# Why do so many gay people gravitate to show business? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156 "2010-01-31T20:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/21 "2010-02-01T05:48:06Z")
I don’t know about Hollywood, but Broadway . . . well, [warning, anecdote!] I know more gay thespians than I do gay non-thespians. And, I can’t think of any other time in my life where I wouldn’t be surprised to be the only straight guy in a room than if I was in a room of actors. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/22 "2010-02-01T08:25:51Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What are “blind items” (in the OP)? In gossip columns, they will have a story like, “A well known actor and ‘friend’ were seen canoodling in such-and-such night club the other evening. Does his wife know?” Sometimes they will give clues to whom they are referring, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/23 "2010-02-01T09:08:44Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Does anybody really give a frack that Bob the wonder accountant that works in basement is gay if he is great at his job? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/24 "2010-02-01T12:41:43Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I dont take history lessons from drama queens. At least not snotty ones. Please skip the personal insults. Thanks, twickster, Cafe Society moderator ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/25 "2010-02-01T14:28:14Z")
The theatre explanation is simple–performing a show live eight times a week is so difficult that very few people can it do, never mind doing it well. If you can, nobody gives a fuck who you are fucking. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/26 "2010-02-01T14:59:48Z")
> [@](#): > > The question would IMO be this: Is being (at a statistical group level) a drama queen something that gay folks are genetically inclined to more (than no gay folks) or is it just a way for them to adapt/adjust/integrate/whatever in society? I doubt the genetic argument holds any water. There’s no proof of a gay gene. Identical twins arent always the same orientation. There are other theories (hormone levels in utero) but we cant chalk this up to genetics. Im voting confirmation bias. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/27 "2010-02-01T15:31:39Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > What are “blind items” (in the OP)? I thought the whole world knew about blind items! There are dozens of gossip sites and quite a few blind items sites. [http://BlindGossip.com](http://BlindGossip.com) is the one I was reading to my friend (who has no computer) and the actors names submitted in response may or may not include the handful of openly homosexuals the public knows about. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/28 "2010-02-01T15:36:22Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I dont take history lessons from drama queens. At least not snotty ones. There was nothing snotty in my post at all. How old you are is completely relevant to your familiarity with the history we’re talking about. And it’s a fact that homosexuality is not a behavior. Your assumption that it is might also be relevant to your age. So asking your age is cogent to this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/29 "2010-02-01T15:57:48Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I thought the whole world knew about blind items! There are dozens of gossip sites and quite a few blind items sites. [http://BlindGossip.com](http://BlindGossip.com) is the one I was reading to my friend (who has no computer) and the actors names submitted in response may or may not include the handful of openly homosexuals the public knows about. A lot of us really hate gossip though. Blind gossip would probably give me an aneurysm. ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/30 "2010-02-02T04:18:42Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > I doubt the genetic argument holds any water. There’s no proof of a gay gene. Identical twins arent always the same orientation. There are other theories (hormone levels in utero) but we cant chalk this up to genetics. Genetics is not that simple. Consider epigenetic “switches.” Two people can have the same genes but different levels of expression of those genes. So the identical twin argument doesn’t hold much water. Anyway… at this state of the scientific research, it’s not possible to rule in, or rule out, a genetic component. Anyway (back to the OP), in my completely unscientific opinion, I’m guessing that gay men are slightly overrepresented in the arts because many of the arts are currently considered more “feminine” pursuits (although this hasn’t always been the case). A guy who already feels “different” in such a fundamental way may be more willing to let go of traditionally “masculine” conceits and feel more free to pursue an artistic career. I say this as a lesbian who – realizing that a lot of the societal rules no longer apply – cheerfully chucked the makeup and heels (traditionally “feminine” conceits) along with other societal expectations in favor of things more suited to my own personality. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/31 "2010-02-02T04:29:20Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > I’d propose the opposite arguement. That the arts embraced gays more (if they even did so) EXACTLY because they were outside of the mainstream. Being outside the mainstream is nearly a requirement of the arts community (thats my impression at least). Maybe\* now\* it is, but it wasn’t always so. Oscar Wilde’s fall from “grace” comes to mind… ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/32 "2010-02-02T07:05:09Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Thirty years ago, Bob faced almost certain dismissal from his job for being gay, in all but a very few places. I don’t remember 1980 being 1950. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/33 "2010-02-03T04:32:54Z")
Birds of a feather… or, to avoid the homophobic cow-orkers in other professions. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/34 "2010-02-03T04:35:10Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > I don’t remember 1980 being 1950. Here, have a hit of this. Fix you right up. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/35 "2010-02-04T06:52:35Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > I don’t remember 1980 being 1950. Not sure what that means. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/36 "2010-02-04T07:41:52Z")
You wrote: “Thirty years ago, Bob faced almost certain dismissal from his job for being gay, in all but a very few places.” Well, I was around in 1980. And with your talk about “almost certain dismissal”, you make 1980 sound like it was 1950. It wasn’t. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/37 "2010-02-05T14:11:02Z")
Here’s my (non-scientific) opinion: 1. Acting was, historically (before TV and film) viewed as a less than respectable profession - indeed actresses were often thought to be (and sometimes were) prostitutes on the side. As such, it attracted, and was accepting of, society’s misfits. One of the few places a gay person could exist openly, at least amongst his/her peers if not to the audience 2. Once you get a profession that tends to attract and be accepting of gay people, it attracts other gay people 3. ‘Some’ gay men, historically and currently, have exaggerated their ‘gayness’ to make themselves more ‘fun’ and less threatening to little old ladies - there’s a grand tradition in British entertainment of flamboyantly camp characters who are obviously gay to our modern eyes but somehow got away with it in the past by being outrageous (small o). Acting is a perfect place to express your gayness in this manner. Accountancy, not so much. These uber-camp actors, by their very public ‘acting-out’ probably give people an exaggerated stereotype of the acting profession, gay men, and for that matter English men (at least according to the French). ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/38 "2010-02-05T14:18:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Maybe\* now\* it is, but it wasn’t always so. Oscar Wilde’s fall from “grace” comes to mind… Oscar Wilde’s fall from grace was not a rejection by the acting community but by wider society. In fact hanging out in artistic circles possible gave him an unrealistic view of his own invincibility. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/39 "2010-02-05T15:22:02Z")
I’d just add that the US saw Jewish entertainers back when Jews were still facing significant prejudice, and Black entertainers long before most Americans were willing to even contemplate a mixed-race President. Apparently we’re willing to be entertained by people we’re not sure we’d like to have as bosses or even neighbors. So I wouldn’t be surprised to find more openly gay men and women in the entertainment business than in other businesses - doesn’t mean there are more gay folks in Hollywood than anyplace else, but the entertainers may feel more free to be themselves. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156/40 "2010-02-05T15:52:08Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > I’d just add that the US saw Jewish entertainers back when Jews were still facing significant prejudice, and Black entertainers long before most Americans were willing to even contemplate a mixed-race President. Apparently we’re willing to be entertained by people we’re not sure we’d like to have as bosses or even neighbors. So I wouldn’t be surprised to find more openly gay men and women in the entertainment business than in other businesses - doesn’t mean there are more gay folks in Hollywood than anyplace else, but the entertainers may feel more free to be themselves. Very valid point. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-so-many-gay-people-gravitate-to-show-business/527156.md?page=3)