Experiment gay
Twenty years later, groundbreaking undertaking is re-released in the midst of growing Diverse attacks
Experiment: Gay and Straight
June 2023
BY MARK SAXENMEYER
Twenty years ago this month, the documentary I produced, directed and hosted, Experiment: Same-sex attracted and Straight(EGS), was transmit on Chicago television, followed by nearly two dozen film festival screenings around the globe–from San Francisco to Montreal, Belgium to South Africa. The proposal, designed to foster a better understanding between male lover and straight Americans, was hailed by American Journalism Review as “infinitely watchable” and lauded with prestigious broadcasting, film and journalism awards. It remains one of my proudest career and personal achievements.
And yet now, two decades later, I watch it with a sense of melancholy. Much of what I think EGS aimed to achieve and celebrate is being publicly and systematically unraveled by some of the most evil and dangerous threats in 21st century America.
I called the project “reality TV with a purpose.” We invited five gay and five straight Chicago-area residents, all strangers to one another, to live together for one week. They discussed a mult
Student pretends to be gay for ‘social experiment’
Christopher “Topher” McGehee, mass contact sophomore, conducted a social experiment to get reactions for an essay he wrote for his academic research and writing class. McGehee posted a video on Facebook on Sept. 15 making claims that he was “coming out of the closet,” stating that he was gay.
The video has received 1,500 views on Facebook, along with 107 likes and 31 comments that primarily showed support for McGehee’s decision to come out. However, five days later on Sept. 20, McGehee posted a second video retracting his previous claims, and said that he was straight and it had all been for an essay he had to write over reactions. The second video has received 1,600 views on Facebook, along with 41 likes and 29 comments that were primarily negative.
“I’m a big person over controversy and awareness,” McGehee said. “I’m not lgbtq+, but I thought if I made this video I could see, one, what it’s like to be in [the LGBTQ community’s] shoes, and two, it gave me a higher awareness of what they have to depart through. Plus I got to see people’s correct selves.”
McGehee said he realizes the stereotypes that surround being a
Experiment: Gay and Straight
Experiment: Homosexual and Straight is a 90-minute documentary, now accessible for free viewing here on Vimeo: vimeo.com/556513767/13d02770d5
An extended trailer for the production can be viewed here: vimeo.com/835987586
In June 2023, The Reporters Inc. celebrated the 20th anniversary of the film with an in-depth look at its impact, interviews with participants, and more. Read it here: thereporters.org/article/experiment-gay-and-straight/#more-4554
By approaching the subject of sexuality through the eyes, minds and worlds of straight people, as well as gay people, Experiment: Gay and Straight aimed to help a majority group (heterosexuals) and a minority group (homosexuals) reach a better empathetic of one another by discussing, debating and, in some cases, even resolving their differences in an environment where “political correctness” was nowhere to be found–by design.
In essence, Experiment: Gay and Straight together hard-edged news reporting with the increasingly popular framework of “reality television.” We presented the subject in an accessible format for viewers who might otherwise tu
Coming Out Week 2004 at Oakland University
Film: "The Experiment: Same-sex attracted and Straight"
The Center for Student Activities, the S.A.F.E. On Campus program, and the Triangle Foundation proudly present, as part of Coming Out Week 2004 at Oakland University,
The Experiment: Homosexual and Straight"
Wednesday, October 6, 2004
6 PM, Student Lounge, Kresge Library (campus map)
Featured for the first occasion at the 2004 Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Production Festival, this film "chronicles the lives of ten Chicago-area strangers of varied ages, backgrounds, ethnicities and prejudices during a week-long period in which they live together inside a Chicago home. Five are gay, and five are straight; they agree to leave behind their jobs and their families, and to cut themselves off entirely from the
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