12 Beefcake Boys and Men of "The Fosters"

The Fosters (2013-2018) was a groundbreaking drama on ABC Family, now on Netflix, about a lesbian couple (Stef and Lena) with five children, biological, adopted, and foster (Brandon, Jesus, Jude, Callie, Mariana). Biological parents show up, and the kids have friends and romantic partners, so it gets a little crowded.

Episodes are pretty grim and angst-y.  There are drinking problems, psychological problems, incurable diseases, deaths, battles with bullies and homophobes.  But the remarkably open gay content makes it worth the gloom and doom.

Besides, there are endless teenage boys with their shirts off to draw in the gay boys and straight girls, plus a few shirtless adults thrown in for the adults in the room.

Here are the top 12 Fosters fav raves, plus one honorable mention:

1. David Lambert (left):  Brandon, the oldest son in the family. an aspiring pianist whose dreams are dashed when an injury paralyzes his hand.  He also becomes the victim of statutory rape by hooking up with his father's girlfriend.

2. Danny Nucci: Mike, Brandon's biological father, a cop who has a drinking problem, shot an unarmed suspect, and has a girlfriend who hooks up with Brandon.

3. Tom Williamson: AJ, Mike's foster son.  Where does he find the time to be a foster parent?

4. Jake T. Austin (left): Jesus, the second son, who has Attention-Deficit Disorder.

5. Brandon Quinn: Gabe, Jesus' biological father, who didn't tell Jesus because he didn't want the boy to know he's a registered sex offender.

6. Hadyn Byerly: Jude, the youngest son, who becomes mute in angst over coming out as gay (with lesbian parents?), but eventually learns to accept himself and starts dating, with probably the youngest same-sex kiss on television.

7. Gavin McIntosh (top photo): Connor, Jude's boyfriend, who has a homophobic father.

8. Tanner Buchanan (left): Jack, a shy boy with lots of angsty problems who Jude befriends.

More after the break.

Good News and Bad News about Jake T. Austin

You remember Jake T. Austin, who played the gay-subtext kid Max on the Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2011), and Jesus on the gay-friendly Fosters (2011-2015)?  Well, I have good news and bad news.

The good news first:

1. He's got an amazing physique, which he is not shy about showing off. Not like some other Disney teen stars I could name.

2. Remarkable chest.  He's Tiger Beat fave rave material.

3. He's still working regularly, doing a lot of voiceovers, like Blue Beetle in the Teen Titans movies.

4. He appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2016

5. Did I mention his six-pack abs?

6.  He still hangs out with Moises Arias.

7. He has never tweeted anything homophobic.

8. Nice biceps.

9. He's single.

10. He's been spotted on the street in West Hollywood.

And now the bad news:

1. If he was gay, he would have made a public statement by now

2. He has a girlfriend

The Wizards of Waverly Place

Even Stevens, Hannah Montana, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody are not unique. American tv programs aimed at a juvenile audience are strictly forbidden from mentioning gay people or ever suggesting that heterosexual desire, practice, and identity are not universal human experience.  So the Disney Channel has become very good at hints.

For example, take Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012), an "I've Got a Secret" sitcom about a family of wizards living in contemporary Manhattan.  Jerry (David DeLuise, far right) and Theresa (Maria Canales Barrera) and their kids:

16-year old Justin (David Henrie, second from left), 14-year old Alex (Selena Gomez), and 12-year old Max (Jake T. Austin, far left). (The others are supporting characters.)







All of the characters have opposite-sex dates and relationships. Not one is Wearing a Sign.  Therefore they are all heterosexual, and gay people do not exist. Are you listening, network censors?  Ok, then:

1. Alex is gay.  She and Justin are constantly fighting over girls that they both want.  She's constantly telling Justin, "I like this girl. You can't have her."  During the third season, she falls in love with a butch lesbian stereotype named Stevie (Hayley Kiyoko), but drops her upon discovering that she is a leftist revolutionary. Her main squeeze is Harper (Jennifer Stone); the two eventually move into an apartment together.  No one even tries to pretend that they are platonic friends.

2. Justin is a heterosexual ally.  In one episode, Alex spreads a rumor that he is engaged to a boy, Hugh Normous (Josh Sussman).  Justin is angry, not because of the accusation, but because now he won't be able to attract the girl he likes.  Besides, he could do a lot better than Hugh Normous.

3. Hugh Normous is gay.  Alex is hit on by lots of guys at school, so she befriends Hugh, knowing that he won't have any romantic interest.  In the last season, she invites Hugh to a party at her apartment, where he hooks up with a guy.









4.  Uncle Kelso  (Jeff Garland) is gay. He is masquerading as pop star Shakira.  Alex asks if it bothers him that millions of teenage boys have his picture on their bedroom walls.  He shrugs.

5. Max is probably gay.

His crush on Alex's boyfriend, Mason (Gregg Sulkin, left, with costar Dan Benson), is so intense that when they break up, Max falls into a deep depression, and when Mason re-appears to request a reconciliation, Max thinks that Mason wants a reconciliation with him.  

At age sixteen, Max turns into a girl, and hates it because now he has to hang out with other girls; he likes to hang out with guys.

6. Just about everyone else in the cast could be gay or bisexual.  In “Saving WizTech” (2008), the evil Ronald Longcape (Chad Duell) flirts with Alex in order to steal her powers.  He admits that he wasn’t actually interested in Alex, any of the Russo wizards would do, but she seemed more gullible.  Therefore he would have been perfectly willing to flirt with Justin or Max.

And that's not even counting the constant gender-shifting and transvestism.

As stated earlier, every character expresses heterosexual interest, and not one is Wearing a Sign. Therefore they are all heterosexual.  Therefore gay people do not exist.  Is that clearly understood?

The story of my date with one of the stars is on Tales of West Hollywood.

Aaron Stone: Superhero and Android

The Disney Channel is famous for its teencoms, light comedies about teenagers in real-life situations, sometimes with a paranormal element.  But Aaron Stone (2009-2010) was action-adventure, with minimal laugh-tracking.

 It starred Kelly Blatz as Charlie Landers, a 16-year old boy who must assume the identity of video game superhero Aaron Stone to save the world.  He has a gay-vague android sidekick, STAN (J.P. Manoux, right); a female sidekick, Emma, and a younger brother.

As with most Disney Channel series, there were many heterosexual romances, but also substantial gay subtexts. Charlie and STAN have last-minute rescues, full-body hugs, breakups and reconciliations.   Jason (David Lambert) crushes on girls, but also has a rather obvious crush on Charlie, and finally discovers his secret identity.

There is a gay-vague couple, the South Asian "brothers" Vas and Ram Mehta (Vas Saranga, Jesse Rath), who double-date with Charlie and Emma.

Darker, and with a more complex mythology than its competitors, Aaron Stone lasted for only a season and a half before sinking.  But there is still an avid fanbase shipping Charlie and Jason or Vas and Ram, or mixing the pairs up.

It's not out on DVD, but you can see episodes on youtube.

Kelly Blatz went on to star in Glory Daze (2010-2011), the short-lived drama about a college fraternity in the 1980s (his fratmates included Matt Bush).

David Lambert is currently starring in The Fosters, about a lesbian couple with foster children, along with Jake T. Austin.

Jesse Rath and Vas Saranga went on to star in the Canadian teencom Mudpit (2010-2011).  Jesse, who is gay in real life, is currently starring in the sci-fi series Defiance .

Gregg Sulkin: Gay-Friendly Werewolf

Of all the hunks of the Disney Channel's "my secret" teencom The Wizards of Waverly Place (Dan Benson, David Henrie, Chad Duell, Jake T. Austin), Gregg Sulkin's  conflicted werewolf Mason Grayback is the least gay-coded: he in love with Alex (Selena Gomez).



















And he brushes off the frequent expressions of homoerotic interest from Jake T. Austin's Max (left) with a roll of his eyes and a shrug.


Away from Waverly Place, Gregg has played quite a few hetero-horny guys, such as Frank Rowan, who falls in love with Camilla Dickinson (2012), and Wesley Fitzgerald, who is dating Aria on Pretty Little Liars (2012-13).










But he's had room for at least one gay subtext, and a gay character.


In Avalon High (2010), Will, a modern day high school reincarnation of King Arthur, with his best friend Lance (Christopher Tavarez, left) as Lancelot, triangulating their romance through Guinevere/Jennifer.

In White Frog (2012), Randy Goldman, boyfriend of the deceased Chazz.

I've never actually met him, but in 2014 I made up a "celebrity date" with him to impress Jimmy the Boy Toy.

Although he's been rumored to belong to Jake T. Austin's Gay Posse, they're doubtless just friends.  Gregg's Facebook page tells us "I'm not gay, I'm just British," and he appears to be uncommonly fond of female companionship. But being a gay ally is the next best thing to loving men.

See also: My Date with a Star of "The Wizards of Waverly Place"

Dylan and Cole Sprouse after The Suite Life

In 2004, child actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse became the teen stars of one of the biggest hits -- and biggest gay subtext series -- in the history of the Disney Channel, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody (2004-2008). 

 It was about two twins, the scheming teen operator Zack (Dylan) and the bookish intellectual Cody (Cole) who move into the posh Tipton Hotel, where their mother works as a singer. In an unprecedented 83 episodes, no one Said the Word, but gay subtexts were everywhere, from the gay-vague hotel manager Mr. Moseby to Zack's "date" with a popular boy to two boys obviously dancing together at a party.

In 2008, the twins, now 16, spun off onto The Suite Life on Deck (2008-2011), taking their shenanigans (and the gay subtexts) to a luxury cruise ship.  They wanted more control over the writing and direction, but Disney refused, so after 3 seasons and 71 episodes, they had had enough of Zack and Cody.

They also left the world of acting behind.  They enrolled in New York University, where Cole is studying archaeology, and is also an accomplished photographer.  Dylan is studying video game design and fine arts, and sells his artwork online.

In 2013, they toured Japan with Shin Koyamada as International Ambassadors on the U.S.-Japan Discovery Tour.

Both brothers are rumored to be gay, and Dylan, the more feminine of the two, has been linked with Jake T. Austin, but they haven't made any public statements.  Cole's tweets avoid any discussion of relationships.  Dylan mentions men and women both.  Cole states, in jest, that he's not attracted to either, just to cookies.

Dylan uploaded a nude selfie to attract someone.  I don't know who.

My friend Michael in West Hollywood claims to have hooked up with one of them.  He doesn't remember which.

The fully nude pic is on Tales of West Hollywood

See also: A Hookup with Cole or Dylan Sprouse.

Beau Mirchoff: Awkward Bromance

I am often asked if I can find a gay subtext in anyone, anywhere.  Let's try it out:

The Wizards of Waverly Place reunion movie (2013) splits young-adult wizard Alex Russo (Selena Gomez) into good and evil halves.  Good Alex is allied with on-off boyfriend, the werewolf Mason (Gregg Sulkin), while Evil Alex teams up with the hunky though evil wizard Dominic (Beau Mirchoff).  Guess which team wins?

Jake T. Austin, always good for a subtext, doesn't have much to do.

No subtexts.

This was 24-year old Beau Mirchoff's first time on the Disney Channel, but he's been playing evil teens for several years.

The arrogant equestrian Ben in the Canadian tv series Heartland (2007-2008).  Never saw it.

Danny Bolen in Desperate Housewives (2009-2010), first a murder suspect, then the hostage of his eco-terrorist biological father. No subtexts in his story line.

A teenage murderer on CSI: Miami (2011). No subtexts.

Beau is playing against type in the MTV series Awkward (2011-), about high schooler Jenna (Ashley Rickards) who gains notoriety after she has an accident, and everyone thinks she attempted suicide.  He plays Matty, who is competing for Jenna's affection with his best friend Jake (Brett Davern).  When Jake sees Matty and Jenna kissing, he angrily breaks up with them both.

Classic triangulation.

Jake and Beau, BFFs in real life, are playing up the bromance.

Found a subtext!

By the way, Awkward also has an gay character, Clark Stevenson (Joey Haro), who comes out at Bible Camp and is later caught kissing Ricky Schwartz (Matthew Fahey), the boyfriend of Jenna's bff Tamara.

Moises Arias: Quirky, Androgynous, Gay-Positive

Born in 1994, Moises Arias became famous to millions of tweens as Rico, pint-sized nemesis to Jason Earles' Jackson on Hannah Montana (2006-2011).

He made many other appearances on the Disney Channel, including starring with buddy Jake T. Austin twice, in The Perfect Game (2009) and in a 2009 story arc on The Wizards of Waverly Place (he played Max's disembodied Conscience).

Rapidly becoming a big star, Moises played in the Disney Channel Games and got his own reality series, Moises Rules! (2009-2010), with several up-and-coming Hollywood teens as his friends and associates (such as Sage Northcutt, left).

Growing up and getting buffed, Moises could have gone the teen idol route, but instead he opted for quirky characters in quirky comedies or dramedies:

Quicktime in We the Party (2012), about teenagers interested in "romance, money, prom, college, sex, bullies, Facebook, fitting in, standing out, and finding themselves."

And Biaggio, the androgynous person with "no gender" who mistakes gay for muscular dystrophy in The Kings of Summer (2013). 


He wrote, directed, and starred in Brothers in Arms (2012), about two brothers who must adjust to being separated when one is drafted into the army (played by his real life brother, Mateo Arias of the Disney Channel's Kickin' It).

But he is not immune to commercial projects.  He played Sue's laconic wrestler boyfriend on The Middle (2012-13) and Bonzo Madrid, a "strikingly beautiful boy" in the controversial sci-fi epic Ender's Game (2013) (I haven't seen it.)

Being a member of Jake T. Austin's posse, and playing androgynous characters, there has naturally been some speculation on whether Moises is gay in real life.

Being the bff of Jaden Smith has fueled speculation.

He appears to have a girlfriend with whom he's "madly in love," so probably heterosexual.  But definitely gay-friendly.

See also: Sage Northcutt.

Ryan Ochoa and the Gay Boyz You Like

Ryan Ochoa became a Disney kid after The Perfect Game (2009), about a down-and-out Mexican Little League team.  He became friends with Jake T. Austin and Moises Arias, and parlayed his way onto the Disney and Nickelodeon teencoms Zeke and Luther, ICarly (2008-2010), A Pair of Kings (2010-2012), and Mr. Young (2012-2013), usually playing bratty nemeses.

But the 17-year old has developed a respectable physique, getting him a place on my list of 12 Unexpected Disney Channel Teen Hunks.

He's also busy in a boy band with his brothers:  the Ochoa Boyz, aka Boyz You Like (not the Ochoa Brothers, which is the name of a Colombian drug cartel).

The Ochoa Boyz consist of::

1. Ryan, born in 1996.
2. Robert (left), born in 1998, also a Disney kid, appearing on Hannah Montana, Pair of Kings, and Wendell and Vinnie. 

3. Raymond, born in 2001, a big child star, with appearances on 10 Items or Less, A Christmas Carol, House under Siege, Hank, Special Agent Oso, Ice Age, and Monster University. 

4. Rick, the oldest.   I don't know how old, but he's in college.

Here they ask fans to guess who belongs to the abs.  Give up?
It's Ryan.

Their lyrics are mixed.  Some heterosexist:

Strutting her stuff, she looks fine, dudes try to look tough

Some not:
Let's go outside, run through the streets, and enjoy the night.
Jump on the cars, go ahead and reach for the stars
This isn't a dream, join the team, feel free to scream

I don't know if any of them are gay -- no  gay content on their tweets or instagrams -- but I'd guess Ryan, because he has such an androgynous look -- he's a little heavy-handed with applying the makeup -- and because he's been linked with several gay-positive alpha boyz, including Jake T. Austin, Gig Morton, and Dylan Sprayberry (left).

Christian Fortune: the Gay Posse Connection

I haven't been able to find out much about Christian Fortune, the #1 member of Jake T. Austin's Gay Posse.  I know that they were inseparable; they did a commercial (left) and a webseries together; but what else has Christian done?

According to the IMBD, he was born in 1991 in Pasadena, California.  His first film credit was The Perfect Game (2009), with Jake T. Austin, Jansen Panettiere, Moises Arias, and several other young actors who all became friends.  He's done some Disney Channel teencoms, some short films, and some dramas (directed by his father Todd Fortune).

He has three upcoming projects.  The most promising is Youngsville (2013), a sort of Blair Witch Project about three teenagers (Christian, Tyler Steelman, Christopher David) who escape from a juvenile detention facility in rural North Carolina to face a worse danger. Christian is listed as one of the writers, and Todd Fortune, naturally, is the director.

I've checked his twitters and instagrams, and nothing particularly significant presents itself.  He mentions "falling for a girl," but he also describes himself in gender-atypical terms as "beautiful," and seems to imply that he wants to have children with a male friend.

Other than Jake T. Austin, he seems to spend most of his time with homophobic teen idol Christian Beadles.

So I can't decide: gay, heterosexual, or bisexual?  Gay-positive or homophobic?  Jake T. Austin's buddy or boyfriend?

Adam Irigoyen: Disney Teen Operator

Adam Irigoyen, #10 on my list of Unexpected Disney Channel Teen Hunks, plays Deuce Martinez on Shake It Up (2010-2013), about a group of aspiring dancers.  Deuce is a teen operator who works at the hangout Crusty's and gets involved with wild moneymaking schemes.

Like most teencom boys, Deuce is obsessively girl-crazy and soon gets a steady girlfriend, but he also has a permanent, emotionally intense bond with his best friend, dancer Ty Blue (Roshon Feagan).  In "Parent Trap It Up," they double date, but tire of the girls' bickering, so they go off by themselves.  In "My Fair Librarian It Up," Ty becomes jealous when Deuce likes another boy.

Outside Shake It Up, his credits include episodes of Whitney, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Good Luck Charlie, plus 24 episodes of the obstacle course game show Wipeout!

He is also a singer, with a popular music video, "School Girl."  It reprises the plot and dance moves of the 1980s John Hughes movie Breakfast Club, about a Saturday detention, with no one falling in love, though the lyrics, in English and Spanish, are entirely heterosexist: "School girl, could you be my girlfriend?  You got me going...when I saw you walking with your books...tell me, will you be my girlfriend?"

I haven't seen much more gay content in his work, but he's friends with gay-positive actors Jake T. Austin (right) and Ryan Ochoa (center), so I imagine that he's gay-positive also.