The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
The Curious Case of Gayface: Should straight actors play gay roles?
milomorris:
--- Quote from: x-man on August 20, 2013, 08:50:10 am ---They are never going to love us. Remember the old saying: There are basically two kinds of straight people--those who hate you to your face, and those who hate you behind your back. It may not be true 100% of the time, but it is true enough to be a good way to proceed.
--- End quote ---
That is a patent falsehood that is just as debilitating as the myth I was taught about white people always secretly hating and distrusting us black folk. Its thinking like this that leads to self-segregation, mistrust, disunity, and a whole host of other social ills.
The truth is that there will be people who hate me simply because I am an ethnic or sexual minority. But there are far more people who are going to love me because I'm me. Most people with who I have come in contact judge me by the content of my character, and not by the color of my skin, or who I love.
CellarDweller:
I have to agree with Katherine and Milo. I've had great support from straight people, and I don't believe that we would have gotten as far as we have without our straight supporters.
x-man:
I hope I am wrong. I hope you are right, I really do.
southendmd:
x-man, I'm sorry you feel that way. When it comes to film, of course we gay folk like to see our lives on the big screen. But, I don't think it matters who makes them. They're either good or they're not. Films like Latter Days, Shelter and Undertow, made by gay filmmakers, are our modern masterpieces. Yet, straight filmmakers, notably Ang Lee, brought us both The Wedding Banquet and Our Beloved Film. Certainly, there are a lot of abysmally bad gay-made films too.
However, I don't need exclusively to see gay films. I can be moved by all kinds of films. The kind of love in Casablanca has "nothing to do with my life", but it never fails to stir great feeling in me.
As has been pointed out, roughly half of our membership is straight women. BBM doesn't have anything to do with their lives, on the surface, either. Yet they are just as moved as us gay guys.
Queer as Folk is a bad example; I found much of it objectionable myself.
As for me, I don't need straight people to love us. I expect respect, and yes, equal rights.
And as for a good way to proceed, expecting straight people will hate us whether in front, or behind our backs, I think that's a sad way to approach the world. I'm sorry if that's been your experience. You said you're 75. I'm 50. We must have had different experiences.
serious crayons:
--- Quote from: southendmd on August 21, 2013, 07:35:29 pm --- You said you're 75. I'm 50. We must have had different experiences.
--- End quote ---
Oh, x-man, I missed seeing your age earlier. I wonder if that influences your outlook. I'm 55, don't know many people my age who are homophobic, and I think people younger than me are even less so on average.
My state recently legalized same-sex marriage. There had been, admittedly, a close call on an anti-marriage-equality amendment last fall -- but still, less than a year later, marriage equality. When the law first passed, everybody I know on FB, most of them straight, posted some kind of celebratory post. A huge crowd of couples got married in the capital when the law took effect, starting at midnight and going until about 6 or 7 a.m. Our mayor performed the ceremonies. It was a happy, thrilling moment for both gay and straight people who witnessed it or heard about it.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version