Gay.com Column: "The Amazing Race": The Groundbreaking Lesbians

After eleven seasons, 268 racers, and countless ratings grabs, you'd think there would be little that could surprise a seasoned "The Amazing Race" watcher. But when the new teams for the twelfth season were announced, there was one configuration that I certainly hadn't expected.

With the kickass chyron of "Married Ministers", lesbians Kate and Pat quickly became for me the season's most interesting team (the 'Goth' team be damned). Not only was there just one lesbian in the past seasons of "TAR", but such a partnership had never before been seen on reality TV.

Add to that their religious background, and you had the ingredients for an incendiary reaction.

But one episode into the popular reality program, the team has seemingly drawn no flak or homophobic backlash. While there are anecdotal stories of ex-fans now boycotting the show, there have been equal anecdotal stories of converts because of the couple. More importantly, there has been no reaction at all from the mainstream or online press corps.

This might be in part due to the angle of their "TAR" journey thus far. In the premiere, the lesbian ministerial couple were portrayed sans 'Lesbian!!!' or 'Ministers!!!'. Aside from a few throwaway lines about their religion, the two were depicted as any other couple.

A large part of the press corps' silence may also be due to "TAR" history. While Kate and Pat may be the first lesbian couple, "TAR" has traditionally been good to the G in the LGBT community. From the first season's 'Guidos' Joe and Bill, to the fourth season's winners Chip and Reichen, to the tenth season's boyfriends Tom and Terry, to the many more unmentioned, "TAR" has gone out of its way to include gay contestants in its casts. So while a lesbian couple may be a little late, Kate and Pat's inclusion is not that surprising in hindsight, considering the G-leanings of "TAR" history.

But despite both of these highly plausible explanations, I can't help but hope that the non-buzz is caused by another reason: that it's not Big News because of a growing majority maturity. This, to me, would be the best reason of all.

However, having said that, I hope that this casting does create some waves - not on the part of audiences at home, but on the part of television writers and producers.

This is because the casting exposes a glaring and embarrassing imbalance: the paucity of lesbians compared to gays in mainstream television.

While gay men have had it fairly good in terms of mainstream TV roles - besides "TAR", a few other big names include "Desperate Housewives", "Brothers and Sisters", "Will and Grace", "As The World Turns", et cetera - I'm hard-pressed to think of many substantial lesbian roles. "The L Word" is canceled out by "Queer as Folk", and episode arcs on "Nip/Tuck" don't exactly scream exposure. Neither am I impressed by the fact that lesbian kisses are still sweeps or finale stunts (see: "The O.C.", "Dirt", et cetera).

So more than just an inspired choice on the part of "TAR" producers, Kate and Pat represent to me a big step forward for lesbians - and I certainly hope that others in power pick up on this example.

But, in the meantime, I'm glad that this couple is a team that I can root for without feeling guilty.

I didn't expect them, but I do like them, and even if they're not the definition of 'efficient', at least they seem to genuinely love the race and each other. Their interview quote that "TAR" is a "love letter to the planet" may also be the best summation of the show that I've heard.

So here's to unexpected and likable teams making it as far as they possibly can. And if they pave the way for other lesbians in television, so much the better. I look forward to the day when I won't be surprised by such casting.

"The Amazing Race" spans the globe on Sundays on CBS, at 8 pm / 7 pm central.