Day's First Blog

 

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Manly

Joe asked me to make a post about a most unlikely question. "Do you think all effeminate men are gay?" Oh boy. Well, i'll give it my best shot.
Short answer: no. It's a free country and you can play with gender roles how you like. A lot of my straight-male friends are very effeminate, a là 'ohmigod that dog is soooo cute'. Even more of them act effeminately to make jokes with me and others.

Don't get me wrong - the thought has crossed my mind many times when i meet a guy who is impeccably groomed and speaks with an unmistakeably gay lisp, or talks about his male friends with female pronouns. What's up with that?
My theory is that effeminate behavior is an old left-over in the gay subculture's freezer. Before the coming out movement, there was a way to tell someone you were, you know, *different* without actually saying it. A flick of the wrist, an affected vowel here and there, you get the idea. At least i'm pretty sure that's how it happened in the cities. Feedback would be welcome.
And of course there were the bars, where men and women seeking a different sort of excitement found eachother. Before the solidarity of gay pride realized in the Stonewall Riots, a subculture had already formed in these bars. Part of being in the club was acting like the other members. All the cool gays and lesbians were breaking gender norms, so the rest followed suit. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Then again, it could just be a giant extended middle finger to a society that rejects them. It was and is an unwritten rule that only and all men shall act masculine and pursue females, likewise only and all women shall act feminine and pursue males. What better way to poo-poo some silly rule than to mock it?
And in true post-modern fashion effeminate straight guys and masculine gay guys are pretty much accepted. It's a much more ambiguous world, but more mature in my opinion. We're so serious all day using gender roles properly... but we can play with them, too.

posted by Day at 10:54 AM

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home

 
Name:
Location: Mobile, Alabama, United States

I'm a baritone. I love dark chocolate, coffee, stars, and the Moon.


Current Phase of the Moon



Blogs I Read

Amy Nicholson
Daniel's Musings
Joe Kennedy
-mikenoakes-
Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish

Other Links

Homestar Runner
Omniglot
Wikipedia
Encyclopaedia of Arda
Hobbit Name Generator

Listening To


Wicked


Previous Posts

Write a letter
LOL
There's a *what* in the Pacific Ocean?
Ted Haggard part Two
Ted Haggard
Go NPH!
Muslims 'are here to take over our country'
Go New Jersey!
Firefox product-placement
Brand New World


Creative Commons License

 

DayZimlich [at] gmail [dot] com | Creative Commons Licensed