Camp Gay

I'm Leeron! You can call me "Ron", or you can call me "beautiful queen" if you'd like.
"We're going to get rid of all those old gay stereotypes... through a lavish musical number!"
—Greg Corbin, American Dad

The traditional stereotypical image of a gay man. He's flamboyantly effeminate in his dress, speech, mannerisms, and interests. He wears tight (often leather) pants and a loose, blousy shirt that appears to be made for a much larger man, often with a bandana, scarf, or kerchief tied around his neck. These will all be in bright or pastel colors. Sometimes he wears extremely noticeable jewelry. He will often speak with a lisp, and is given to flouncing, prancing, and standing with one hand on his hip as the other is held out in a limp-wristed gesture. There's nothing ambiguous about THIS gay.

Extreme cases will include a near-opaque slang, referring to himself and his gay friends with female pronouns, and minor to complete transvestism. Insofar as he has a personality, it will often be vain, catty, and cowardly. Even though (compared to heterosexual men) he will rarely be shown having sex he talks about it every second of the day, when he isn't talking about clothes, the latest celebrity breakdown, or the celebrity's puppy.

The stereotype still survives because for some fraction of the gay male population, this is in fact Truth in Television. As such, this fact is greatly exaggerated by media, and this trope is made out to be more prevalent than it actually is. This can result in Unfortunate Implications, and can lead to the belief that all gay men share these traits.

Unlike Invisible to Gaydar characters, Camp Gays usually show up on television as caricatures or one-off jokes (see Monty Python's Flying Circus for a few good examples) due to the fact that they're still seen as Acceptable Targets, even among other gays.

Some professions are Always Camp, but not necessarily gay. Someone who's like this but nonetheless insists that he's not actually gay may be occupying a Transparent Closet, or he may actually be a Camp Straight.

It has been suggested that the ultimate ancestor of the Camp Gay was Oscar Wilde, whose mannerisms combined with his very public visibility defined the "obvious" homosexual for the English-speaking world at the end of the 19th century. (One wonders what would have happened if the other prominent homosexual literary figure of the period -- burly backwoodsman-styled Walt Whitman—had instead become the model for the stereotype.)

The Camp Gay can be seen as the Spear Counterpart to the Butch Lesbian stereotype (in embracing the conventional characteristics of the opposite sex). Contrast with Invisible to Gaydar, with which it usually actually overlapped before half a century ago. Compare to Macho Camp. Often overlaps with Queer People Are Funny

Examples of Camp Gay include:

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Anime & Manga

  • Shirogane from the Monochrome Factor anime.
  • Magic Users Club: Aburatsubo is a long-haired Bishonen who flirts outrageously with Takeo...
  • Bleach: Charlotte Cuuhlhourne. He's an overly stereotypical drag queen with long midnight hair and shimmering eyes. Extremely vain and obsessed with beauty, becoming even more flamboyant in his alternate powered-up form by adding a white silk mantle to both his shoulders AND his waist to represent a Flower Motif. Engages in combat with Yumichika Ayasegawa attacking him with ludicrously named moves such as the "Beautiful Charlotte Cuuhlhourne's Miracle Sweet Ultra Funky Fantastic Dramatic Romantic Sadistic Erotic Exotic Athletic Guillotine Attack". Bonus points for him being rose-themed, which acts as a Shout-Out to the Barazoku (Rose-clan) magazine that pioneered publications aimed at a homosexual market, resulting in the rose being used as a symbol for homosexuality ever since.
  • Moto-chan from Itazura na Kiss. He wears makeup, speaks in feminine Japanese, and constantly lusts after Dr. Irie.
  • Garfiel, the automail mechanic who apprentices Winry in the Fullmetal Alchemist manga.
  • Hanagata from Saber Marionette J. He is filthy rich, pretty delicate-looking, and always fantasizes about having a relationship with the poor, dark-skinned, hard-working Otaru. In the Latin American dub, he even speaks with a grossly effeminate voice.
  • Ginka from Kyouran Kazoku Nikki. Oh so very much so. However, the silly campiness has been subtly implied as a coping mechanism for something on latest episodes (the gayness seems to be here to stay, though). And if someone threatens his family, he gets sufficiently Badass. Chika prefers the badass side.
  • Leeron from Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. Pictured above, he's particularly notable because his outright campiness has become Memetic Mutation. Somewhat subverted in that he's easily the smartest person on the show and a highly skilled mechanic. Also this is Gurren Lagann so "cowardly", as per above trope description, is not part of his make-up (even if eye-shadow is). In fact, this guy seems to exist to prove that even if you act like a flaming queen stereotype, that will NOT do anything to stop you from going and having Crowning Moments Of Awesome, especially considering he's a firm follower of the show philosophy of going Beyond the Impossible. In fact, it's interesting to note he's one of the earliest characters after Kamina to adopt this mindset. Made even more hilarious by the fact that he is flamboyantly played by Steve Blum in the English dub, a VA often typecast for portrayals of growly macho badasses. And he does such a good job it's almost kinda creepy. Steve Blum seemed to enjoy the role so much, the Gurren Lagann dub blooper reel should've been called "Steve Blum Somehow Manages to Make Leeron Even More Gay and Creepy Than He Already Was". However, it's worth pointing out that he basically has two theme songs (one pre-timeskip and more ambient, and one post-timeskip and more electronic). The first features an electronic voice spelling out L E-E R-O-N I S G A Y H E I-S S O G A Y G A Y H E L O V E S M Y A S S H O-L E A S S H O L E. The second features a vocoded voice which is difficult to make out, but seems to be saying (among other thing) "He is super macho man, uber macho man. Leeron is so hard gay I don't have a choice."
  • Maximillion Pegasus' Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series persona wants people to think that he's camp gay, for some reason. In actuality, he's straight (it's proven, since he has a wife), but still very Camp.
  • Jeryy from D.Gray-man. The cafeteria manager in the Black Order, he likes wearing the frilly aprons (which he forces on the male workers there), loves making dainty hand gestures, generally acts very feminine, and calls Allen "cute" (though there may have been a perfectly normal explanation for that... ). It's shown in an omake that Jeryy reacted pretty badly to Krory asking him if he was gay though, since Krory is shown having a bunch of bruises and bumps and being forced to work washing dishes.
  • Lussuria from Katekyo Hitman Reborn is shown to be this to the point of a ridiculous parody.
  • In the Full Metal Panic! manga, Sousuke's high school has a substitute teacher for the men's swim team. He's shown to be very Camp Gay: he has the hand gestures, minces around, giggles, and... hides a whip inside his swim briefs. He is also shown drooling over Sousuke's body. Or how about those three Camp Gay bullies in an episode of Fumoffu who challenged Sousuke to a bet where, if he couldn't pick up even one girl, he'd have to swim naked in the nearby lake while they watch?
  • Scarron, a flamboyant inn manager from Zero no Tsukaima. See also Macho Camp.
  • Creed from Black Cat. He's got leopard print, high-heeled boots, a laced corset, feathers, takes a bath filled with rose petals (in the anime), and there's that business with Train....
  • In the anime series Blood Plus, Nathan Mahler is a Flamboyant Gay, but don't mistake him for harmless. If you anger him, he'll start talking in a deep, creepy voice, then transform into a Chiropteran and tear you to shreds.
  • Dorian in From Eroica with Love practically defines this trope on the surface, but don't think that he's harmless, it's an mostly affected act to annoy people, particularly the Major.
  • Daley Wong from Bubblegum Crisis, Leon's levelheaded partner. Re-written as Invisible to Gaydar in 2040.
  • Okuyama from Nodame Cantabile is so flaming it's a miracle his timpani mallets don't catch fire when he grabs them.
  • Nene, the openly bisexual (although more lesbian overall) Class Representative from Hyakko, may be a rare female example. She dresses very much like a stereotypical male homosexual with all those frilly garments—and also has the mannerisms down pat.
  • Mr. 2 Bon Clay from One Piece. This guy wears excessive makeup, dresses in a ballet tutu with a pair of fake swans jutting from the back, and his battle cry is "OKAMA WAY!" ("Okama" being Japanese slang for homosexual.) There's a certain amount of humor derived from how him and Luffy add the suffix 'chan' to each other's name, the latter apparently oblivious to the implications the uninitiated would pick up from a teenager and a flamboyant older man referring to each other this way.
    • Later subverted when it turns out that despite his over-the-top ways, he's actually an incredibly tough fighter and capable of astonishing acts of heroic manliness...which of course just makes his appearance and mannerisms even funnier.
    • Not only that, but later on in the series we get Emporio Ivankov, who somehow manages to outcamp even Mr. 2, but is also insanely powerful and is a major player in the Revolutionary Army, whose goal is to overthrow the world.
    • Not to mention that both can switch gender at will, including that of others in Ivankov's case, and that he rules an entire Disney-eque country wherein everyone, even the animals, is a male okama/cross-dresser. There's also another country which is only populated by butch warrior amazons. One Piece, wonderfully irreverently anarchistic.
  • In the Pokémon fandom, Harley is generally considered this, with varying degrees of seriousness.
    • Being the type of person he is, Harley seems to become somewhat more masculine when he's plotting and scheming against May.
  • Helmsman Bobby Margot in Macross Frontier is flamboyantly gay, goes shoe shopping with the Bridge Bunnies, and dispenses wise and warm hearted relationship advice. On the other hand, when he pilots Macross Quarter into battle, he's an unstoppable storm of awesome fury.
  • Milk's Landlord in Super Milk-chan.
  • Grell Sutcliffe, the spazzy chainsaw-wielding Shinigami from Kuroshitsuji. Everyone still loves the goofball anyway (except for Sebastian, and William Spears on occasion.).
    • In his defense, the red coat looks good on him. Who cares if it's a woman's coat?
    • He does, of course! All part of being a "lady".
    • Actually subverted, as Word of God says she is transsexual (and thus, actually heterosexual, depending on how you look at it).
  • Bob from Speed Grapher. Not to mention Bob's male, cross-dressing "sister" who runs a night club or the other male "sisters" who work for him.
  • Suzu falls into this trope in the Peacemaker Kurogane manga. (He's also a Sissy Villain). After being raped he becomes crazy and gay, starts wearing makeup, wears revealing clothes, has flamboyant mannerisms and prissyness, has a fondness for cats, and becomes extremely obsessed with Tetsunosuke.
  • Fred Luo from Outlaw Star. He's a Bishonen who wears pink, acts rather flamboyant, enjoys teasing Jim, and has a blatant attraction towards Gene.
  • The "Tour Guide" in episode 10 of Burst Angel.
  • In episode 3 of Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun, Shungo encounters groups of Camp Gay guys (with a mixture of Macho Camp thrown in for good measure) who, unfortunately for him, express an attraction towards him on sight.
  • The Quirky Miniboss Squad Filler Villain Suzaku from Inuyasha was quite effeminate and flamboyant and he openly flirted with Miroku and Hojo's ancestor; both were disgusted.
    • There was also Jakotsu, who is so enraged by the sight of women that he kills them (although he also often feels compelled to kill the boys he finds attractive too).
  • Sanzo of Eyeshield 21 dresses in drag, wears makeup, and is referred to as the "Queen" of his all-boys school. At the same time, however, he's also the running back on the American football team and has a huge crush on the monk-like quarterback/team captain and the Adorkable wide receiver.
  • Mako from Wandering Son. He's a romantic teenage boy who likes to wear girl's clothing, and is in general quite feminine. At first he seems to be Transsexualism like the protagonist, however he seems fine with being a boy and notes that he probably "wanted to be a girl" because he likes boys.
  • Nathan Seymour, a.k.a. Fire Emblem from Tiger and Bunny. Effeminate, flirty, and frequently wearing heels, as a flame-wielding super hero he can nonetheless kick your ass, especially if you hurt his car.
  • The pink-haired guy in Heat Guy J who made Boma's hologram mask


Comic Books


Film

  • Pre-Stonewall gay characters tended to be swishy to telegraph their orientation without offending the Hays Code. Peter Lorre often played such characters, such as Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon.
  • Robert De Niro's character in Stardust, though only in the privacy of his cabin. After being "outed" he seems to embrace his nature, but keeps from being "flaming" in public.
  • Albert and (maybe) Armand Goldman, a flamboyantly gay couple central to the story in The Birdcage.
    • Armand has a more subtle flamboyancy to him. Which is why he was only one picked to be "a guy" at the dinner, while Albert didn't make it past the tux fitting stage. "One does want a hint of color"
  • Practically everyone in the film Jeffrey is a gay stereotype, but Patrick Stewart's character, Sterling, fits this one: An interior decorator dating a much younger Chorus Boi (Who's an extra in Cats) named Darius with every part of Flamboyant Gay turned up to 11, while wearing a pink feather boa in every scene. Sterling is in counterpoint to the main character, who is terrified of AIDS and dour about it.
    • Bryan Batt, who plays Darius, was actually one of the leads in Cats.
  • No. 4 (aka Johnny Dazzles) from Meet Dave. Lampshaded when Gina mentioned "I should have guessed you were an alien because no straight guy is that good at dancing" upon learning the Captain's secret.
  • Most of the characters in The Boys in the Band to some degree, but especially Emory, who is described at one point as being like a "butterfly in heat."
  • Blazing Saddles. The dancers in "The French Mistake" rehearsal.
    • The director fits the description, also.
  • Hollywood Montrose in the Mannequin movies.
  • Quentin Crisp in the film adaptation of The Naked Civil Servant. He's the protagonist, and not played for comedy. But of course this is Truth in Television and actually what Crisp was famous for: being very very out in the 1930s and 1940s in London.
  • Zorro's limp-wristed twin brother Bunny Wigglesworth, in "Zorro, the Gay Blade". He wears exceedingly frilly, pastel clothes, a male but foppish wig and mounds of makeup. During his tenure as Zorro, Bunny uses a whip instead of a sword, wears a different-colored costume every night and dresses in drag to infiltrate the Big Bad's costume party.
  • Roger de Bris and Carmen Ghia in both versions of The Producers. Whether it is being played straight, or is being exaggerated to the point of parody (as Mel Brooks often does with prejudices and stereotypes) is debatable.
    • The original also had the gay director, but it was the hippie who played Hitler, which wasn't going to translate well to today's audience. So the script was changed to have the director playing Hitler instead.
  • Bruno takes just about every camp stereotype and exaggerates it to impossible levels.
  • There's one character in Dickie Roberts: Child Star whose sole purpose is to be a one-off joke character, even appearing randomly towards the end of the film to kiss the titular character, then disrobe seductively.
  • Adam from The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. And Tick as well, but much less so.
  • I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
  • C-3PO has been accused of being this.
  • "Sally Can't Dance," the requisite prison "bitch" character in Con Air. Also a Transvestite, Pet Homosexual, and Sissy Villain, all in one package.
  • Pavi Largo from Repo! The Genetic Opera isn't gay—he's bisexual, and ordinarily seen with women—but he has a truly excellent flounce.
  • Mr Chow from The Hangover.
  • Johnny from Airplane!, who dresses in a shirt and tie like the other air traffic control personnel, but otherwise is camp incarnate. And nobody notices, which is part of the joke.
  • Charles Hawtrey in most Carry Ons
  • Richard Griffeths character in Withnail and I is so camp that on one case he's wearing makeup whilst attempting a seduction

Tell him if you must, I no longer care. I mean to have you even if it must be burglary!

  • Queer Wars, as seen in Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin.
  • The French comedy Papy fait de la Résistance has Guy-Hubert Bourdelle, camp hairdresser. It's all an act, the guy is actually the elusive, dashing Super-Résistant.
  • Corky St. Clair from Waiting for Guffman is a Camp Gay in an Transparent Closet.


Literature

  • The War Against the Chtorr. Randy Dannenfelser, McCarthy's nemesis in "A Season for Slaughter" who shows every negative gay stereotype ever made. Probably a deliberate subversion as several "good guy" characters (including the protagonist McCarthy) are homosexual or bisexual.
  • In Stephen King's IT, the killing spree in the 80s starts off with a bunch of thugs beating a gay man within an inch of his life and then throwing him into the canal where Pennywise awaits. The thugs all claim that they were provoked into beating the man up because he was such a flamboyant gay person.
    • Sadly, this scene was inspired by the real life murder of Charlie Howard, who was beaten and thrown off a bridge, also for being gay.
  • Played with rather hilariously in The Dresden Files: Thomas's solution to the fact that he can't hold down a minimum-wage job because people keep molesting him is to pretend to be the absolute gayest French hairdresser in all of history. Not only does it help counter his supernatural sexiness, it also makes him more money, since that's how everyone expects a guy running an upscale hairstyling boutique to act.
    • As Harry cannot explain precisely how they know each other this tends to lead to a lot of assumptions about him as well. Almost always played for laughs at either Harry's uncomfortableness about this or interfering with his ability to flirt with the attractive women who tend to accompany Thomas.
      • Harry plays the part himself once, to give building security a disturbingly plausible reason for a strange man being in "Toe-moss's" apartment while the owner is out.
  • Anthony Blanche in Brideshead Revisited flaunts his aesthetic and poetic interests, is outspoken about his sexuality (in 1920s Oxford), and even treats Charles to a drink at a gay club. He also mentions having had cross-dressing interests in the past.
  • The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Patrick, mostly when contrasted with Craig.
  • Egon the Poof, the 1940's Berlin gangster in Sven Hassel's O.G.P.U Prison.
  • The baron Palamède de Charlus from the novel A la Recherche du Temps Perdu by Marcel Proust (Remembrance of Things Past) is the poster boy for this trope.
  • Magnus Bane, from "The Mortal Instruments."
  • Ruthless British government trouble-shooter Lord Pumphrey in the Sharpe series. And how!


Live Action TV

  • Probably one of the earliest examples: Ernie Kovacs' character Percy Dovetonsils, a bespectacled, martini-swilling poet rarely seen without his tiger-stripe smoking jacket.
  • Project Runway: At least three or four designers per season. Although, being a show about fashion design, it's pretty much inevitable.
  • The League of Gentlemen: Herr Lip, Keith Drop.
  • Hells Kitchen: Fransisco the party planner. Possibly Jean-Phillippe as well.
  • QI: Wo ist mein Handy?
  • On Top Gear when James May reviewed the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé, he said, "You really wouldn't want to be seen in the backseat of this car unless you were the Queen of England, or Elton John...which is the same thing, really."
  • Marc in Ugly Betty.
    • Subverted in one episode, where Camp Gay fashion reporter Suzuki St. Pierre is revealed to actually be a macho family man from New Jersey. He took on the Suzuki persona in order to succeed in the fashion industry.
    • Justin Suarez, who was in the Transparent Closet until the last season.
  • Jack in Will and Grace. Will actually said once, "Is there any part of the stereotype you don't fit?"
    • To a lesser degree, Will himself. Will's portrayal was Fair for Its Day, as he wasn't... well, Jack... but certainly camp enough to be noteworthy in Real Life.
  • Danny Noriega from Season 7 of American Idol. (Some people weren't likin' it!)
    • Season 8 competitor Nick Mitchell's on-stage persona Norman Gentle was as camp as could be, from his headband to his sparkly shirt. He tried to make up for his not-so-good singing with rather questionable stage antics, including what was described by Randy Jackson as "attempting to get to 2nd base with the show logo" the first week of the top 36.
    • And, of course, Adam Lambert.
  • Emmet from Queer as Folk.
    • Alexander from the UK Queer as Folk. As his actor has gone on to prove in Coronation Street, he really is that camp.
  • Dr. Zachary Smith from Lost in Space.
  • Lord Rupert from The Tenth Kingdom.
  • Carson Kressley, possibly the most flamboyantly gay of the five makeover artists of Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. And he'll intentionally play it for laughs. One episode had him jokingly throw a fit and storm out of the room after the episode's straight guy disagreed with him over a jacket.
  • Steve and Edie (particularly Edie), in The X-Files episode "X-Cops".
  • Sal from Mad Men is a dramatic example of this trope, and somewhat averted in that it's the 1960s and that sort of thing really doesn't exist.
  • The critics on the In Living Color sketch "Men on Film." The stereotypical characters played for laughs might make some PC types wince, but Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier were surprisingly accurate in some areas of portraying gay black men, like referring to women as "fish."

Critics: Hate-ed it!

  • Buddy Cole, the acid-tongued "alpha fag" from Kids in The Hall and Scott Thompson's stand-up acts, is rare comedic Camp Gay character who's the one telling the jokes rather than being the butt of them. Thompson has said that part of the character's intent was to acknowledge that the stereotype is based on reality while pointing out that there's nothing wrong with being effeminate, but a lot of people misinterpreted it as just making fun of gay men.
  • Parodied by Dafydd, 'The Only Gay In The Village' in Little Britain, who struts around town in an increasing variety of stereotypically 'gay' outfits camping it up as much as possible. Meanwhile, all of the other gay or bi- people in the village (whose existence he strenuously denies) are for the most part about as mixed and varied a bunch as you'd expect in real life.
    • Indeed, given how he reacts to the idea of actually having sex with a man, he just might be the only straight person in the village.
  • Kind-of parodied on Extras: Andy Millman almost loses his chance to get his sitcom filmed by calling his writing partner "too gay." He subsequently apologises... although another recurring character is the definition of the stereotype, (and who works in theatre, no less) with his flamboyance played for laughs without apparent irony.
    • The character (Bunny)was in a transparent closet in his first appearance and later came out to Andy, which embarrassed him in front of his yobbo schoolmates.
  • In NileCity 105.6, the Fire Brigade Chief, who takes this Up to Eleven. The other firefighters on the show are possibly Invisible to Gaydar, however.
  • The Petographers Stuart and Ollie from iCarly, complete with a cat they named Harmoo.
  • Glee.
    • Kurt. He partially defies stereotype, since he can fix a car. But it's made fairly explicit that he only expresses any interest in football or cars to try to connect with his mechanic father, and that outside of that he's camp as can be. No one who keeps a hope chest full of tiaras and kicks a football while dancing to "Single Ladies" can be described as a Invisible to Gaydar. As his father lovingly describes him:

Burt: You're gay. And you're not like Rock Hudson-gay, you're really gay. You sing like Diana Ross, and you dress like you own a magic chocolate factory--
Kurt: Okay, why are you being so mean to me?
Burt: --And what is wrong with any of that?

      • Kurt's habit of wearing items of women's clothing, his much-derided attempts at straight-acting in Theatricality and I Am Unicorn, and his very feminine voice push him out of the realm of mere camp and into real, unaffected genderqueerness, though he seems comfortable with his gender identity.
    • Sandy is the one-note, camp-as-punchline version of this trope.
    • Blaine zig-zags this trope. He genuinely loves football, and can easily 'pass' as straight, but he's also read Patti LuPone's new book, knows all the Vogue covers, dreamily says "if we get married, I'll get 50% off at the Gap!" about crush Jeremiah, and has a fairly flamboyant wardrobe - though next to Kurt, it looks downright conservative.
  • Subverted by Saturday Night Live with Dana Carvey's Lyle the Effeminate Heterosexual, in which Carvey plays a garden variety, married suburban dad everyone that assumes is gay because he behaves in a stereotypical Camp Gay manner. When asked if he's gay, his reply is a heavily-lisping "That's insaaaaaane!"
    • Stefon. Just... just Stefon. (For those who haven't been watching SNL lately, Stefon is Weekend Update's "City Correspondent", played by Bill Hader, who, whenever prompted by Seth Meyers to talk about relatively normal things to do in New York City, inevitably talks about increasingly weird and alarming nightclubs; it's probably funnier for New Yorkers than those in the provinces.) It's notable that Hader has not gotten through a single skit with Stefon without corpsing.
  • Many, many one-shot characters on Monty Python's Flying Circus. Subverted in the "Biggles dictates a letter" sketch, where the admitted homosexual character is Invisible to Gaydar; and the over-the-top camp character forcefully asserts his heterosexuality.

Grp. Capt. Biggles: "Ginger, are you a poof?"
Ginger: (Very effeminate and bizarrely dressed character flounces in, in a highly campy manner.) "I should say not!" (Flounces off equally campy.)
Grp. Capt. Biggles: "Thank God for that! Stout Fellow! Salt of the Earth! Backbone of England! Funny... he looks like a poof."

Officer: SQUAAAD!! CAMP IT!! UP!!

  • Noah's Arc: Alex, and to a lesser extent, Noah (Both are feminine, but Alex is more outspoken and flamboyant).
  • Dean Craig Pelton on Community is almost certainly this, with a dash of Political Correctness Gone Mad for flavor (he renames the community college's sports teams to "the Human Beings").
  • Mo Mo, and to a lesser extent Thor, in Nurse Jackie.
  • TV game shows with a large panel of celebrities were common in The Seventies, and most of them usually had one exaggeratedly gay panelist. The most well-known examples include Charles Nelson Reilly on Match Game and Paul Lynde on The Hollywood Squares.
  • Lorne from Angel is pretty much Camp Bisexual.
  • Subverted in one episode of Cheers where Norm attempts to make a career of a little-used talent for interior decor—but finds he must act the role of a Camp Gay in order to be taken seriously by potential customers. Since he's a burly, beer-swilling, and gruff straight, this is a tall order, and he eventually breaks character in front of some clients, resulting in his new career going down the tubes.
  • In the Italian (actually a format born in Canada/France) series Camera Cafe, Pippo somewhat fits the bill: openly gay, yet also an example of Camp Straight, given his clothing.
  • Moriarty from Sherlock. "Hi-i!"
  • Torch Song Trilogy: Harvey Fierstein's character. "Try as I might, I just can't walk in flats."
  • Mr. Humphries from Are You Being Served fits this trope to a tee, though his sexual orientation is never explicitly stated in the show.

Mr. Humphries: "I had just bent down to tighten my nuts, and there was a double yellow line, see? And next thing I knew, there was policeman behind me. He put a sticker on my helmet and tried to clamp me." (Ahem).

Manhwa


Music

  • This music video. Unrivaled.
    • Although this video gives it a run for its money.
    • I see both of your examples and raise you one of my own. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Or mesmerized. Seriously, the whole video is like a trainwreck. The good kind. You don't wanna watch, yet you can't look away.
  • Deconstructed by Canadian nerd-rapper Jesse Dangerously in his song A Single Gay Male on his Thirtieth Birthday.
  • Monty Python's The Final Ripoff comedy CD features "Interview With Carl French," in which the interviewer suddenly veers off topic and accuses French of being a "raving queen," "a real screamer, a real 'Whoops! Get out! Don't mind me dear!' limp-wristed caricature." The interviewer gets increasingly hostile until he reveals that he's only interested in finding out where French picks up his "innocent little boys."


Professional Wrestling

Has it's own sub-trope, Gorgeous George. In rough chronological order:

  • "Gorgeous" George Wagner.
  • "Exotic" Adrian Street.
  • "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.
  • Lenny & Lodi
  • Goldust (although the homosexual attributes have been dropped, so now he's just a weirdo in gold face paint)
  • Subverted by Billy & Chuck. They eventually "Came out of the closet"... as straight.
    • Rico, their manager stylist. After they broke up, he was given a singles push, and they raised the camp Up to Eleven.
  • Orlando Jordan wanted to work his real-life bisexuality into his gimmick at the end of his WWE run, but was let go before it materialized. It materialized wholesale when he went to TNA, fluctuating between Camp Gay and Depraved Bisexual.
  • There have been various other wrestlers - Ric Flair, AJ Styles, Shawn Michaels, to name a few - who have adopted slightly effeminate costumes and mannerisms over the years just to be "flashy" or "rebellious," but are otherwise perfectly straight.


Radio


Theater

  • Albin in La Cage Aux Folles, to say nothing of his drag queen alter ego Zaza.
  • Roger DeBris (debris?) and Carmen Ghia from The Musical of The Producers, no less than in the original film version.
  • Belize, and to a lesser extent Prior, from Angels in America.
    • More to the point, Belize and Prior in tandem. They speak fluent camp with each other, and tend to dial it down to a mere accent when talking with other characters, especially (assumed) straight ones.
  • Herbert in Tanz der Vampire—tall, slender, blond, soft-spoken though with a (usually, depends on the actor) deep voice, androgynously pretty and smothered in ruffles, his main purpose is to serve almost as the male equivalent of a vampire bride who latches onto the hero while he's looking for the girl he thinks is his true love.
  • Electra in Starlight Express fits this trope almost perfectly—he's bisexual rather than completely gay, but was played by the famous John Partridge in the rewritten London production. One of his groupies, Purse, is a perfect example of this trope when the actor gives him characterization other than "Electra's money truck."
  • Several of the characters in Robert Patrick's Untold Decades, including, perhaps most memorably, the main character in "Pouf Positive," memorably portrayed by Harvey Fierstein.

"But of course fairies have been disappearing since the 1970s Marlboro Macho Movement. If I live till noon, I will never understand clones trying to act like the very bullies that beat us up! They are living proof, wherever that still applies, that you don't have to learn to act gay, you have to learn to act straight -- which may be the origin of the verb 'to ape'."
"Must one go through all five stages -- oh, what are they? Anger, denial, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Well, back up, because here comes my acceptance speech. I am now, and have always been, a flaming faggot!! Responsible for style in its every manifestation, and I'm making my own five stages: flippancy, sentimentality, sarcasm, camp, and smut!!"

  • Tommy Boatwright from The Normal Heart, to some degree.

Hiram: The mayor is not gay!
Tommy: Oh, come on, Blanche!


Video Games

  • The Bishonen appearance of the Blood Elf male Player Characters is lampshaded and used for humour by turning them into this through some of their /silly (joke dialogue) emotes. A notable one would be them saying "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?". The fact they are voiced by Cam Clarke, who is openly gay, only helped.
  • Ash Crimson from King of Fighters is considered one of these due to his love for nail art, flamboyant poses and generally flirtatious nature towards a few of the male characters. Although, there is the Unfortunate Implications coming from the fact that he's from France.
  • Rasputin in World Heroes. Besides his voice and mannerisms, his "Secret Garden" super attack involves him stripping to the waist, grabbing the opponent, and sinking into a field of roses, whereupon giant hearts with his face emerge from it. Yes.
  • Jean Armstrong in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Trials and Tribulations. A few people even have trouble telling if he's a man or a woman, despite his facial hair and large muscular arms.
    • Arguably Max Galactica from Justice For All until you actually meet him (though his demeanor with Phoenix after you start representing him may swing him to Camp Bi) - Performer? Check. Shirtless? Check. Makeup? Check. Flamboyant? Hell yes. Pink/bright purple outfit? Check. Egregious hair? Check. Overuse of the word "Fabulous"? Not a doubt in the world. Then you meet him though, and the only thing he seems interested in is getting at Maya... It's also a minor plot point that he's asked for (and received) Regina's father's consent to pursue Regina's hand in marriage.
  • Jolly Roger in Banjo-Tooie, who works in Jolly's (which is implied to be a gay bar), talks in a stereotypical camp voice and offers "Seaman's Brew" on the menu. In a kid's game.
  • Pretty much every single Magypsy in Mother 3. They're referred to alternately as male or female, but all of them wear brightly colored dresses and have facial hair.
    • It doesn't really help that they all speak with hearts and wear one color of the rainbow (Aeolia=Red, Phrygia=Orange and so on)...
  • Persona 4. Kanji's Shadow Archetype is extremely Camp Gay, almost offensively so. This is understandable since it represents Kanji's inner fear of his possible sexuality, and takes on a somewhat tragic bent once you realize that the shadows are partially formed by the perceptions of the 'audience' of the Midnight Channel. Basically, Kanji's shadow was formed as an over-the-top stereotype of gay men because that's how Kanji (and the viewers) think gay people are.
    • And of course, the webcomic artist Hiimdaisy turns this Up to Eleven in her comic. "I'm Kanji Tatsumi, and I enjoy naked men. Ooooh yaaahhh."
  • Zhang He, in the Dynasty Warriors series, began as a character on the feminine end of the bishonen spectrum... and as of the sixth entry into the series, has progressed (?) to chiffon wings and pink high heels, and celebrates ultimate victory by leading his troops in a synchronized dance. Battlefield cries include "Was it my beauty that drew you?" and "Let us dance through the enemy's camp!"
    • And, when conquering an enemy stronghold, announces "This base is in serious need of redecorating!"
      • Although, that could mean a change in style to reflect that the base is under another warlord, as the game uses stylistic theme for each warlord in terms of bases, solders, and character design. But the phrase is still indicative of the feminine attitude that those in camp gay show.
    • It should be noted that it is never actually said OR hinted by anybody else that Zhang He is ACTUALLY gay. Other names are thrown around, such as "odd" or "freak", but aside from Zhang He's personal quotes and style, and those could be taken as other states other than homosexual, there is nothing that really tells you that Zhang He is gay. It is very possible that Zhang He is an actual canon straight character in camp gay.
      • Also, all of Zhang He's attitude is a universal preference of beauty. When actually examined, Zhang He's a character who values beauty over all, even looking for it in the heat of war.
  • Aqua Man in Mega Man 8. His introduction involves him jumping out, spraying water in midair to make a rainbow with his name in it, and saying in a mincing voice, "I'm Aqua Man, but you can call me handsome!"
  • The Magimel brothers from the Shadow Hearts games, who always seem to show up whenever you visit a new town. One of them makes outfits for dolls, and the other sells items (and often likes to comment on the [male] main character's appearance), but only if you collect naked men trading cards to get his "creative juices" flowing.
  • Florian "Bernie Crane" Cravic in the fourth Grand Theft Auto. Of course, it's more of an achievement to find non-stereotypical characters in GTA than the other way around. He drops it when he gets angry.
  • The very first "Wake-Up Call" Boss of God Hand. Flamboyantly gay, leather-clad, and Color Coded for Your Convenience. And capable of royally pounding -your- ass too.
  • Makoto from the 360 RPG Enchanted Arms has long hair and women's makeup and basically plays the role of Clingy Jealous Guy to popular student Yuki in the game's introductory sequence.
  • Dennis from Ty the Tasmanian Tiger. It gets weird in the third game, where the same tree frog who was gushing about cooking a "scrumptious" lunch at length one game earlier suddenly is going around with a rocket launcher...
  • One of Vega's winning quotes in Street Fighter 2 HD Remix is "I'm so fabulous!" Couple that with his fighting style and you get... well... yeah.
  • Jann from the Play Station 3 game Valkyria Chronicles. While having to wear a male military uniform prevents him from wearing dresses, he still wears women's make-up. The gameplay mimics this too - his potentials are things like "Fancies Men" and "Pollen Allergy" and he also has a unique potential named "Largo Lover" that activates whenever he is around Largo, which gives the player a short sequence of Jann girlishly squealing with excitement. The English dub even gave him a voice that may as well be Big Gay Al.
  • Gary the towel attendant and Purser Peter in the Leisure Suit Larry adventure games.
  • Captain Cumore in Tales of Vesperia: He's got a heart-shaped codpiece. And a heart-shaped hole in his clothes over his chest. Not to mention his voice...
    • His voice is Illidan Stormrage. Liam O'Brien.
  • Katze in Super Robot Wars Original Generation: Eternal Frontier. When he's not beating your head in.
  • Julius from Sword of Mana. His outfit is almost entirely comprised of pink and purple, and he has painted nails (yes, toenails too) along with the pink eyeliner and subtle lipstick he wears. There also happens to be copious Ho Yay between him and fellow antagonist Dark Lord, which is not helped at all by the fact that the only place on their airship for Julius to sleep is in Dark Lord's bed.
  • King Mardan from Dark Chronicle, a large purple fish with huge red lips, an effeminate voice, and a tendency to wink lovingly at you. Monica is shocked to discover he's a guy.
  • Dist from Tales of the Abyss. With a flying pink armchair to boot.
  • Ash, a mini boss from Streets of Rage 3. He wore a vest, tight pants, and high heeled boots. In the fight, he would rarely attack and if he did land a hit on you, he'd let out a girlish giggle. Ash's stance and running animations were also effeminate. Once you defeated him, he would cry out, using the same death cry sound byte as Blaze, and sit on the ground crying. Because of this, he was scrapped in the U.S. and European versions of the game and replaced with a mook with more health. Ash could be played via cheat device and he was absurdly strong.
    • He is an unlockable character in the fan remake and he hasn't changed a bit. Even his super special attack magnifies his...personality by having him slap his ass and hip thrust several times, dealing massive damage to all enemies on screen all while the background is turned pink and with hearts.
  • General Lionwhyte from Brutal Legend. Also a Sissy Villain. He gets bonus points because he's played by Rob Halford. Interestingly, though he's the leader of a glam metal themed enemy group, he's the only one that can really be considered truly gay. His minions seem to be in it for the "chicks and booze".
  • Oshare Bones from the Puyo Puyo series. Obsessed with fashion, and has a strong lisp in English while referring to himself using female pronouns in Japanese. He even gets the limp-wristed gesture as one of his animations in Puyo Pop Fever.
  • Somehow we've gotten to the bottom of the list without a reference to Tingle. For shame, TV Tropes.
  • Mayakov, from Final Fantasy XI Wings of the Goddess, definitly qualify. Dancer outfit, crazy verbal tick, extremely emotionnal, and let's not talk about his body langage... Even a coworker thought he was talking about the bride's dress when he said during a mariage that he can't wait to walk down the aisle, garbed like this (this refering to the tuxedo, contrary to his coworker belief).
  • Sendak, an old summoner from Bahamut Lagoon, doesn't hestitate in showing that he has a thing for Byuu, plus acts and thinks like a lovestruck woman.
  • Dragon Age has Wade, the resident Ultimate Blacksmith, though his partner Herren is more of a Invisible to Gaydar. While it's never outright stated in-game and only confirmed due to Word of Gay, it's pretty obvious.
  • Alman from Solatorobo keeps hitting on Red (and Squicking him out), wears dresses, and uses copious amounts of cosmetics. Needless to say, Red becomes rather reluctant to take quests from him very quickly and attempts to avoid social chatting when possible, sticking strictly to business.
  • The iOS game A Gay Dragon features a pink dragon named Melwin who roams the countryside in search of "pretty princes" while avoiding female dragons and warrior princesses. It even features an interior design sandbox mode where you build and decorate your personal lair.
  • Does anyone want to know why we call him Debbie the Fabulous? How about you look here.
  • Marlain from Dream Savior Gakuen.


Webcomics

  • Quite a few characters from My Life in Blue, although some of them are technically Camp Bisexuals. Played more seriously than usual, and occasionally subject to discussion.
  • Mark from Khaos Komix. Suprisingly, his homophobic friend Jamie doesn't really pick on it. Also, Murfs, to some extent.
  • Very Alternate Bob acts this way at first in Bob & George, but it's just to mess with Bob Prime. He's more of a Invisible to Gaydar the rest of the time (though he does have good interior design sense).
    • Also, Top Man.
  • Parodied in Bruno the Bandit, when the title character thinks he has turned gay as a result of spending too much time in the company of real gay characters. He immediately turns into this stereotype (except for the lisp, which he only adopts when he's reminded of it), consulting a book called Being Gay for Morons for further details.
  • Zack, And Possibly Skittles, Of Skewed Reality.


Web Original

Western Animation

  • The appropriately named "Gay Gary" from The Life and Times of Tim.
  • King of the Hill subverts this trope several times. Bobby displays several mannerisms commonly associated with "gayness", yet he's also had more than one girlfriend over the course of the show. Peggy's hairdresser is also very campy, but has a wife & kids. Played somewhat... err... straight(?) with Dale's father, the gay rodeo cowboy, & the rest of his set. According to flashbacks, he didn't act like this before he came out, though, so he may have just been doing it to fit in.
    • Bill intentionally does this in one episode, emulating another Camp Gay character in an effort to better his and Luanne's position at their hair salon workplace.
  • Clarence from Code Monkeys is practically the epitome of this trope. He flies around instead of walking (leaving a trail of sparkles), wears a flamboyant light blue jumpsuit, and sings everything he says, most of which is a double entendre referring to how gay he is.
    • "Double" entendre, they says. In one scene Clarence sings to himself that alone out of all the guys he has available to him, he wouldn't do Dean, his boss' big, beefy, dumb-as-a-rock son, then corrects himself: "Actually I would, 'cause that's how gay I am."
  • The Powerpuff Girls villain known only as Him. Take Satan, give him crab-like claws, and dress him in a red dress, thigh-high hooker boots, and makeup - voila. He tends to mince around, explaining his evil plans in a high-pitched, friendly voice that echoes slightly...but when he's angry, or just wants to make a point, he'll abruptly break into a loud snarl that drips with barely-contained fury. That's some good Nightmare Fuel.
    • And before Him, there was the Big Red Guy on Cow and Chicken and later I Am Weasel. Also a version of the Devil, also fa-laming. Anyone else sensing a pattern in classic Cartoon Network original programming?
  • Big Gay Al in South Park, crossing with Magical Queer.
    • Big Gay Al is super! Thanks for asking!
    • So is his husband, Mr. Slave.
    • Mr. Garrison started acting like this once he faced his sexuality.
  • The Random persona of Blitzwing in Transformers Animated is, according to him, "light on his oscillating servos". Unlike his other two personas he has a rather high-pitched and giggly voice and has markedly more feminine behavior. On one occasion he referred to a crane (that he did not know was nonsentient) with "it's big, it's bold, it's sassy!".
  • Another gay robot example: The Larry 3000 from Time Squad, although never explicitly said, quite clearly in a relationship with Tuddrussel; see the Ho Yay page for details. Similarly, there's also Meriwether Lewis, who was the Sensitive Guy to Clark's Manly Man.
  • Drama teacher Mr. Bickles in Fairly Oddparents fits this trope to a T. Oddly enough, in one throw-away gag he tried to take up Green-Skinned Space Babe Man-Die's marriage offer, but that may just be a consequence of having only a handful of adult males on the show, or a subtle aversion of No Bisexuals. (Subtle by the show's standards, anyway)
    • Of course, Bickles is a lightweight compared to Cupid.
    • I find that the campy "gay voice" is quite common in FOP overall. Many generic male characters seem to talk like this for the purpose of making various throwaway gags a bit zanier.
  • Various extras in Family Guy, of note, Brian's cousin Jasper from Los Angeles and Stewie's drama teacher.
  • Greg Corbin and Terry Bates in American Dad. Roger the alien talks like the trope, but he himself isn't particularly gay, even though he can play a staggering amount of different personas.
    • He does seem to be attracted to a variety of men though, Stan's father comes to mind.
    • Early on they seemed to be playing him as at least Ambiguously Gay, with some Bizarre Alien Biology making his sexuality even more confusing. He still has some of that, but more recent seasons have leaned him closer to Camp Straight territory. Lampshaded for one joke that required him and Klaus to follow a pair of attractive women:

"Do I even like girls? I must like girls."

      • It was finally confirmed in a recent episode that Roger is pansexual.
  • On Jimmy Neutron, Ambiguously Gay Principal Willoughby seems more interested in staging Broadway-style shows than education.
  • Queer Duck, though obviously an Affectionate Parody, is an nonstop parade of Retraux 1960s/1970s Camp Gay stereotypes.
  • Eduardo has seemed rather like this in later episodes. He plays with dolls, he cries a lot more, he squeals at the sight of plastic pink hairclips... Somewhat justified, though, when we find out that he was created by a little girl who wanted someone to play with.
  • Ever seen the Disney anti-Nazi piece "Der Fuehrers Face"? He's got just a short appearance, but the flute player in the Nazi marching band is as camp as one can be while wearing a Nazi uniform and a helmet. (That character was probably a parody of Herman Goerring.)
  • Ziro the Hutt from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Voice is based on Truman Capote. Most fabulous giant slug ever.
    • I suppose it's irrelevant that Hutts are hermaphrodites/use asexual reproduction and change sex every few years?
      • 1. Unless they're pregnant, they tend to identify as males, at least to outsiders. 2. DO. NOT. Bring. Up. HUTT. REPRODUCTION.
      • It appears as of the most recent episode with his girlfriend Sy Snootles, they're now trying to portray Ziro as a Camp Straight.
  • An early example: Random unnamed pirate in an Ub Iwerks Sinbad the Sailor cartoon. See here.
  • On Total Drama Island, the Real Escaped Psycho Killer ends up having these mannerisms after Gwen kicked him.
  • What? No mention of the Xandir the elf from Drawn Together? He's not fooling anyone with that girlfriend quest.
    • They had an episode where Xandir realized he was Camp Gay. It was the third episode of season one ("Gay Bash").
  • The Venture Brothers has Shore Leave, a flamboyant, lisping, sassy gay member of a GI-Joe Captain Ersatz who gained prominence in the fourth season. He manages to be a great character despite being a ridiculous gay stereotype because 1. his total lack of shame and commitment to his gay shtick Crosses the Line Twice, and 2. he's a competent, badass secret agent anyway. The Alchemist zigzags between Camp Gay and Invisible to Gaydar.
  • Subverted in one episode of The Simpsons had the character John who was gay and just about the campiest person ever (and in fact was played by John Waters), but he was not a Camp Gay. However, it was played straight with the gay steel mill.
  • Snagglepuss from the old Hanna-Barbera cartoons. "Exit, Stage Le-eft!"


Real Life

  • Oscar Wilde's public persona is probably the archetype of this characterization.
  • Truman Capote also contributed a lot.
  • Masaki Sumitani has made a career in Japan as a parody of camp gay with Razor Ramon H.G. It stands for "Hard Gay", so whether he's Macho Camp or Camp Gay is officially up for debate. See for yourself.
    • Actually, Hard Gay isn't gay, so he's neither.
  • Liberace. However, millions of women during the 1950's and 1960's refused to believe he was a homosexual, despite his extreme flamboyancy.
  • Paul Lynde. Again, flamboyant, but the mainstream public were somehow blind to it.
    • Or, they knew it and were loving every minute of it.
      • Perhaps something like, "Sure, he's a flaming faggot -- but he's a funny flaming faggot!"
      • Many were clueless, though, even some who knew him personally. The story is told that, at a party, a female friend of Lynde's said to him, "You know, Paul, I can't figure it out...you're handsome, you're funny, intelligent, cultured.....why haven't you settled down with a nice girl?" To which Paul, after a long, staring beat, replied, "Have you been living in a CAVE??"
    • See also Charles Nelson Reilly.
  • Older Than Steam: Philippe d'Orléans, younger brother of Louis XIV, was an early example. Despite being married twice and having a large family (he founded the House of Orléans, and his great-great-grandson, Louis Philippe, became King with the July Revolution of 1830), Philippe was known both for his boyfriends and for his meticulous attention to his toilette, including lavish use of perfume, cosmetics, and clothing considered feminine even for the time. Yet Philippe was also a courageous soldier and gifted general who took his place in the front lines beside his men - lace, eyeliner and all - sharing their victories and defeats, while his heterosexual brother preferred not to expose himself to bullets and instead dallied with mistresses miles away.
  • Quentin Crisp, noted English writer, actor, and raconteur. In his autobiography The Naked Civil Servant, he states that he came to a point in his life where he grew tired of the necessity of hiding his homosexuality, and made a conscious decision to act as flamboyantly and obviously gay as he could (without becoming a caricature); as a sort of one-man civil rights protest. To the point of referring to himself openly and frequently as an "effeminate homosexual".
    • What's astonishing is that the "point in his life" came in the 1930s. He was out gay and femme before World War II. Good gravy.
  • Fashion designer (but of course!) Isaac Mizrahi often takes on this role when hosting his Bravo series The Fashion Show or appearing on talk shows. Check out this appearance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, for instance.
  • Ernest Thesiger, the British actor most famous for his portrayal of the Ambiguously Gay Mad Scientist Dr. Pretorius in Bride of Frankenstein, taught the current Queen Elizabeth II to sew, wrote a book about embroidery, appeared at an entertainer's birthday party in full drag, and called himself "the stitchin' bitch."
  • Truth in Television? There are several studies about gay men and effeminacy. While they don't agree where effeminacy begins and thus get different results, you can draw some conclusions from the studies:
  1. Significantly more gays than straights act camp.
  2. Since there are at least ten times more straight than gay men, it might still be that there are more camp straights than camp gays.
  3. There still are at least as many, if not more, Straight Gays than Camp Gays.
  • Boy George.
  • Sylvester.
  • Darren Hayes.
  • Andy Bell.
  • Julian Clary.
  • Perez Hilton
  • According to this article in The New York Times, asylum-seekers in the U.S. who are fleeing persecution for homosexuality are routinely advised that this will help their case, even if they don't normally exhibit this trope.
  • RuPaul, even when he isn't in drag.
  • Kenny Everett, much to his own chagrin.
  • American Idol/So You Think You Can Dance contestant Ian Benardo.
  • Randall, a gay voice over artist, whose youtube videos include "The Crazy Ass Honey Badger".
  • John Barrowman, oh god, John Barrowman. The man is a walking, talking, sequined, caffeinated, ridiculously hyper cheese-fest. Doesn't stop him from being amazing though (or gorgeous, for that matter).


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