All too often, however, Ray’s actions play into distorted societal misconceptions about gay people where Archer’s or Malory’s misdeeds would merely be absurdly funny. That’s not to say Reed should handle Ray with kid gloves: Most characters on Archer are, after all, charmingly twisted. Ray is often depicted as hypersexualized, and while he’s not alone in being oversexed (see: Pam), the trait feels quite loaded when applied to a gay man. On the other hand, Archer often plays off the kind of homophobic stereotypes that historically fostered so much fear and hatred toward gay people.