“Your problem, Henry, is that you are hung up on words, on labels, that you believe they mean what they seem to mean. AIDS. Homosexual. Gay. Lesbian. You think these are names that tell you who someone sleeps with, but they don’t tell you that. No. Like all labels they tell you one thing and one thing only: where does an individual so identified fit in the food chain, in the pecking order? Not ideology, or sexual taste, but something much simpler: clout. Not who I fuck or who fucks me, but who will pick up the phone when I call, who owes me favors. This is what a label refers to.” (Roy, Act One Scene Nine Millennium)
This quote is from Roy’s visit to his doctor Henry in Act One, Scene Nine of Millennium. From this scene, the reader can see how Roy views the world and the people in it. Even though the reader knows he is a homosexual, Roy himself does not identify with the label because of the way he lives his public life and his position as a powerful lawyer. His thinking is that he has no connection to homosexual men because of his social status. At this time in the play, the reader knows how wicked Roy can truly be. He does not value things like honor, trust, and genuine relationships, since in his mind, they are not necessary. Roy believes that all relationships (friendship, intimacy, etc.) are all just made up and based off of things like favors. The reader can see this directly in the quote above, “… but who will pick up the phone when I call, who owes me the favors.” From this scene the reader can also see how much Roy contrasts with the character of Belize. No matter how much Belize detests Roy, he still takes care of and looks after him because he knows it is the moral and ethical thing to do.