I do not agree that this was about audience approval.

I pointed out to others in a Garak thread that before Garak was introduced (and before these two episodes), we already had Roy’s gay son on Wings who intentionally defied all stereotypes, the gay male couple who owned the B&B in Northern Exposure and the reveal that the town’s founders were lovers, not sisters, plus more than one episode with a gay man as positive characters in L.A. law and Roseanne. If you want to push it back further, you had Billy Crystal’s character in Soap who did have stereotypical mannerisms, but they were really downplayed and he was one of the only decent members of his family.

The audience was ready for gay male characters on a show that already celebrated diversity. Berman was just a bigot.