It is a truth universally acknowledged that stereotypes are bad. Don't judge a book by a cover, walk a mile in someone's shoes, the whole shebang. We have all been told not to stereotype people, but get to know someone before passing that judgement.
That's all well and good but it doesn't stop anyone from doing it. In the immortal words of Avenue Q, "everyone's a little bit racist." And everyone stereotypes, we just don't like to admit it. We all want to be that one person who rivals Mother Teresa's humanity and kindness, but instead we're the person wondering whether the co-worker with seven kids is Catholic or just careless.
It is very easy to stereotype gay people. "All gay men are fans of Judy Garland," "all lesbians play softball." I'm guilty of it, too.
Recently I went over to a friend's house and he was in a state of extreme agitation. His TV service provider wasn't showing the football game of his favorite team and he was threatening to cancel the cable right then and there if it wasn't rectified.
"It's okay, we can watch Project Runway instead," was my attempt to soothe the savage beast.
"I don't want to watch Project Runway. I want to watch football!"
I'm sorry......what? Who are you and what have you done with my gay?!
The common misconception of gay men is that they are secretly fancy ladies who want nothing more than to gossip about people's outfits and drink cosmopolitans with their pinkies in the air. That is simply only half true. Gay men are just that -- men. They fix cars, they watch football, they eat copious amounts of grilled meats, they talk openly about bathroom activities but not so openly about their feelings, and they scratch themselves. That's just the nature of the testosterone-ridden beast. Their sexuality unfortunately doesn't change their chromosomal make-up.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have to watch Project Runway alone now. My gays watched it without me last night, the bitches.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Reasons You Will Love "True Blood"
True Blood is a show on HBO that involves vampires and the people who love them. It started airing in 2008 and is loosely based on a series of books by Charlaine Harris.
Reason 1
The men. And the women. As the show is aired on HBO, there are a number of naked people running around, usually having sex, sometimes having orgies (which aren't as exciting as you'd think, unfortunately).
You're welcome.
Reason Two
The vampires on True Blood have recently "come out of the coffin" and are being met with hate and intolerance. The parallels between the vampires and homosexuals are thinly veiled at best. There are hate crimes against vampires, there is a Vampire Rights League trying to fight to get vampires rights in America, there is a religious group that is openly preaching against vampires. There is a lot of talk about how vampires are no different from others, that they can't help being the way that they are -- they're born this way, if you will.
Reason Three
The fierce factor. It's worth sitting through an hour of True Blood just to see what the rapier tongues of Pam and Lafayette will say. They are particular favorites of mine.
Reason Four
This season (Season 4 if you're curious), the action has been fast forwarded a year through a mildly lame plot point. The character of Tara, who has left town and assumed a new identity to escape her former life, is living with and involved in a relationship with a woman. This fact is not treated as a big deal, just with acceptance that this is the person that she's happy and feels safe with. I liked that there wasn't a huge "TARA IS NOW A LESBIAN" speech and also that it wasn't treated as a one time fling. In fact, one of the more real moments of the show happened when Tara sends Naomi away in order to protect her and then sobs in the empty parking lot. It was very touching and very real, as the friend I was watching the show with brought up that he had cried like that over a guy before.
Reason Five
The theme song. Just listening to it makes me feel sexy.
Reason Six
In Season 3, the King of Mississippi is introduced, as well as his partner, Talbot. They have been married for 700 years. If that isn't proof that gay marriage can work, I don't know what is.
Reason 1
The men. And the women. As the show is aired on HBO, there are a number of naked people running around, usually having sex, sometimes having orgies (which aren't as exciting as you'd think, unfortunately).
You're welcome.
Reason Two
The vampires on True Blood have recently "come out of the coffin" and are being met with hate and intolerance. The parallels between the vampires and homosexuals are thinly veiled at best. There are hate crimes against vampires, there is a Vampire Rights League trying to fight to get vampires rights in America, there is a religious group that is openly preaching against vampires. There is a lot of talk about how vampires are no different from others, that they can't help being the way that they are -- they're born this way, if you will.
Reason Three
The fierce factor. It's worth sitting through an hour of True Blood just to see what the rapier tongues of Pam and Lafayette will say. They are particular favorites of mine.
Reason Four
This season (Season 4 if you're curious), the action has been fast forwarded a year through a mildly lame plot point. The character of Tara, who has left town and assumed a new identity to escape her former life, is living with and involved in a relationship with a woman. This fact is not treated as a big deal, just with acceptance that this is the person that she's happy and feels safe with. I liked that there wasn't a huge "TARA IS NOW A LESBIAN" speech and also that it wasn't treated as a one time fling. In fact, one of the more real moments of the show happened when Tara sends Naomi away in order to protect her and then sobs in the empty parking lot. It was very touching and very real, as the friend I was watching the show with brought up that he had cried like that over a guy before.
Reason Five
The theme song. Just listening to it makes me feel sexy.
Reason Six
In Season 3, the King of Mississippi is introduced, as well as his partner, Talbot. They have been married for 700 years. If that isn't proof that gay marriage can work, I don't know what is.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Roy G. Biv
I enjoy a good piece of trivia just as much as the next person. Maybe a tad more. I tend to monopolize the trivia table at Dave and Busters (I once won a friend of mine a food processor with the tickets I earned playing trivia) and I never turn down a game of Trivia Pursuit. When Ken Jennings was on his winning streak on Jeopardy, I watched it with a bag of popcorn.
I follow the Mental Floss blog on Twitter, and was pleasantly surprised to see them featuring an article about the origins of the rainbow flag being used a symbol for gay rights. It is an interesting read, and it made me wish that rainbow flag still included hot pink and turquoise. I would definitely let that flag fly.
I follow the Mental Floss blog on Twitter, and was pleasantly surprised to see them featuring an article about the origins of the rainbow flag being used a symbol for gay rights. It is an interesting read, and it made me wish that rainbow flag still included hot pink and turquoise. I would definitely let that flag fly.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Nothing is more frustrating than a smart-ass gay.
Sure, we like a good snarky gay in the movies as our comedic relief. A little sass never hurt anyone. But trust me, when that sass is being used against you, it stings. It does not hurt so good. There's nothing I hate more than something I've said getting thrown back in my face.
I was leaving a friend's house last week after an amiable get together. I had gone around and said my goodbyes and doled out my cheek-kisses and hugs and random ass grabs. As I headed toward the door, I paused to say goodbye to the last guy.
"Okay, bye," he said as he walked across the living room, "text me when you get home."
I'm sorry, exCUSE ME?! Where is my air-kiss, sir?! After all we've been through, I deserve at least an air-kiss!
I held on to this slight for a good twenty minutes, but then I got over it. However, I made sure to tell him exactly the social niceties that he turned his back and walked away from. Sort of a, "no big deal, but never do it again if you want your life to remain un-nagged" situation.
A few nights later, I was at his house again. We had been watching a movie and he was falling asleep on the couch. After the movie, he went in and laid down on his bed. A few minutes later, I decided to leave and I went in and stood awkwardly by his bed.
"Okay, well.....bye," I said, and turned to leave.
"Don't....walk away....when you're saying goodbye to me," he mumbled.
Touche, jerk.
Sure, we like a good snarky gay in the movies as our comedic relief. A little sass never hurt anyone. But trust me, when that sass is being used against you, it stings. It does not hurt so good. There's nothing I hate more than something I've said getting thrown back in my face.
I was leaving a friend's house last week after an amiable get together. I had gone around and said my goodbyes and doled out my cheek-kisses and hugs and random ass grabs. As I headed toward the door, I paused to say goodbye to the last guy.
"Okay, bye," he said as he walked across the living room, "text me when you get home."
I'm sorry, exCUSE ME?! Where is my air-kiss, sir?! After all we've been through, I deserve at least an air-kiss!
I held on to this slight for a good twenty minutes, but then I got over it. However, I made sure to tell him exactly the social niceties that he turned his back and walked away from. Sort of a, "no big deal, but never do it again if you want your life to remain un-nagged" situation.
A few nights later, I was at his house again. We had been watching a movie and he was falling asleep on the couch. After the movie, he went in and laid down on his bed. A few minutes later, I decided to leave and I went in and stood awkwardly by his bed.
"Okay, well.....bye," I said, and turned to leave.
"Don't....walk away....when you're saying goodbye to me," he mumbled.
Touche, jerk.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Pink Triangle
The last known gay Holocaust survivor, Rudolf Brazda, died Wednesday, August 3. He was sent to Buchenwald in 1942 and remained there until its liberation in 1945.
The homosexuals persecuted by the Nazi regime are often overlooked in the remembrances of the Holocaust. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 65,000 men were convicted of homosexuality with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men deported to concentration camps (lesbians were not widely persecuted under Nazi anti-gay laws, as it was considered easier to persuade or force them to comply with accepted heterosexual behavior). Few survived, as they were subjected to persecution and abuse not only from the guards but from fellow prisoners -- many of the men didn't die from the gas chambers or work camps but were beaten to death. They were also subjected to experiments from Nazi doctors trying to identify and eliminate the "gay gene" in order to prevent homosexuality in Aryan children, and guards used gay prisoners for target practice, aiming for and shooting through the pink triangle worn on their clothing.
After the war, when the camps were liberated, many of the gay prisoners continued to be persecuted and imprisoned, as homosexuality was illegal (the homosexuality law enforced by Nazi Germany wasn't repealed until 1994). Remembrances of homosexual Holocaust survivors weren't explored or acknowledged until the 1970s, though there are now memorials in several countries, in 2002, the German government apologized to the gay community, and in 2005, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Holocaust which included the persecution of homosexuals.
Rudolf Brazda was 98 years old when he passed away in his sleep. He is joining his partner, Edouard Mayer, who passed away in 2003. I hope that he is able to find peace and love to make up for the horrors he faced for simply being himself.
The homosexuals persecuted by the Nazi regime are often overlooked in the remembrances of the Holocaust. It is estimated that between 50,000 and 65,000 men were convicted of homosexuality with an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 gay men deported to concentration camps (lesbians were not widely persecuted under Nazi anti-gay laws, as it was considered easier to persuade or force them to comply with accepted heterosexual behavior). Few survived, as they were subjected to persecution and abuse not only from the guards but from fellow prisoners -- many of the men didn't die from the gas chambers or work camps but were beaten to death. They were also subjected to experiments from Nazi doctors trying to identify and eliminate the "gay gene" in order to prevent homosexuality in Aryan children, and guards used gay prisoners for target practice, aiming for and shooting through the pink triangle worn on their clothing.
After the war, when the camps were liberated, many of the gay prisoners continued to be persecuted and imprisoned, as homosexuality was illegal (the homosexuality law enforced by Nazi Germany wasn't repealed until 1994). Remembrances of homosexual Holocaust survivors weren't explored or acknowledged until the 1970s, though there are now memorials in several countries, in 2002, the German government apologized to the gay community, and in 2005, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the Holocaust which included the persecution of homosexuals.
Rudolf Brazda was 98 years old when he passed away in his sleep. He is joining his partner, Edouard Mayer, who passed away in 2003. I hope that he is able to find peace and love to make up for the horrors he faced for simply being himself.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Wide World of Sports
I recently got a new job at a new school district. The only catch is, I have to be a girls basketball assistant coach.
You can feel free to laugh. I'll wait.
As an English teacher, I feel as though I'm already at an athletic disadvantage. We literature types tend to stick closer to the library than the gymnasium. But I'm sure I can motivate those girls to score those goals. Or whatever it is, I'll figure that out later.
I tried to think back on sports movies that I could get coaching tips from, and the first thing that came to my mind was this scene from Ladybugs, one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. It stars Rodney Dangerfield and Jonathan Brandis as his stepson who is coerced into crossdressing to play on a girls soccer team that needs all the help they can get. (I'm telling you, my life as a queer dear was predetermined. I was born this way.)
You can rest assured that should anyone break a nail on the field, I will know what to do.
You can feel free to laugh. I'll wait.
As an English teacher, I feel as though I'm already at an athletic disadvantage. We literature types tend to stick closer to the library than the gymnasium. But I'm sure I can motivate those girls to score those goals. Or whatever it is, I'll figure that out later.
I tried to think back on sports movies that I could get coaching tips from, and the first thing that came to my mind was this scene from Ladybugs, one of my favorite movies when I was a kid. It stars Rodney Dangerfield and Jonathan Brandis as his stepson who is coerced into crossdressing to play on a girls soccer team that needs all the help they can get. (I'm telling you, my life as a queer dear was predetermined. I was born this way.)
You can rest assured that should anyone break a nail on the field, I will know what to do.
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