A couple of months ago, a group of my friends and I proposed that we all audition for the Real World. After all, we live pretty fun, drama, and party filled lives. We got to thinking about all the figments of our lives that would put us one step ahead of the competition. My friend Joe, of the pretty boy variety, said that he would lie and say that he was addicted to sex and had a problems when it came to handling money. My other friend Samantha, said that she would lie and said that she was a virgin who had a phobia of sex. I said that I would lie and said that I had an anger problem and was extremely passive aggressive. Then, it came to my friend, Evan. With the smuggest look on his face he quipped, “I don’t even have to lie. I’m gay, I automatically am going to get chosen before you.” To which I quipped, “If only we were living in the 90s. They had a transvestite last season so compared to that you’re…you’re not gay enough.”
Boy oh boy, did I put him in his place. To think that he would be put before me for the fact that he was gay. But anyway, that was in February and I quickly forgot about it and the situation was put under the rug and quickly forgotten.
In April, three bisexual men pressed a lawsuit against the organizers of the Gay World series for the fact that they weren’t allowed to participate because they had on previous occasion had sex with those of the opposite sex. The organizers asked oddly intrusive questions that rated their homosexuality and they were finally presumed to be more on the bisexual side and not gay enough. One of the men were even told, “This is the Gay World series, not the Bisexual World Series.” I recently read the most ironic article about an author, whose was a guest at a book signing but whose information was not given out and appearance was not publicized because he was gay. When he went to speak to the director, the director admitted bigotry stating, “I went to bat for you. I called the district office and I told them you were married to a man and had two children.”
There’s a trend here, where people who don’t fit the stereotypical notions that we have of the gay community or who we think aren’t gay enough are put down because we honestly don’t know how to deal with them. Like idiots, many heterosexual people bought into the stereotypes that gay men are sexually promiscuous, know all the lyrics to Diana Ross’s songs, and are hair salon owners and fashion designers. WRONG. Homosexuality is defined as being attracted to people of the same sex, it isn’t defined as having the characteristic of being feminine, catty and fierce. I have a homophobic friend who won’t stay in the same room as men who wear straight leg jeans, jordan sneakers and Bathing Ape shirts, but who will have a full blown conversation with a man in a tutu and six inch heels. Why you ask? Because the latter makes more since to him he states and the first example is just…odd. But I sure as hell isn’t exempt from this scrutiny. I almost traded in my gay best friend when he confessed to me that he couldn’t vogue and when I asked him to do my make-up looked at me like I was stupid. I remember the shocked look on his face when I told him that he needed to get gayer.
But it isn’t only with social situations, fashion wise it is happening too. What we use to think that only gay men wore such as leggings, above the knee shorts and kilts are now being worn by straight men. The lines are no longer so white and bold, they instead are smearing. My gay friend thought he was so cool when he wore his first pair of shorts that were way above the knee and boy oh boy was I in awe too. That is until I went shopping with my brother at Urban Outfitters, where he bought an array of above the knee shorts,paired it with a slub fit v-neck and espadrille Tom’s and when I told him that people would assume that he was gay, he pointed me to a sea of hipster kids grabbing short shorts from the $15 shelf at Urban Outiftters. “Everyone’s doing it,” he smirked. . Kid Cudi wore a a kilt last week, Galliano and Givenchy had men wearing meggings in their last collection. And I know you’re thinking that those leggings were featured in fashion shows and not all elements of fashion shows are incorporated into the real world, but straight men wearing leggings in Tokyo is all the rage, to the point where Jezebel had to dish an article about it.
Stereotypes of gay men are no longer holding true. On the right there’s the fact that it is showing that gay men aren’t odd as some people made them out to be, and simply like the same sex but on the left, you have people who are begging the gays to give them more and step their girly cookies up. Those who come for the girls with see-through tops and leggings become a girls best friend, while those who don’t we look at sideways. Think of the impact this is having on the gay community, I honesty don’t think that it is a positive thing. It makes me wonder if just like light skin and dark skin African Americans are pitted against each other, if manly and feminine gays will one day have beef or if transvestites and bisexuals will start to think that one is more inferior to another.
William Lynch thought he was so smart when he announced his method for controlling African Americans and stopping their advancement. Take out the word black and replace it with gay and I feel as if this is exactly what is happening to the gay community but the success isn’t as pronounced as it has been with African Americans.
“I have a full proof method for controlling and stopping the advancement of homosexuals. I guarantee every one of you that if installed correctly it will control homosexuals. My method is simple. Any member of society can use it. I have outlined a number of differences among homosexuals and I take these differences and make them bigger. I use fear, distrust and envy for control purposes.”
When the word black is replaced with homosexuals it sounds like exactly the same thing that has happened with destruction of the African American community. And you can’t tell me that I’m lying, different levels of gay are placed on different levels. There is an hour block for the show DuPaul’s Drag Race, on MTV a major and very influential network when it comes to our culture while shows that showcase gay men doing average humanly things are thrown to LOGO or BRAVO. It seems as if no one cares about the gay man who flips houses but everyone cares about the gay men who play dress up with female clothing. And you can’t use the Real World as a counter argument all of the most publicized gays were your stereotypical gay men; one had AIDS, which is a notion that a lot of people believe of the gay community, one man was a transvestite who had financial problems and loved to walk around half naked, and this season the homosexual man who is featured on the show has never met his father and for a good portion of the hour block focuses on the drama that he has going on with other cast mates. What a coincidence.
