greybean.com

from IMDb.com’s Studio Briefing:

University of Minnesota researchers have concluded that TV shows like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, Will & Grace, and Six Feet Under have had the effect of reducing prejudice against homosexuals among viewers. Some 150 students participated in the study, conducted by communications professors Edward Schiappa and Dean Hewes and graduate student Peter Gregg. “If they find gay characters attractive, physically or socially, this can contribute to them reducing their levels of prejudice,” Schiappa told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “We’re not talking about changing bigots into saints here. We’re talking about an overall scale of 10 to 20 percent of subjects whose attitudes changed.” However, several religious groups maintain that such programs are designed to promote a gay agenda. Tom Prichard, president of the Minnesota Family Council, told the newspaper that if they “are trying to condone the lifestyle, that’s what I would object to.”