Dynasty, Steven and Me

Once upon a time, there was a young guy. He lived at home with his parents in a small Scandinavian country. There was only one channel on television.

We have to go far back in time. Actually, the beginning of the 1980s. At that time, the guy was around 15-16 years old.

A series took over TV screens around the world. Danmarks Radio’s Television (as it was called back then) followed suit. It became a Sunday evening show at 9 PM.

The first episode was launched in January 1981.

Many Danes sat glued to the screen to follow DYNASTY.

There were many new faces to get used to in the series, but the most remarkable for the young guy was Steven Carrington.

There was something gentle and vulnerable about the man. He had a little flirtation with women, and then he ended up in a relationship with an oilman. It ended terribly when Blake pushed him, and he fell and hit his head, which caused him to die.

That caused Steven to this remarkable statement, a milestone on televison:

"I am a man. Just not the kind you expected. For too long, I’ve tried to fit into your mold, to live a life that wasn’t mine, to please you, to live by your standards, by your expectations. But I’m done hiding. I’m done pretending.

I’ve been running from the truth, trying to silence it, but it’s louder than ever now. And I can’t run anymore. I won’t.

From now on, I’m going to live my life — my way. No more lies, no more masks. I am a homosexual, and I’m not ashamed. This is who I am. And I finally have the courage to stand up and say it, whether you understand or not. I am a homosexual. I am gay."

(Text quote from Dynasty, I do not know exactly which episode, but must have been the second season 1982)

Finally, it was out officially. That Steven later ended up with women again and had many complications is a different story. That wasn’t what mattered to the guy in 1981.

The young guy was, of course, me, the author of this article.

I loved Steven. I loved his moral resistance to all the more or less criminal things the rest of the family indulged in.

I was fascinated that a man, openly, on television in prime-time Sunday viewing, could say, “I am gay.”

I had found an idol. I had been trying to make sense of my own perception of myself and why I thought about men and not women. Now, an image of myself began to form. I was GAY, just like Steven.

At the same time, it scared me a bit that he kept getting paired with women. Deep down, I knew it wouldn’t work. At least, for me, it wouldn’t work.

Today, people wouldn’t label him as gay but as bisexual. However, I can see that it wouldn’t have been as impactful in the series. “I’m bisexual” – Oh, so you can just hide the gay side and live like everyone else. No, Steven had to come out as fully gay; otherwise, the effect wouldn’t have been strong enough in the polarized characters in Dynasty.

I cried secretly when Steven’s boyfriend was killed. I hoped Steven would find a new partner—a male partner, not a woman.

When Steven became a watered-down version after an alleged explosion on an oil rig, got plastic surgery, and returned to the series as a different actor, Dynasty was dead to me. He wasn’t Steven; he was just a cheap copy.

Steven was always well-dressed. And even when he was dirty with oil-stained clothes, he was still attractive. Steven—the first Steven—was the guy I identified with and looked up to. My idol! My secret lover! The one I dreamt about, ready to travel to Hollywood to find him so we could be together.

Of course, that never happened, and I learned from gossip magazines that the actor who played Steven, Al Corley, wasn’t gay at all.

I was just a big kid about to start high school. I grew up in a Christian home, and homosexuality was definitely not on the agenda. Fortunately, the late broadcast time helped ensure that my parents weren’t too aware of the show. They usually, after a hard day working on the farm and feeding a family of five, sat sleeping in their armchairs. I’m not sure we would have been allowed to watch Dynasty if they had realized there was homosexuality in the series, represented by Steven.

Steven made a lasting impression on me, and that’s why it’s important for me to write this article as part of a series on people from the media who helped shape identity.

He was the first to open my eyes to what I was and what I could expect in my life.

Opposition and resistance because of my sexuality. Family who wouldn’t accept my homosexuality. Girlfriends who were wild about me, but I couldn’t fully commit to because I wasn’t heterosexual. A dangerous work environment where it was important to keep my true identity hidden.

Fortunately, much has changed in these areas since then. I was accepted by my parents, and I’ve never had problems at work. But if the world had stayed the same as it was in 1981 and during the Dynasty era, I would probably have had a more complicated life.

Still, Steven was a crucial figure in my identity formation.