i had this very discussion with another cousin privately several months back so i'll throw my two cents in...
for starters we all hate the so called "camp" reputation our show gets but as a gross generalization i'll say the lavender set(present company very much included)goes for that sort of thing.the outsized drama,the overacting,the grand sweep of the whole thing.it's all good and it's all gay.
it's lumped in with the "sci-fi" crowd for those outside the know but it's truly gothic drama on an epic scale.
so i'm not surpised it has a larger gay following than,say,the x-files.
local handymen/hunks like joe haskell and chris jennings add a certain beefy charm.
the flips,falls and false eyelashes get a fashionista's heart thumping(caftans!gloves!minis!).
but i think a big part of it is the combined diva power of joan bennett/grayson hall/lara parker.it's that whole bitch thing.there is nothing bitchier on this earth than julia slapping cassandra and a good bitch-slap gets alot of mileage with the homos.
i remember watching a scene during 1795 that featured joan as naomi,grayson as the countess dupres and clarice blackburn as abigail.for a show that gets a somewhat "shlock" reputation that was some virtuoso stuff.talk about divas!
again gross generalizations all around but the diva-ness,the campiness and the theatricality of it all holds alot of charm for well,you know.