Everyone in “Seinfeld” is queer, actually
Did you ever notice how every sitcom in the 90s ended up grappling with gay panic?From Ross’s paranoia around his lesbian ex-wife in the early years of friends to the way that Frasier made sexuality farcical in episodes like ‘The Matchmaker’ and ‘The Ski Lodge’.
The 90s were the decade of both the explosion of shows that would essentially create the modern American sitcom, and the spectre of gay panic that would periodically rear its head.
But of all the major shows to come out during that decade, the one that approached gay panic the most—and in the most interesting ways—was “Seinfeld.” While it’s tempting to assume that this queerness begins and ends with the iconic Season 4 episode “The Outing” (which won a GLAAD award), “Seinfeld” is, surprisingly, much queerer than that.
It’s not just because of the ways in which it (continually) approaches gay panic, but by seeming to create a meaningfully queer, somewhat fluid space for its characters.
