona anyway. It's possible that he might hide any tendencies he had from himself (such as in the scene where he says he doesn't have addictions then takes a swig from his flask), but I think he'd probably be aware of them but desperate to hide them. He does seem more anxious than the others about continually reasserting that he's not a poof.

On the other hand, I'm surprised that the usual portrayal of Sam in fic is that he's sexually confident and aware of any proclivities he might have due to being a 21st century man. Sam is an incredibly repressed person and seems uncomfortable with anything to do with sex. If he were gay I'd think it would be very possible for him to hide it from himself entirely.

[totallywow.livejournal.com]

Sam/Nelson!

I recently made a post asking if there was any about. So feel free to ship, I'll jump on board..

but ah, Sam/Gene, my OTP. *kisses them hard*

I hope you do write your fic, and I look very much forward to it if you do! :)

[bell]

Lovely post and excellent research, and still the only thing I can come up with to say is: Sam/Nelson! You're right, Nelson *would* help Sam cheer up. I'm mostly a Sam/Gene girl myself, but I cannot deny the allure of Sam/Nelson as well. :)