People should stop using the term "gay lifestyle" because like their heterosexual counterparts, gays and lesbians do not live cookie-cutter lives.
Lifestyle is about socio-economics, not sexuality. The many lifestyles of gays and lesbians of means are vastly different from the many lifestyles of gays and lesbians who are not so financially blessed.
People who use the term"gay lifestyle" do so as a way to deride and demonize a beleaguered, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic, multiracial community.
Showing posts with label Sociology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sociology. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2016
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Exploring The Male Gaze
Backward Glances: Cruising the Queer Streets of New York and London by Mark W. Turner (Reaktion Books, 191 pp.)
Mark Turner's Backward Glances is not a memoir but a scholar's exploration and analysis of something all gay men do without a second thought.
Cruising is an age-old activity, not necessarily the exclusive domain of gay men. However, the particular ways and locales in which gay men do it are unique. And because gay men for centuries have been perceived as sexual outlaws, these rituals of cruising have developed as a way to protect oneself from persecution, imprisonment, entrapment, and scandal.
Turner, an American who is a faculty member in the Department of English at Kings College, University of London, looks at cruising through photography, letters, poetry, journalism, pornography, fiction, etc. as a way to show the reader that these media "all are part of the interrelated cultural production of the city and provide possibilities for understanding how cruising was imagined and how it gets reimagined over time."
He points out that it is not always easy to distinguish who is cruising and who is not, when individuals are sharing the same space that has multiple uses. Is the man standing in front of the department store window there to window shop or is he there in search of another man? This ambiguity is captured so well in the cover photo. A young man on the street is looking back at two other men with their arms around each other. They are unaware that he is observing them. If the photo was taken out of context, how would we read it? Is he a gay man attracted to one or both men? Or is he a straight man astounded by such open display of affection? This photo underscores Turner's question, "[H]ow do we know our cruisers when we see them?" I think the answer has to be that we don't, not always.
It must be pointed out that cruising, like voyeurism and exhibitionism, are about the visual. However, the motivation differs. Cruising is a more reciprocal activity. Whereas voyeurism is more one-sided and surreptitious and exhibitionism is more self-centered, more transgressive, more confrontational (in other words, blatant). Although cruising might be considered transgressive as well because it involves something forbidden by society--male-male attraction--but it is much more of a sharing or mutual appreciation experience.
Turner makes it clear from the outset that his study is a limited one, focusing mostly on those who are white, male, and middle class. He understands that "cruising as a street practice needs to be far more fully considered in relation not only to issues of gender but also to race and ethnicity."
Even though Turner's view is mostly Eurocentric (he does devote two pages to the black science fiction writer Samuel Delany's Times Square porn theatre experiences), it is still important to listen to what he has to say because his observations have some relevance to gay men in general. For example, he states that "The cruiser positively longs to be seen, but not by everyone, and not in all streets." I think that description can apply to all gay men of whatever race, ethnicity, or social background.
I did find one passage that was particularly noteworthy. In Turner's view, bathhouses are places that "have the potential to level out social determinants such as class." To some extent this is true, but then there are other considerations that may come into play such as race, age, looks, physique, mannerisms, etc. Elsewhere in the book, he quotes another writer who says cruising is "a type of brotherhood far removed from the male bonding of rank, hierarchy, and competition that characterizes much of the outside world." To say that rank, hierarchy, and competition are absent from cruising is a misstatement. Anyone who has spent any time in a cruising area knows that there is a pecking order. The ones who are young, good looking, and have a muscular build are the most favored. If a person doesn't meet the criteria, rejection is usually the result.
All in all, Backward Glances is worthy of our attention, if only to give us some insight into what lies behind the male gaze and how that gaze has transformed the urban landscape.
This is an excerpt of a book review that was originally published in the Gay and Lesbian Review (July/August 2004).
Mark Turner's Backward Glances is not a memoir but a scholar's exploration and analysis of something all gay men do without a second thought.
Cruising is an age-old activity, not necessarily the exclusive domain of gay men. However, the particular ways and locales in which gay men do it are unique. And because gay men for centuries have been perceived as sexual outlaws, these rituals of cruising have developed as a way to protect oneself from persecution, imprisonment, entrapment, and scandal.
Turner, an American who is a faculty member in the Department of English at Kings College, University of London, looks at cruising through photography, letters, poetry, journalism, pornography, fiction, etc. as a way to show the reader that these media "all are part of the interrelated cultural production of the city and provide possibilities for understanding how cruising was imagined and how it gets reimagined over time."
He points out that it is not always easy to distinguish who is cruising and who is not, when individuals are sharing the same space that has multiple uses. Is the man standing in front of the department store window there to window shop or is he there in search of another man? This ambiguity is captured so well in the cover photo. A young man on the street is looking back at two other men with their arms around each other. They are unaware that he is observing them. If the photo was taken out of context, how would we read it? Is he a gay man attracted to one or both men? Or is he a straight man astounded by such open display of affection? This photo underscores Turner's question, "[H]ow do we know our cruisers when we see them?" I think the answer has to be that we don't, not always.
It must be pointed out that cruising, like voyeurism and exhibitionism, are about the visual. However, the motivation differs. Cruising is a more reciprocal activity. Whereas voyeurism is more one-sided and surreptitious and exhibitionism is more self-centered, more transgressive, more confrontational (in other words, blatant). Although cruising might be considered transgressive as well because it involves something forbidden by society--male-male attraction--but it is much more of a sharing or mutual appreciation experience.
Turner makes it clear from the outset that his study is a limited one, focusing mostly on those who are white, male, and middle class. He understands that "cruising as a street practice needs to be far more fully considered in relation not only to issues of gender but also to race and ethnicity."
Even though Turner's view is mostly Eurocentric (he does devote two pages to the black science fiction writer Samuel Delany's Times Square porn theatre experiences), it is still important to listen to what he has to say because his observations have some relevance to gay men in general. For example, he states that "The cruiser positively longs to be seen, but not by everyone, and not in all streets." I think that description can apply to all gay men of whatever race, ethnicity, or social background.
I did find one passage that was particularly noteworthy. In Turner's view, bathhouses are places that "have the potential to level out social determinants such as class." To some extent this is true, but then there are other considerations that may come into play such as race, age, looks, physique, mannerisms, etc. Elsewhere in the book, he quotes another writer who says cruising is "a type of brotherhood far removed from the male bonding of rank, hierarchy, and competition that characterizes much of the outside world." To say that rank, hierarchy, and competition are absent from cruising is a misstatement. Anyone who has spent any time in a cruising area knows that there is a pecking order. The ones who are young, good looking, and have a muscular build are the most favored. If a person doesn't meet the criteria, rejection is usually the result.
All in all, Backward Glances is worthy of our attention, if only to give us some insight into what lies behind the male gaze and how that gaze has transformed the urban landscape.
This is an excerpt of a book review that was originally published in the Gay and Lesbian Review (July/August 2004).
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Outing Gay Traitors To A Nation Within A Nation
Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence by Warren Johansson and William A. Percy (The Haworth Press, 312 + pp).
In the opening chapter of Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence, authors Warren Johansson and William A. Percy begin by saying that outing "may become the great debate of the 1990's." That's arguable. However, the issue is worthy of a book-length discussion.
And in Outing, Johansson and Percy, scholars both, give the subject a thorough examination, from its use in antiquity to modern times. At one time, state the scholars, "heterosexuals...outed homosexuals to destroy us. Now we are seizing the initiative to help our cause--our [queer] nation."
Both authors, one of whom is a member of Queer Nation and ACT-UP, believe that those, especially the prominent, who are traitors to this nation within a nation, who "benefit from the movement that they scorn" while the activists risk all, should be outed.
Unfortunately, Outing mostly presents a one-sided argument. If the other side had been given more attention, the book would be of more value to its readers, many of whom may still be undecided on the issue.
Although Outing is often redundant and too pedantic, there is much in it that the average reader might find of interest, especially the historical information. Some of the sections I found particularly interesting were the ones about the homophile movement in Germany in the late 19th century and in the United States after WWII, the witch hunt for homosexuals in the government spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy, and the outing of millionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes and Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams.
After reading Outing, I am still not certain that outing "the admirable, successful ones" is the best way to achieve role models for the gay community. How much of a role model can anyone be if he or she has to be dragged from the closet kicking and screaming?
I favor letting people decide for themselves when it is right for them to come out. The only possible use of outing I can see is when it becomes necessary to unmask closeted gays in powerful positions, who, like a Roy Cohn, work against the gay community. I am also not certain that outing hundreds of thousands of our best and brightest will automatically convert "the pariah status of the community...into a prestigious one." It is elitist and outright insulting to rank and file gays to believe that if they are a mailman or corner grocer, they are less of a role model than a rock star or an athlete. These are the very people who can "disprove the demeaning stereotypes," such as a belief that gay men are only hairdressers, fashion designers, and interior decorators. It is the individuals whose careers Johansson and Percy see as "wholly undistinguished" who are the ones straight people encounter everyday who will help "end the absurd pretense of universal heterosexuality."
Despite my quarrel with the authors's position and presentation, Outing should be a welcome addition to any gay home library. Its particular parts are greater than the book as a whole.
This article was originally published in the Lambda Book Report (May/June 1994).
In the opening chapter of Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence, authors Warren Johansson and William A. Percy begin by saying that outing "may become the great debate of the 1990's." That's arguable. However, the issue is worthy of a book-length discussion.
And in Outing, Johansson and Percy, scholars both, give the subject a thorough examination, from its use in antiquity to modern times. At one time, state the scholars, "heterosexuals...outed homosexuals to destroy us. Now we are seizing the initiative to help our cause--our [queer] nation."
Both authors, one of whom is a member of Queer Nation and ACT-UP, believe that those, especially the prominent, who are traitors to this nation within a nation, who "benefit from the movement that they scorn" while the activists risk all, should be outed.
Unfortunately, Outing mostly presents a one-sided argument. If the other side had been given more attention, the book would be of more value to its readers, many of whom may still be undecided on the issue.
Although Outing is often redundant and too pedantic, there is much in it that the average reader might find of interest, especially the historical information. Some of the sections I found particularly interesting were the ones about the homophile movement in Germany in the late 19th century and in the United States after WWII, the witch hunt for homosexuals in the government spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy, and the outing of millionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes and Defense Department spokesman Pete Williams.
After reading Outing, I am still not certain that outing "the admirable, successful ones" is the best way to achieve role models for the gay community. How much of a role model can anyone be if he or she has to be dragged from the closet kicking and screaming?
I favor letting people decide for themselves when it is right for them to come out. The only possible use of outing I can see is when it becomes necessary to unmask closeted gays in powerful positions, who, like a Roy Cohn, work against the gay community. I am also not certain that outing hundreds of thousands of our best and brightest will automatically convert "the pariah status of the community...into a prestigious one." It is elitist and outright insulting to rank and file gays to believe that if they are a mailman or corner grocer, they are less of a role model than a rock star or an athlete. These are the very people who can "disprove the demeaning stereotypes," such as a belief that gay men are only hairdressers, fashion designers, and interior decorators. It is the individuals whose careers Johansson and Percy see as "wholly undistinguished" who are the ones straight people encounter everyday who will help "end the absurd pretense of universal heterosexuality."
Despite my quarrel with the authors's position and presentation, Outing should be a welcome addition to any gay home library. Its particular parts are greater than the book as a whole.
This article was originally published in the Lambda Book Report (May/June 1994).
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