Subject: I am a stereotype, BUT
From: Malcolm Lawrence (Malcolm@wolfenet.com)
Date: Tue Feb 25 1997 - 19:26:04 GMT
I am a fully-fledged stereotype, BUT...I'm not gay
I cross my legs at both the knee and the ankle
I can have a very high pitched voice when excited
I have a sense of style, and anyone with any awareness of style learns to appreciate women's fashions because they are much more stylistically appealing than most men's fashions. Doesn't mean one wants to WEAR women's clothes.
I have not seen the Disney "Beauty and the Beast" (which I assume is the one we're referring to) once, let alone eight times, but the Jean Cocteau version I've probably seen eight times. It's a masterpiece of surrealism and the myth is timeless (As Ken Kesey said when I saw him speak a few years ago: When asked if he'd seen any movies lately he replied: "I just saw "Beauty & The Beast" with my grandson. You know what that movie's about? Temper. Being able to control your temper." In this culture any film or cultural artifact which deals with relationships rather than explosions is considered a "chick flick" which gives you some sense how emotionally primitive most males in our culture insist on remaining. Kill or be killed is NOT a healthy view of lifestyles. Given a choice between Arnold Schwarzennegger and Emma Thompson, I'd take Emma hands down. Funny how a stereotypical sign of being a heterosexual male in our society is to want to spend time with OTHER men, rather than the complimentary sex, or if one IS to spend time with the complimentary sex it is supposed to be strictly FOR sex.
I have always had a lot of gay friends growing up
I have a very developed aesthetic sense and appreciation of beauty
I love showtunes
I have slept in the same bed as another male
I am as affectionate towards males as I am towards females and when possible try to do things for my male friends to let them know how much I like them. "Being upset that his male roommate--whose laundry he does--moved out without leaving a note, etc." Uh, hello? Ever heard of common courtesy? Caring, perhaps? Worry? Trying to develop a relationship that is more than just a casual exchange of belching, farting and lies about sexual prowess?
If one didn't know me and was only aware of casual observances they would infer that I was gay, but I have never had an erotic thought about another male in my life. I've never questioned my heterosexuality even though others who didn't know me always tried to insist that I was gay. I like to think I'm a gentleman (a concept this culture seems to have discounted) and I've often thought I have the heart of a little girl because it breaks very easily and I've consciously tried to develop my sensitivity over the course of my life, but this has not got one iota to deal with my sexuality at all. I believe the most recent term is psychological hermaphrodite. Just because I can be tender and vulnerable doesn't mean I can't be tough and resilient should the situation call for it. If anything homophobia and the stereotyping of feminine characteristics in males cuts to the very heart of our capitalistic system which is why it's been such a taboo for so long. If your competition in the job marketplace is other males, why should you feel sensitive about them? Wouldn't that be detrimental to your killer instinct of getting a job and bringing bacon home? To be affectionate towards another male (the logical potential extension being ALL males) denies the objectification of them as merely competitors in the rat race. That's a very potent shift of attitude that could bring capitalism to it's knees. THAT is why the myth of Jesus was so (is so) detrimental to Western civilization.
Malcolm
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