I seem to remember this being alluded to on an episode of Laugh In. They told of someone writing in, saying his son was named Bruce, and they said they’d stop making fun of it.
Even better-Queen. 
At some point using manly names for effeminate characters was kind of an trope, then eventually those names just started being known as gay names.
You may take umbrage, but remember to put it back when you are done with it.
Other people need that umbrage, & it doesn’t show up often.
Are there any gay zombies named Bruce?
Anyone named Lance is still gay though, right?
I’m British; and I haven’t either, ever come across gay connotations of the name Bruce in the UK. For the last few decades there’s been here, of course (as referred to upthread) the endless Monty Python Australian-related “Bruce” stuff, ad nauseam so far as I’m concerned – I’m a weirdo who dislikes Monty Python. (There does come to mind the British entertainer and television presenter Bruce Forsythe, now aged 88 – his stage persona has struck me, anyway, as a little “camp”; but the gentleman himself seems to be thoroughly hetero: three wives and six kids to date.)
Fort-odd years back, I associated with a group of hobbyists who nicknamed one of their number “Bruce”. They were an odd bunch (and besotted Python devotees every one): why they gave this particular bod this name, was hard to fathom. This “Bruce” was a very pretty girl, admittedly rather a tomboy – and with no connections with Australia: she came from the east of London. Maybe they chose the nickname precisely because it was completely inappropriate?
Not really, a given name = “gay” really is 60’s to 70’s era stuff. Maybe it’s referenced in some old Simpsons episode but IMO the notion is kind of foreign as a concept to kids these days.
I was reading the thread, not realizing that it was a zombie, and people kept mentioning Bruce Jenner in a context implying that he’s the epitome of masculinity. I was like :dubious:
(Nothing against Jenner or transsexuals, he just seemed like an odd example.)
It goes back to a really bad date between Bruce and Bohun.
I asked my father this very question in the late 1970’s, and here is what he told me:
In the past, it had been the custom that, if you were in a position where you should introduce one person to another, but you didn’t actually know the name of the person you were introducing, you would introduce them as “Bruce”.
Because of this, “Bruce” became a popular name to give when you didn’t want to give your own name.
At some later time (the swinging 60’s if I had to guess), there were parties where people got together to have anonymous sex. At such a party for gay men, everyone there might give their name as “Bruce”.
And so the name became associated with gay men.
It made enough sense to me at the time that I had no follow-up questions.
No, he was never David in the comics. Stan loves alliteration, but sometimes even that he messed up. He started calling him BOB Banner. Then to try and explain away why this wasn’t a mistake, they decided that the character’s full name was Robert Bruce Banner. Nothing to do with David or the show.
When I was a kid I had a friend called Bruce. His older brother was called Gary. They’re both gay.
So that settles it.
Until Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, I’d never heard this one before. And I see that your comment predates Season 2 release so I must have been out of the know.
This might be one of the most misguided or ignorant answers I will ever give but I always assumed that the name ‘Bruce’ is associated with gay men because it sounds overly masculine. That is, he is definitely a "top’ and not a ‘bottom’. It conjures up mental images of a burly gay guy, a Harley rider, with a killer 70’s mustache decked out in black leather. I never associated the name Bruce with a wispy, delicate type of gay man or even a nondescript one. He is definitely a ‘Bear’ in gay nomenclature. If I am mistaken, I am just as confused about the reasons for the association as anyone.
Yeah, the “hypermasculine = gay” trope seems to have formed in the 70s, probably out of the real phenomenon of gay men being attracted to bodybuilding as a sport, as well as all the body hair that was becoming popular then. Also leather, motorcycles, etc.
I never heard of Bruce in particular being a gay name. But I have heard gay men being referred to by generic masculine names. Ween’s “Mr. Richard Smoker”, for example, has the line “Bruce and Jeff will pick you up at 10”. (I can’t tell if that song is wildly homophobic, or just satirical, but be prepared to be offended if you go listen to it.) SNL’s “Ambiguously Gay Duo” were named Ace and Gary. There are scores of other examples, but I can’t go scouring the internet right now.
As offensive as they can be in hindsight, I imagine these stereotypes were created to help gay men shake off the stigma of Liberace and other less-than-manly gay men, like Paul Lynde.
Yes, you are right:
Hence the Monty Python sketch.
The Monty Python sketch is based on the stereotype that Australians address everyone as “Bruce” and “Sheila.”
Well, let’s see:
- wears tight jeans
- has a hanky in a back pocket
- puts pictures of his ass on the cover of million-selling albums