Sunday 23 September 2007

So You Think I'm Gay?

The "Gay Scene": To be brief, I just don't like it. I can't figure out why one's sexual orientation would make one act differently (outside the bedroom), but I think it would be either willful denial or blindness to deny that many gay men have adopted certain characteristics that have come to be known as “gay acting.” And I say “adopted” because not all gay men do this, and many that do didn't do it before they came out. Homosexuality may not be a choice, but it appears these characteristics are. I suppose it is these characteristics that enable “gaydar” to work, and maybe that's why they exist: guys are sending out clear “mating signals” to ease dating. And it's nothing against gays, necessarily. I also don't like when receptionists on the west side of Los Angeles adopt fake British accents, or when newly rich people start pretending they like opera, or when the Chinese kids I went to high school with start speaking Ebonics and acting like “thugz.” Give me a break! Why can't people just be who they are? Perhaps my antipathy comes from a lack of understanding why they do it. I'm definitely not saying people shouldn't have the freedom to express themselves how they want. And I'm definitely not ripping on guys who are naturally feminine or who really do have a flair for fashion or who actually do tend to scream when they're excited. But it just annoys me when people fake it, and I'm not looking forward to being lumped together with that, or having my friends and family wondering when I'm going to start lisping and wearing feather boas.

Bogus Hindsight: I've never really liked most team sports. I've always been interested in architecture. I've always gotten along well with girls as friends. I've always been close to my mom. I think it's fun to read celebrity magazines like People. I talk really fast when I get excited. I think these things are just part of who I am. I think I can point to how those characteristics developed. And I don't think they have anything to do with the fact that I find boys attractive. But they could be seen as “gay” traits. And I'm sure people are going to look back and nod smugly and say “ahhh, of course, I should have known!” I just find that ridiculous and annoying. If they look back to the fact that I haven't dated a girl since high school, or that I got caught with naked pictures of myself on my computer in high school, well THOSE were legitimate clues. But I won't enjoy people examining my life and finding “gay” things in my past that are not. I don't want to be re-defined through gay-colored glasses.

Matt's words, not mine. But it feels like me. You could dub me with it, actually. But he had different reasons when he wrote this: "Outing". Me, I just don't feel comfortable with labelling myself gay, bi or straight. I don't feel it presents me with accuracy. And I love accuracy to the bone.

But I do find boys immensely attractive, though. Mostly. Not all the time, but mostly. Why do you even need a label for that?

Wednesday 19 September 2007

Westro Generation

Westro ™

Portmanteau of "Western" and "Metropolitan" – a culture that is dangerously 'global', crudely pop-centred, commercial, consumerist, capitalist, obsessively metropolitan, and one-dimensionally sectarian.

Perfect example? The United States of Hollywood and McDonald's. Heads up, R of P - you're on the Westro wannabe list.

I don't know about you but I am proud paganus to the death.

Wednesday 12 September 2007

Monday 10 September 2007

Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Cherry
Chito
Rosary
Josephine
Sebastian
John
Anne
Menthol
Joseph
Jans
Jeanne
Mary
Barhertz
Christopher
Kaz
and

Jonathan S.

Sunday 9 September 2007

Wordiness Threatens Low Tide Brains

You don't like how I answer questions? Then, don't ask me any.

If you really want me to, then let me.

Saturday 8 September 2007

In The Land Of Fake Brothers

What sort of brotherhood is there in pain and torture? You know nothing about fraternal love, you pathetic ragamuffins!

Little unwashed idiots. I hope you all die and rid the world of your asinine games.

Is this the only form of personality available amongst the young ones nowadays? Pity.

Kill them. I don't care if they're children. Those little gremlins will eventually turn into tomorrow's criminals. Kill them all.

Wednesday 5 September 2007

Intimacy Is Best For Infants And Above

There's a lot of comfort and freedom around these men.

...

The combination of agression and tenderness evident is what I find so compelling.

...

I think what it is, is that they are so at ease with their masculinity, that they are completely comfortable being intimate with each other. This is something we have lost in Western Europe and America where any intimacy between men is seen as 'sexualized.'

...

The wrestlers' complete security in their masculinity that allows for horseplay and moments of intimacy is something that is very rare to see in the current age. American prudishness sees any such intimacy as sexualized and forbidden, while Western European coolness means that such intimacy is rarely expressed.

...

The wrestlers are a little bit wary of Gay photographers and are unhappy that their sport is often sexualized.

...

Some of the photographers who do behave a bit obnoxiously has affected the way the guys behave and made them more self conscious. If this keeps happening it will probably be impossible to take some of these shots in a few years time.

(Commentary derived from the featured photographer istanbulmike.)

Idiots may call it gay or bading, but we old farts simply call it 'natural'.

PS: This is Yağlı Güreş (Yagli Gures), Turkey's national sport.

Tuesday 4 September 2007

Can We Justify Arrogance?

"Arrogance is earned."

(Dr Gregory House M.D.)

The English (and Joey de León) have earned theirs.