Talk:Syed Masood

Bisexual
Can people please stop adding this page to Category:Fictional bisexuals. The character identifies as gay (he told his mother he is gay). Yes he's had sex with Amira five times but this somehow wasn't an issue for editors until recently. He slept with Amira to "do the right thing" not because he's not gay. Until he says "I'm bisexual" or some other source confirms that he's actually bisexual, then he's not bisexual. anemoneprojectors  talk  00:38, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * cant he just stay in the LGBT cat, then it covers both? I am confused though, as the fact that he can get it up for Amira does sort of indicate that he is sexually aroused by women, even if his preference is men. doesnt it?  GunGagdin Moan 00:54, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Well, I can't read the minds of the writers, but if he identifies as gay then he's gay. anemoneprojectors   talk  01:03, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I am for leaving him in the LGBT cat - unless it no longer exists as I cant find it.  GunGagdin Moan 01:06, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Category:Fictional LGBT characters. But I disagree, since he identifies as gay. If it was a BLP, we'd go with what he says. anemoneprojectors   talk  01:15, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * ok, well cats are not something I have ever worried too much about so I will leave it to those who have more of an interest. Though I like the idea of all our LGBT characters being categorised in one place, and that one covers them all. Maybe put ones like Syed in both Gay and LGBT cats?  GunGagdin Moan 01:22, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I don't think it's a good idea to use both categories. If we're unsure, just use the LGBT category. But we can be sure about Syed because he identified as gay, and slept with his wife in order to do the right thing. He was probably more turned on by the situation than her, but as I said, I can't read the writers' minds. Even I could probably get it up for Amira in that situation lol! anemoneprojectors   talk  10:56, 17 April 2010 (UTC)


 * I'm for leaving him in the gay category. The character has admitted to his mother that he's gay, he is only with Amira to try and be a "good muslim".  Yes he has slept with Amira but I think that the writers have made it quite clear he has only done that to try and do the right thing by his religion --5 albert square (talk) 05:18, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Is it possible to reference this in the article somehow? At the moment as far as I can see, the only source pertaining to the gay/bi issue is a months old interview where Marc Elliot calls Syed confused. Definitively sourcing that he's gay rather than bisexual would probably be helpful, even if the only way to do it is to cite an episode of the show and fill out the 'transcript' parameter with 'Syed: I'm gay.' Frickative  05:26, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Well there is this reference --5 albert square (talk) 05:45, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * That doesn't look like it meets WP:RS, but doubtless there are other acceptable sources. Searching Google News for 'Syed EastEnders gay' brings up a fair few, while 'Syed EastEnders bisexual' brings up none. If Digital Spy recapped the same episode TV Throng is referring to, that would probably do the job. Frickative  05:49, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * In that case there's also this one --5 albert square (talk) 05:53, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * No-one is saying that he must be with Amira, he could have chosen any woman he wanted. If he went for Amira, then he loves and prefers to be with her but sometimes he prefers to be with Christian as well. So he is bisexual- he gets aroused by both of them and sleeps with them. Plus, to say that he is gay, that would be the equivalent to say that husband who cheats on his wife is not in love with her even though he still has sex with her and still wishes to be with her yet he sleeps with another woman behind his wife's back.

(undent) I dont get that comparison at all. --  GunGagdin Moan 17:29, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * What I mean is that you cannot brand Syed as gay just because he has slept with Christian just like you cannot always brand that an adulterer is not in love with his wife. Basically, you are implying that he is pretending to be straight or that he does not love her because he truly does. —Preceding unsigned comment added by NatDemUK (talk • contribs)


 * Please sign your posts. We are not branding him as gay - the writers of the show are, hence the line "I am gay". That makes him a gay character. anemoneprojectors   talk  21:04, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Tony Stonem from Skins was categorised as bisexual yet he never admitted it and still held that he was in love with Michelle (admitting that he is straight) given that he gave Maxxie a fellatio. So I see no reason why Syed cannot be categorised as bisexual.


 * Verifiability is one of Wikipedia's core policies. We shouldn't rely on personal interpretation, because that differs between editors. Instead we use reliable sources, which in this instance indicate that Syed is gay. Frickative  21:48, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Glad I'm not the only one not getting that comparison. Look at the second reference I've given above, the one from Digital Spy.  One of the paragraphs specifically states:


 * "As Zainab continues to insult Christian, Syed snaps and furiously shouts at her. As Syed's stare meets his mothers, Syed admits that he's gay and that he's in love with Christian."


 * Also the words "I am gay" were used by Syed when telling Zainab. So the character has admitted that he's gay, not bisexual.  I don't think I can post a link to the Youtube video where he admits it because XLinkBot doesn't like Youtube links, but if you log on to Youtube, type in "Syed & Amira's Wedding - Part 4/6", choose the first video and you will see that he admits to being gay right at the end of the clip --5 albert square (talk) 17:35, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * And there's always the possibility that he's using viagra to sleep with Amira, or imagining that he's doing Christian while he's doing the deed. He's probably a fan of doggy style for that reason.lol  GunGagdin Moan 17:37, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * LOL yes he probably closes his eyes and thinks of Christian, but does it because he wants to do the right thing by his family and his religion. anemoneprojectors   talk  17:40, 18 April 2010 (UTC)


 * LOL Gungadin!! I'm sure I've also heard Syed say to Christian (probably numerous times now) that he cannot go against his religion.  I think EastEnders expect people to read between the lines and see that he is not just applying that to Amira, he doesn't fancy women in general.  That's the way I've interpreted it anyway --5 albert square (talk) 17:58, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

Just catching up with last night's episode, Syed says "But I'm not denying it, not anymore. I'm gay, I accept that, I embrace it even, but does telling the world I'm gay make me moreso, does not saying anything make me less?" so even after shagging Amira's brains out, Syed is clearly gay and not bisexual. anemoneprojectors  talk  22:59, 24 April 2010 (UTC)


 * Then that clearly does not make any sense at all given that he has sex with a woman. He is in reality just confused, so is basically bisexual as most tend to be. —Preceding unsigned comment added by NatDemUK (talk • contribs)


 * Basically, if you want to say he's bisexual, you must provide a reliable source otherwise it is original research, which is not allowed on Wikipedia. All reliable sources say he's gay. Also, being confused doesn't make you bisexual. Doing the "right" thing by your religion doesn't either. Anemone  Projectors  09:49, 24 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Gay guys have slept with women, NatDemUK, it does make sense. He's probably just thinking of a man while he does it.~ZytheTalk to me! 21:15, 4 January 2011 (UTC)

Date of Birth
When was his age mentioned? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.219.139.141 (talk) 22:27, 16 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes, at some point. Anemone  Projectors  22:53, 16 July 2010 (UTC)

Stonewall criticism, other info
For the reception section... There has been quite a few mentions on the actual news, then in newpapers and websites, about thje report Stonewall made on TV shows... the Syed storyline was slammed... links... 

Link for a BBC report on development of gay characters: discusses Christian, Syed and others. 


 * Thanks. I didn't add this because the report I had seen didn't specifically mention any characters, just pretty much British TV in general. Anemone  Projectors  13:31, 23 July 2010 (UTC)


 * They just get a little mention from the reporting source, but they do mention Eastenders in the report, they are their only gay characters and the report is current.. but hey, link 5 has some good reception info atleast that can be used... =) RAIN the ONE  (Talk) 13:38, 23 July 2010 (UTC)

Storylines section issue
I think Syed's plot section is too long for a character of a few years. Anyone else think it needs cutting? Rain the 1  BAM 19:11, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Lots of them do. Compare Ian Beale. These things are probably easier to do when a storyline ends or after a few years. But Syed's has never been cut down as far as I know. – Anemone Projectors – 19:17, 13 April 2011 (UTC)
 * Ouch, 3k. Pretty sure it could be done in 20% of that. I might tackle it myself later, but in the meantime a plot tag wouldn't go amiss. Frickative  19:19, 13 April 2011 (UTC)