Why is sexuality mentioned all the time?

I think it's because the theme centers around a couple having a baby via surrogate & how they've formed their "new normal" family despite their sexuality. It certainly does seem to take center stage, though.

I found that sexual preference was definitely of paramount importance in the Boy Scouts episode, but you certainly have a point. Sexual preference seems to be the epicenter of almost every episode, even though it doesn't necessarily need be.

To answer your other question, though, Murphy definitely can write things that don't have sexual preference at their epicenter. Obviously, "Glee" comes to mind because its a current hit show; however he was the co-creator of "Nip/Tuck" (which seemed to almost flaunt Christian's heterosexuality), & he also writes the "Asylum" series that airs on the FX cable/satellite network. I particularly like "Asylum" because he tends to use the same actors from season to season, but the story arcs for each season are completely different from one another. Season 1 was wrapped up by the final episode, as was season 2. I'm quite looking forward to what he comes up with for season 3. That show has absolutely nothing to do with any of the characters' sexual preference. I also find the somewhat demented story lines rather interesting. It's almost like he's trying to explore his "inner 'natural born killer.'"

Personally, I'm heterosexual, & I really hadn't noticed how 'homo-centric' "The New Normal" storylines were until you mentioned it. I guess it's because I've learned, over a long time, to see people & not color, sexual preference, or religious preference, though I'm also an atheist; however, I take keen notice of political preference as well as overt racism simply because these are choices we make about how to live our lives as opposed to genetic dispositions about which we have little to no choice.

Growing up in the '70s in Arizona, I was exposed to hardcore Goldwater Republicanism (an ideology I can at least respect because it's at least a thought-out ideology rather than the current form the right wing has chosen to take, which doubtless has Goldwater turning in his grave constantly). I was also exposed to a great deal of prejudice against any person that wasn't WASP--or at least a white Catholic or Anglican. There wasn't a large African-American population here at the time, though that's certainly changed for the better, but there were obviously several Native American reservations in the metro-Phoenix area along with a number of migrant workers from parts south of the border.

I didn't learn until about a decade or so ago that my family name is Spanish, via Mexico, & that my paternal grandfather most likely learned his prejudice from those who were prejudiced against him when he was a boy. It wasn't really until after WWII that he was able to reinvent himself & use his light complexion, not to mention his new British bride & his many assignments to Air Force bases in Europe & elsewhere, to alter his perception of himself so drastically that by the time he returned to his home state nobody knew him not his roots. We were "Italian" for most of my childhood, or so I was told. I always felt inside that something was inherently wrong with the racist stance many of my family & their friends quite outwardly expressed, & my younger brother & I are the only real political progressives outside of my paternal grandmother & my maternal aunt, the latter of whom is no long with us.

In any event, I've found a much different way through my own writing (mostly non-fiction prose & poetry) & erudition/education. It took my first philosophy teacher in college, who was so passionate about his chosen path, to really force me to question MANY of my long-held belief structures before I realized that they weren't inherently mine as much as they were behaviors & ideals passed down from my elders. Perhaps Murphy has had a similar experience in his life to some extent & this show is the vehicle through which he expresses that conflict--or resolves it. It's often hard to say with us creative types since some if that creativity often borders on psychopathy, a certain insanity if you will. :-)

Thankfully, it's not an unhealthy thing in most of us. However, I think history has shown that it can be self-destructive if not channeled properly, a la Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, or more recently, Amy Winehouse. It's never easy knowing where to draw the line, & I experimented with almost every substance I could find when I was in my 20s.

I don't know if any if this helps your understanding or muddies the waters further. I certainly can relate to what Murphy must have give through to some degree, though I use my talents in different ways since I learned & honed my craft well after I had resolved my self-conflict & self-doubt. It's a powerful thing, doubting your value to the world as a human being. I'm just saddened that it still persists to the degree that it does still today. My real hope lies about two generations away, that the pendulum will finally swing far enough over that when it does swing back it stops much closer to the center rather than going all the way back the other way, perpetuating the horrible cycle we've been repeating for centuries now.

All the best,
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