Andrea James' Shared Experiences

No sooner do I say things are winding down on Transamerican Love Story coverage than I find this very good interview by Bianca James (no relation) with Calpernia’s new boyfriend Shawn!

• Meet Shawn, Winner of Transamerican Love Story! (bianca @ school for scandal)

Shawn makes a lot of insightful comments about how someone gets shaped by editing on shows like these, and what it’s like for a straight guy to be on a show that definitely had a gay male undercurrent to its aesthetic (I said as much during deliberations a couple of times, but that never made it in the show):

That said, the editing is what it is. If you met me in person, you’d have a totally different impression. Even if you go on my myspace page, you’ll see there’s a lot more to me than is portrayed on TV, and there’s a lot more to the show than is portrayed on TV. There were times when I cringed, there were times I felt uncomfortable on the show like in the beginning, when I didn’t participate in the whole harem worship thing. That was real- I was not having that, never in my life would I throw myself down in front of any person like that, whether they were my idol or not. That kind of behavior is reserved for my mother on her deathbed. A lot of the activities were very flamboyant and not something I’m into at all. One of the things that came out on the show was people would say “oh you’re homophobic, or you’re not comfortable with this,” well, you know what? I’m straight. I never wanted to act gay, I wasn’t there to act gay. But it was a show for a gay network, so they had a lot of “gay friendly activities,” in other words, strip all the clothes off the dudes.

Thanks to Bianca for the great interview!

Below: Shawn just before the final elimination.

From Transamerican…

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