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Your age and your favourite cowboy

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ednbarby:
I have no preference between Jack and Ennis.  I adore them both equally and want to comfort them both endlessly.  And I'm a 41 year old woman.

Now, if the question were whether I prefer Jake or Heath, that'd be a whole 'nother answer entirely.

As to Jeff's question, though - I understand.  And yes, when I was in my 20s, I preferred more Ennis-like men.  Father figures.  Hell, I married one.  Now that I'm in my 40s, it's the Jack-like men around me to whom I find myself attracted.  I like to hope it isn't just a mid-life crisis and that my tastes have evolved to encompass optimists with a zest for life.  But I'm not sure...

Jeff Wrangler:

--- Quote ---I like to hope it isn't just a mid-life crisis.
--- End quote ---

Ya know, I could ask that question of myself, too. If I had a young cowboy lover like young Jack, there would be a not particularly pleasant term for him: trophy boy.

serious crayons:
Well, I'm not sure where either of you is coming from, distinguishing two men who are in fact THE SAME AGE, both as characters and real-life people. Ennis, a father figure? Au contraire! Incidentally, Jeff, if I had a cowboy lover of Ennis' age, I'm sure there would be some unpleasant term for it, too. (Bring it on, though! I can handle a nasty word or two!)

But I have another idea for an interesting way to analyze this data. Those of us who prefer one cowboy over the other may consider it a combination of physical attraction and sympathy for the character. People who like Jack adore both his sweet, hopeful spirit AND his big blue eyes and sexy physique. People who like Ennis are attracted to his complexity and vulnerability, as well as to his drop-dead gorgeousness.

So what if we imagine a parallel universe in which Heath and Jake switched roles? I don't think many of us would want it that way. But for the sake of argument, let's imagine that they are both just as good in the opposite roles, and that the movie is just as good. So the question is, which cowboy would you prefer then? If you stick with the same one, you're probably drawn more to character. If you'd switch, it may be more physical.

For me, it would be very, very, very close. But I think ultimately I would switch preferences -- going for Heath as Jack rather than Jake as Ennis. Does that make me shallow?

Jeff Wrangler:
In my little (leather/levi) subcultural corner of the gay world, a "daddy" is not necessarily a "father figure."

Trust me on this one, Ennis is a "daddy," and Jack is a "boy." It has to do with personality, deportment, and sex role, a combination of elements. Chronological age doesn't necessarily play a role in it, though it can. In this case, the fact that Heath and Jake are almost the same age, and Ennis and Jack are the same age, is irrelevant.

serious crayons:
OK. I'll take your word for it. Though that still doesn't explain quite ednbarby characterizing them the same way.

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