# Queer As Folk? - Lame as shit **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2000, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042 "2000-12-11T17:41:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/21 "2000-12-12T12:16:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DavisMcDavis \* > > 1. Why wait to object the bris until the rabbi pulls out the scalpel? This is the sort of thing you’d bring up before inviting people, isn’t it? Responding as requested. A lot of people I know have no clue what a bris is. I had to inform them of the significance. I bet Brian didn’t know either. Not uncommon for gentiles to be clueless about other faiths. [QUOTE} 2) Why faint when you find out “bris” means “circumcision” - wouldn’t you ask what the funny word meant before coming to the party?[/QUOTE] See above. Maybe also they thought it was a lesbian miso based potluck. > [@](#): > > 1. What club are they going to where 90% of the bathrooms are filled with people having sex and 10% with people doing drugs, and none are actually peeing? Everywhere I’ve ever gone has those ratios in a totally different proportion, especially on a weeknight. Even at the raunchiest clubs I’ve been to, sex has never been the winner, at least not in my stall, nor has there ever been a constant din of groaning from bum-fucking stall neighbors, either. On 1992 I worked at a large gay dance club. It seemed fairly right on to me from my experience. Though I was fired for decking a customer who shook my crotch hello after I warned him once. > [@](#): > > 1. Glitter-filled, handwaving, shirtless muscle-bound dance party on a weeknight, every night, in Pittsburgh? Doesn’t anyone stay home on Wednesdays to watch Bette? Not my cup of tea either, but I know a lot of people who did do just that. Bette’s sitcom really isn’t that good. She needs better material instead of tired old retreads of her act. Where’s Bruce Vilanch when she needs him?!? > [@](#): > > 1. Drag queens just walking around on the mulit-colored-light street? Most drag queens I’ve seen are performers, rarely seen outside of a bar/nightclub stage. If they aren’t working, they aren’t working it, either. Are you sheltered? Even in Milwaukee, Wisconsin there are drag queens walking around. I really think your perspective is limited. > [@](#): > > 1. GHB and a beer? Bad idea, obviously, but did both of those guys supposedly not know that? Is it possible for two guys to have sex and have it be neither meaningless nor end in a coma? Guess not. You don’t see Wal-Mart boy having sex. And yes, it is possible, Virginia. There have only been two episodes. Give it a chance. > [@](#): > > 1. Even a foreign hustler can say “money,” and will leave when he doesn’t get any, even if it’s funnier for him to stay. This sort of “comedy” belongs on “Three’s Company” prior to the departure of Chrissie. It was establishing the wish to believe in something that does not exist. Heavy handed? You bet. Real? YOU BET. > [@](#): > > 1. “Showtime - No Limits” - then how come no penises? Brian’s penis was swinging and you could see it as he walked in the daylight in the first episode. > [@](#): > > 1. The “hot” guy isn’t. Your perspective, not mine or any of my friends. We can see he’s attractive, we just wouldn’t do him. > [@](#): > > 1. The “whiny” guy works at a Wal-Mart clone and thinks he can’t get dates because of his looks. Bzzt! Try again. Please. Everyone deep down thinks they are ugly. Everyone has insecurities. These insecurities often kill what could be a good thing. I can give chapter and verse on the self-destructive habits of the every day gay man which keep them single and alone. He is not unique or uncommon. > [@](#): > > 1. He’s afraid of getting fired and losing his job if they find out he’s gay. Which would make sense, except isn’t he in an entry-level position? Is there just one Wal-Mart in Pittsburgh? He’s in management. He is not a peon. He’s an upper peon. Walmart is notably homophobic. Some gay men choose to keep jobs that threaten their identity. This is far from uncommon. I think that your perspective is quite limited and might be expanded by talking to other gay men and lesbians. What you are seeing on Queer as Fuck is far from stereotypical. It just may not be anything you’ve ever experienced. Open your mind and take in the different perspective. Just because you watch it does not mean you have to be it. And if you really don’t like it, stop watching it. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Crunch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@Chief\_Crunch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Crunch)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/22 "2000-12-12T13:09:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sublight \* > \*\*Sorry, I guess I’m out of the loop on this one. What’s GHB? I’m not much of a fan of our former president, either, but isn’t going into a coma just a wee bit of an over-reaction? > > –sublight. \*\* Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate, a liquid sedative drug commonly found at “raves”. It has also become infamous as a “date rape” drug. An insidious individual will slip some into his or her date’s drink unnoticed. Interestingly, a little over ten years ago, one could walk into any health store and procure GHB over the counter. I believe in most states now; however, it’s a Schedule I. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/23 "2000-12-12T14:30:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hastur \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by friedo \* > > \*\*Well, call me a schmuck, but I can’t sit through anything with two men kissing without wretching. Just makes me wanna puke. Yuk. Pisses me off that I have to sit through the previews for this show while waiting for the softcore porn to come on at 2am. > > > > Ain’t it great how it’s totally acceptable for girls to get it on in titflicks but not guys? Man, I love the double standard! Woooo!! > > > > \*\* > > Dear Pig: > > Get over it. If you can’t handle it, step away from the television, turn it off, turn on your oven, and stick your head in. The feeling will pass as the feeling leaves your body. \*\* Am I the only one who got the feeling that **friedo** was being very tongue-in-cheek, and that **Hastur** jumped all over him for no real reason? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/24 "2000-12-12T14:37:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Duke \* > \*\*When I heard about “Queer as Folk” being on Showtime, I assumed you all meant the _UK_ version. I had no idea that you Statesiders were going to mess around with it and come up with an Americanised version. Damn, no wonder it was lame–_all_ the recent Americanised versions of UK shows have been lame. Remember the US version of “Men Behaving Badly”? \*\* Oog. And “One Foot in the Grave”. And “Absolutely Fabulous”. And… I hain’t seen the US version of QAF but really liked the UK version – and then Channel 4 went and made QAF2, which was a definite letdown. jr8 ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/25 "2000-12-12T14:47:10Z")
I haven’t seen this show - and don’t plan to based on the comments I’ve seen here (that and I don’t get Showtime :)) I was just wondering what the hell the name of the show is supposed to mean. Queer as folk? Is that some catch phrase I’m unfamiliar with. It doesn’t seem to make a damn lick of sense to me. Can someone fill me in here? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/26 "2000-12-12T14:55:47Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Guinastasia** _ > > Dammit, I will be pissed if Pixburgers ahr misrepresented an at, yinz know at? 'n’at! 😃 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/27 "2000-12-12T15:01:42Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Danielinthewolvesden** _ > > … some gay clubs i was told had “quasi-bathroom stalls” with 'gloryholes" for just sex. **Daniel** , is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us? You seem to know an awful lot about the gay community… Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/28 "2000-12-12T15:06:32Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Hastur** _ > > Though I was fired for decking a customer who shook my crotch hello after I warned him once. Ooo, how butch. Where do you live again? 😉 Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/29 "2000-12-12T15:09:11Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **neutron star** _ > > I was just wondering what the hell the name of the show is supposed to mean. Queer as folk? Is that some catch phrase I’m unfamiliar with. It doesn’t seem to make a damn lick of sense to me. Can someone fill me in here? It’s a British expression that basically means something is as weird as people are weird. ("'Ere, that bloody election’s queer as folk, ya think?") Esprix ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/30 "2000-12-12T15:15:02Z")
_tongue planted firmly in cheek._ Dammit, Esprix, I think I know Pixburghese, an’at!!! 😛 \*Disclaimer-I don’t talk like that, (although I have been known to say an’at, and ahrn and stuff like that…) ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/31 "2000-12-12T15:15:50Z")
If I remember my Celtic myths, “Folk” also describes the Sidhe (faerie). Once upon a time, gays were referred to as “fey,” which literally translates as affiliated with the court of Titania and Auberon. Then there’s the derogatory term “fairy,” which is related, but which I really hate. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/32 "2000-12-12T15:24:24Z")
QAF refers to the Yorkshire saying, “There’s nought as queer as folk,” meaning “people are strange.” It was used to humorous effect in “The Full Monty.” and i’m going to watch this sunday to see what all the fuss is about. I think Hal Sparks, formerly of E’s “Talk Soup” who plays the Wal-Mart guy is _tres_ hot. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/33 "2000-12-12T15:26:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by **neutron star** _ > > > > I was just wondering what the hell the name of the show is supposed to mean. Queer as folk? Is that some catch phrase I’m unfamiliar with. It doesn’t seem to make a damn lick of sense to me. Can someone fill me in here? > > It’s a British expression that basically means something is as weird as people are weird. ("'Ere, that bloody election’s queer as folk, ya think?") > > Esprix \*\* I’ve usually heard the expression as “There’s nowt [nothing] so queer as folk”; i.e. nothing is stranger than people themselves. The title of the show plays on the double meaning of “queer” (the same pun is used in the movie “The Full Monty” in the funeral scene, albeit inadvertently). I’m not sure whether the “queer as folk/queer as fuck” pun was also intended, but hey, why not. jr8 “Puns are little “plays on words” that a certain breed of person loves to spring on you and then look at you in a certain self-satisfied way to indicate that he thinks that you must think that he is by far the cleverest person on Earth now that Benjamin Franklin is dead, when in fact what you are thinking is that if this person ever ends up in a lifeboat, the other passengers will hurl him overboard by the end of the first day even if they have plenty of food and water.” – Dave Barry, “Why Humor is Funny” ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/34 "2000-12-12T15:28:18Z")
Dammit – beaten to the punchline… jr8 ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/35 "2000-12-12T15:29:52Z")
Thanks for putting my curious mind at ease, Esprix, Ogre, goboy, and jr8. Damn title still doesn’t sound quite right to me, but at least now I know what it means. ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/36 "2000-12-12T15:31:38Z")
I’m probably wrong, then. Haven’t dated a Brit in a while (but feel free to ask me about Chinese history 😉 ) Esprix ---
**Author:** ![DavisMcDavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DavisMcDavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavisMcDavis)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/37 "2000-12-12T21:27:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\*I’m probably wrong, then. Haven’t dated a Brit in a while (but feel free to ask me about Chinese history 😉 ) > Esprix \*\* I asked my gay British friend and he said I was right on the money - it’s both a pun on “Queer as Fuck” and the phrase “There’s nowt queer as folk,” meaning “People are strange.” ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/38 "2000-12-12T21:41:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Esprix \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > _Originally posted by **Danielinthewolvesden** _ > > > > … some gay clubs i was told had “quasi-bathroom stalls” with 'gloryholes" for just sex. > > **Daniel** , is there something you’d like to share with the rest of us? You seem to know an awful lot about the gay community… > > Esprix \*\* Well, coming from you, that is a real compliment. No, I worked & lived in Hollywood during the 70’s. Actually owed a modeling studio. Ran with some of the 'party" crowd, which included some TV’s, dominatrixs, drag queens, and several gay men- who frequented the “gay baths”, and would regale us with the stories. At one party, they set up a couple of faux “booths” with 'gloryholes". However, for some reason, the male physique is in no way “sexy” to me. I will admit, tho, that with some of the Trans & etc, that the fact they had a “Y” chromosome somewhere did not stop me from thinking THEY looked pretty damn hot. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/39 "2000-12-12T21:59:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ogre \* > Am I the only one who got the feeling that **friedo** was being very tongue-in-cheek, and that **Hastur** jumped all over him for no real reason? Actually, I was being quite serious. [hijack] Hey, let’s solve world starvation by eating out babies! I’m serious about this too. Really. I am. Stop looking at me like that. I’m dead (get it?) serious. [/hijack] Whooooosh!! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![DavisMcDavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@DavisMcDavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavisMcDavis)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2000, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042/40 "2000-12-12T22:14:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chief Crunch \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by Sublight \* > > \*\*Sorry, I guess I’m out of the loop on this one. What’s GHB? I’m not much of a fan of our former president, either, but isn’t going into a coma just a wee bit of an over-reaction? > > –sublight. \*\* > > Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate, a liquid sedative drug commonly found at “raves”. It has also become infamous as a “date rape” drug. An insidious individual will slip some into his or her date’s drink unnoticed. Interestingly, a little over ten years ago, one could walk into any health store and procure GHB over the counter. I believe in most states now; however, it’s a Schedule I. \*\* Even stranger is that the news used to call “roofies” [rohypnol? can’t remember the real spelling] “the date rape drug” but now they call GHB “the date rape drug.” Strangely, alcohol is never called the date rape drug. GHB is now Schedule 1 all over the U.S. > [@](#): > > _Orginally posted byMamaHen_ As for the bris thing, did you happen to notice the line that Micheal said…“I just found out what the Hebrew writing at the bottom of the invitation meant” I got the impression that meant that they had no idea it would be anything but a celebration of the birth. I must have missed that line, which makes me feel better, that does make more sense then. Maybe it wasn’t made clear or I jumped to a conclusion, but the slutty sperm donor father (don’t remember his name) - did he also not know what a bris was? Was he such an asshole that he nor any of his friends never bothered to ask what the party was they were going to? I still find that odd. If I invited to you a “shmigglepoof” at my house, would you: a) Show up with a garden hoe and three turnips, ready to shmiggle or b) Ask me what the hell a “shmigglepoof” is or c) Assume that it’s a traditional New York baby celebration without turnip involvement and not bother to ask what it means > [@](#): > > About the character Ted going into a coma after mixing drugs with beer. I noticed that he mentioned that he really wasn’t used to doing that sort of thing. I can imgaine he was pretty excited and caught in the moment. That guy was hoIt enough to make me forget the moment. I can understand that Ted wouldn’t know what he was doing, but the hot trick - the one who specifically said he didn’t drink. He seemed to have done GHB several times from the way he spoke, and he also refused a drink, leading me to think he knew alcohol and GHB don’t mix. But then he gave GHB to Ted, who he knew was drinking. Why would he do that? I could see it if he had no idea what he was doing, but he seemed to know enough to have bought and used it several times before, according to what he said. It just seemed very illogical to me. > [@](#): > > I think everyone who has SHOWTIME should watch it just at least to support what they are doing. I know I’ll be turning it on every week. Unless you’re a Nielson family, they’re not going to know one way or the other. > [@](#): > > _Orginally posted by Danielinthewolvesden_ > However, about #5- sorry- you are wrong. There were scads of “Trans” hookers- and some of them were very hot looking, indeed. This show takes place in the present, in Pittsburgh, and the trannies dont’s seem to be hookers (i.e., not standing on corners), they’re just walking around. Tranny hookers would be unlikely to frequent a specifically gay area, since their customers are the sorts of men who consider themselves “straight.” For example, Eddie Murphy. **Hastur** I am soooo not sheltered! After all, I know what a bris is 😉 Maybe Pittsburgh is different from New York, I guess they must be more open about gay people there, and perhaps drag queen really do walk around everywhere. Here, they take cabs. Even in my wildest, clubbiest days, when my Saturday evening would end at 2pm Sunday, there still was not a place like “Babylon” on a Thursday. But I maybe Pittsburgh has a bigger club scene than NYC. I wonder if anyone from Pittsburgh knows… > [@](#): > > I think that your perspective is quite limited and might be expanded by talking to other gay men and lesbians. What you are seeing on Queer as Fuck is far from stereotypical. It just may not be anything you’ve ever experienced. Just because I’ve never been chased by a maniac with an axe doesn’t mean that I don’t cringe when Jamie Lee Curtis runs directly to the first corner she sees instead of out the door. This show has all sorts of little logic problems that bug me, the same way it bugs me when Dorothy on the Golden Girls keeps coming up with new children she’s never before mentioned whenever it’s convenient for the plot. I think part of the problem is that I saw “The Broken Hearts Club,” which was well-made, funny, interesting, non-patronizing, and realistic, so now I know it is possible to do a movie about gay people that’s realistic. Watch that movie - QAF pales in comparison. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/queer-as-folk-lame-as-shit/45042.md?page=3)