If there are men, there are gay men
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If there are men, there are gay men
Boys’ schools, men’s dormitories and soldiers’ barracks tend to be regarded as bastions against gayness. But there is no such thing.
The music industry remains maledominated despite inroads made by women, from playing the instruments to writing the lyrics to producing the records and hosting the concerts.
Rock music in particular is all about masculinity. Name some rock stars – most will be male. Women in rock tend to have shorter careers.
But rock has its styles that come right out of underground gay clubs, with glam rock the best example. (If you don’t know what is glam rock, see the film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”.) Not to overstate the gay component in rock music, but consider the impact that Freddie Mercury and Sir Elton John had.
Hiphop is another matter. While hiphop has far more male stars than female, there are promising entertainers like Nicki Minaj, still seeking to prove her longevity.
Hiphop is perhaps the most macho of the genres. The gangsta story involves drugs and violence. The videos routinely feature halfnaked women, with the girls played up as sex objects. The lyrics are often misogynistic – and antigay.
But at the same time, homophobic lyrics have cost many artists their jobs. Beenie Man saw his concerts cancelled by 2006. The group Odd Future was yanked from the lineup of Auckland’s Big Day Out festival this year. And Eminem had to hug Elton John to shake off his homophobic reputation.
I’d have believed hiphop is totally against LGBTs if it weren’t for Terrance Dean’s 2008 book “Hiding in Hiphop”. His memoir revealed that, despite all its machismo, the genre has plenty of gay men and women, both in and out of the closet.
The openly gay entertainers include Deadlee, and there are many others known to have samesex relationships. DJ Mister Cee was arrested earlier this year for performing lewd acts with a man. Then there’s the hintedat homosexuality of Queen Latifah and Lil B.
So it’s clear enough that no place is completely “gayfree”.
There are no exclusive refuges for straight men, neither in the concrete places like those mentioned at the top of this column nor in abstracts like the hiphop industry. You’ll always find a gay man inside.
So let’s be honest and get on with the duty of accepting gays and the LGBT community as part of society. We can get along fine – we already live together.
