Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Manning Up

I'm eager to check out "The Butch Factor," a critically acclaimed new documentary that explores masculinity and gay men. The trailer hints at an aspect of the topic that has long fascinated and perplexed me, which is the added confusion that comes from being attracted to the sex that you are. From a young age, I've battled with trying to figure out if my attractions toward guys are because I want to be with them, or be (like) them, something your garden-variety couple obviously never has to contend with. Just as Harry Reid so inarticulately pointed out about blacks, I believe there is a similar hierarchy and cultural bias based on how "butch" or "queeny" gay guys are (can you "pass"?), so I am curious to see what conclusions are drawn by Christopher Hines, a former newspaper reporter and television producer, who wrote, produced and directed this work. The DVD comes out Tuesday. For more details or to order a copy, click HERE.
   SYNOPSIS: From the Castro culture of the 1970s to today’s Bears and gym rats, this fascinating investigation of gay men and sexuality blows the lid off old stereotypes and showcases a battalion of interviewees including muscle men, rodeo riders, rugby players and cops. The men speak candidly on topics from homophobia to metrosexuality to embracing effeminacy as they reveal what it means to be a gay man in America today.

 

3 comments:

pater familias said...

Looks like a great film ... but I wish those of us who are so "straight looking and straight acting" would do more to honor, cherish and protect our flamer and femme brothers. They pay the highest price for being gay, something our more conventional masculinity spares us from.

Gene Easily Riled said...

Reminds me of a book I read a few years back, The Elusive Embrace (or something like that). It addressed some of these issues. It also made a link between the gym culture and AIDS: looking muscled looked healthy compared to the ravages of AIDS in the early years. I also remember the author's observation that with the muscles and ubiquitous ball caps of the "straight acting," we (gay men) now looked like the boys who tormented us in junior high and high school.

Mark said...

I know what you mean about the confusion that comes from being attracted to you same sex... Is it admiration or attraction? Do I want imitate them or be intimate with them?

The conclusion that I've come to is that when I was a pre-adolescent and young teen, I considered my attraction to be admiration, and told my self that my interest in other guys was a desire to be like them, not a desire for them. When I came to terms with my sexuality, I could acknowledge my desire more openly to myself...

But, that said, envy is one of the more powerful emotions... And we are all subject to it -- in some ugly ways...