“I was disappointed when I heard Ernest Hemingway was gay, mostly because he rojected the big he-man macho image. I feel there is something deceptive about that. I consider some one who is gay but pretends to be straight for hetero TV or movie roles to be the same as somebody who is bald but wears a rug to disguise/conceal the fact. Somebody like Rock Hudson deceived the public. Big Bird, on the other hand is a flamer, and in a way I guess I have to respect him for his honesty.”
I like BB too, but there is nothing inherently non-macho about gay men, although those who are macho and DO come out make the biggest impression. Robert Blake (Baretta) marches in the LA gay parade every year. Macho, not closeted, no decepton, just an overall image of strength and integrity.
Unfortunately that macho images allows people to believe someone is straight. A self fullfilling deception with the complicity of both sides. Then we have the feminine ones who deny their homosexuality, Liberace and Little Richard. The former’s well know esapades make the decpetion even lamer and more of a shameful lie.
The point is that the closet conveys self hate, regardless of the degree of macho-ness.
“What the hell happened to privacy? Is modesty a crime, now days? Is it absolutely out of the question that people might just shut the hell up about who is fucking whom?”
We’re talking about people coming out. If you don’t want to read the news story, flip the page. Your fantasizing about “who’s fucking who” and then turning away in disgust, has nothing to do with a celebrity wanting to share simply…WHO their partner is. There is more to people’s sexual identity than whether they might be fucking you.
This appeal to privacy is a thinly veiled classic homophobic argument. “It’s disgusting - keep it away from me, especially if I might respect this person already - you’re fucking with my reality…”
Agreed. A dear friend of mine, when confronted with the “gay people are always flaunting their sexuality,” markedly points out their wedding ring, picture of their spouse and/or children/grandchildren on their desk, and other obvious signs and asks them to stop doing the same.
