ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how government impacts and legitimizes same-sex relationships for the (heterosexual) viewing public. An exceptional homosexual upholds various forms of heteronormativity, especially those sanctioned by government. This specific intersection of heteronormative values, government and same-sex relationships creates homonationalism, which forms to regulate normative gayness, queerness and homosexuality within a state. The resulting social legitimacy that heterosexual characters provide taken in tandem with the aforementioned government legitimacy creates a situation where sexual orientation is not a boundary to happiness and/or successful family formation. The reactions by the government and subsequently by the heterosexual characters with whom Cameron and Mitchell and Bob and Lee come in contact validate the same-sex romantic relationships and families as "real." All of the markers of being "exceptional" and "representative" are connected to government, the resulting validation given by the government and, then, how that validation is seen by heterosexuals.
