Homoeroticism in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien!

Great Debates
1

I have just discovered, upon re-reading all of Professor T’s works for the 374th time, that said works are totally and completely GAY! That’s right, they’re riddled throughout with gayness!

Just look at The Lord of the Rings. The subtext is as transparent as a pickup line in a Greenwich Village bar! At the beginning of The Two Towers, Aragorn kisses (you read it right, KISSES) the dying Boromir on the brow. Probably gave him a handjob too, just to ease the pain of his passing. The “healing hands of the King,” indeed! :wink:

And how about Frodo and Sam? All alone in a hostile land with only each other for comfort, with Sam not knowing if he’ll ever see Rosie Cotton again…why, them doing it makes so much more sense than them not doing it! Are Hobbits made of stone?

More evidence: Sam KISSES Frodo on the brow! While he’s SLEEPING! Later, when Sam rescues Frodo from the Tower of Cirith Ungol, he sees Frodo NAKED, being WHIPPED! Oooooh, bondage and domination reference!

Some knowitall is probably going to send in a post pointing out that in Victorian and Edwardian times (when Professor T grew up) it was not considered “gay” to express affection for another male; that it is OK in Europe for straight men to kiss; and that Shakespeare himself expressed affection for a certain young man in his sonnets but was probably not gay.

Yeah, right. Just like the Ancient Greeks didn’t consider themselves gay for fucking little boys.

That brings up my next question: were Victorian, Edwardian, European and Shakespearean civilization all really GAY? And if not, why not? I mean, there’s nothing wrong with it.

And wasn’t Professor T, himself…SECRETLY GAY? What if he really wanted to write a gay fantasy novel, but pulled back from the abyss just in time? He probably would have lost his chair at Oxford, the poor man.

Now I bet some anal-retentive (mmmm! sexy adjective) dweeb with an ego the size of Michael Martinez will write in saying that Tolkien was happily married for many long years. Well, lots of gay men have to keep up appearances. How do you KNOW he wasn’t gay?

If he wasn’t gay, he should have been!

2

First, the snide sniggering about certain passages in the Bible. Now this.

tclouie, could it be you have a leeetle bit too much time on your hands?

3

Ice Wolf, could it be that anyone at all who visits these message boards regularly has a leetle too much time on their hands? I mean, what’s the Internet for if not to waste time?

Could it be that you’re an offended Tolkien fan (or an offended Bible reader) who is taking me a leetle too seriously?

Could it be that some people have absolutely no sense of humor? God save me from those killjoys.

4

Beg your pardon, tclouie. I didn’t see the “this is a work of satire in progress” signs up. Musta been my blindspot again, dang it!

And, nah – I don’t read the Bible, and only own a copy of Tolkein’s works. Still can’t read 'em. I apologise for mistaking your wit as just another appearence of the “subliminal conspiracy” gang.

5

BTW, being a SDMB junkie would take way less time than going through works of very long literature looking for secret meanings behind the fiction.

Next up, it’ll be War and Peace’s, I’ll bet!

6

Uh… kissing someone of the same sex (on the brow?!? Scandalous!) doesn’t make someone (Hobbit or not) gay. Not even in this day and age.

I’m surprised you didn’t reference the line when Aragorn (or Gandalph?) suggested that everyone carry one “faggot” with them when they try to climb over the Misty Mountains… (“faggot” referring to kindling, in this instance).

7

You sure ya didn’t mean to post this in IMHO, tclouie?

8

And let’s not forget the passage where they “Throw another faggot on the fire.” Seems more homophobic to me than homoerotic.

9

WE’RE HERE!
WE’RE BOROMIR!
GET USED TO IT!!

Sua

10

Don’t ask, don’t soothsay.

11

[Moderator Hat: ON]

For obvious reasons (mostly being that this is not a Great Debate), I’m locking this thread.

David B, SDMB Great Debates Moderator

[Moderator Hat: OFF]