In this extended blog post I would like to discuss the following article: Gay Dads Eligible for Paid Parental Leave (Farr 2012). While I am happy that the Gay community is continuing its journey to receiving similar rights to heterosexuals; instead the focus of this entry will be on the image that accompanied this article, pictured below.
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| Whitewashed (Farr 2012) |
That is to say I’d like to discuss the representation of gay men in our globalised, and supposedly, multi-cultural nation. I will be discussing the sexism and racism witnessed within my community, and how this bigotry is enabled and supported by both Old Media and New Media. Gays and other 'queers' are no strangers to bigotry, persecuted by many religions and governments, both in the past and recently. It seems logical that after such a long history of persecution and bigotry that my community would be adverse to any form of bigotry and understand and celebrate the need for difference and acceptance. This does not seem to be the case, however. Of course I've just thrown around the word Globalisation; but I shall use Tehri Rantanen's definition: "a process in which worldwide economic, political, cultural and social relations have become increasingly mediated across time and space' (2005:8). Specifically I'll be looking at how the increased Physical and Media flows have affected the gay community's self-identity and archetypes. That is to say how has my community reacted to the increasing immigration and tourism of non-Caucasian gays; and how are gays represented in the Media?
To begin, I’d like to inquire into why the newspaper has decided to publish a picture with these particular models. Obviously both adults are highly attractive, with the leftmost displaying bulging biceps. Amanda Bower and Stacey Landreth’s research has found that the “[highly attractive model] is perceived to be more trustworthy,” (2001:10) and hence more persuasive. But can the models’ attractiveness to an Australian audience be attributed solely on their facial structure and build? Does race play any part in this? Patrick Cheng posits that race does play a large part in attractiveness, at least within the gay community (2011). Travis Kong also argues about the gay community’s preference for those displaying “athleticism … and a strong and hard body,” and how the Asian male is viewed as lacking these traits, as sexually receptive or ‘passive’ (2011:85). Reading Cheng and Kong together, it can be argued that - yes - race can be a factor for attractiveness, and that Asian men’s Otherness is commonly viewed as less attractive than the white, muscular men favored by my community. An example of the gay-male archetype is provided below, Landon Conrad, winner of the Grabbys Erotic Video Awards 2012 Performer of the Year Award (Grabbys 2012). Supposedly this is the Gay Porn Industry’s answer to the Grammies (note the wordplay).
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| Hyper-masculine much? (Source) |
But what is it about the gay community that idolises hyper-masculinity? One answer could be a form of diaspora. Traditionally defined as “the dispersion of any people from their original homeland” (New Oxford American Dictionary, electronic edition 2012). Diaspora is commonly recognised to result in a sense of yearning for one’s ‘homeland.’ Could there be a similar effect for the gay community? From a young age, we’re bombard with images of heterosexuality; Disney Princesses are a stunning example of Old Media enforcing sexist female gender roles.
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| Right in the Childhood? (Federation of Egalitarian Communities 2012) |
Also consider the Mortal Kombat franchise. A series of games and movies that glorify 'traditional' male attributes of strength, violence, aggressiveness and competitiveness.
Of course there are many more examples; such as Barbie (who's body proportions are unrealistic, bordering on fantasy), and Bugs Bunny's comical objectification of other female Bunnys. These examples show some of the socialisation and gender reinforcement common in mediated content. Homosexuality is not something discussed or represented in either of these series of texts, but rather something ignored. It doesn’t seem a stretch to imagine that someone acknowledging their homosexuality and departing from the sexual ‘norm’ is another form of diaspora (Butler 2001). It is conceivable that in a bid for acceptance and equality they will strive to embody their gender’s stereotypes. This yearning for 'normality' often results in static and conservative values, to protect their identity (Srivastava et. al.). But how do these conservative values manifest themselves in the gay community? It is my argument that they are shown in my community's occasional sexist and racist behaviour.
I've previously mentioned the dating apps available for gays, the profiles therein often have sexist or racist comments. Also I've discussed how today's Celebrity Culture has turned much of what was deemed 'private' and made it 'public' (Marshal 2010), consider the publicly accessible profiles below. It seems fair to note that this bigotry isn't limited to the 'evil' hegemony of caucasian gays, but is also actively practiced by Asians too.
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| How does one be a 'girl' about 'it'? |
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| Grindr is the right place to avoid women... |
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| Acting 'straight' when you're gay seems sad |
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| Racism isn't limited to Caucasians |
These profiles seem to all be making assumptions about gay culture and masculinity, similar to our Government's suppositions about Australian culture. KD, Daniel and Ryan Ryan, all seem to be asking prospective dates or hookups to ensure they're manly enough. John Berger argues that Publicity and Advertising takes our happiness away, and offers it back to us at the price of whatever new product they're selling (1972:128). As mentioned earlier the images sold to the gay community are similar to the first two images posted in this entry, that of hyper-masculinity. It seems that these three profiles, and by extension the gay community, have bought into these images. But how have these three profiles bought into my community's apparent preference for hyper-masculinity and whiteness? Ryan Ryan describes himself as straight acting. But what does it mean to be straight acting and how (and why) would a gay male qualify for the title of 'straight acting'? Does it include embracing some Media's representation of the straight male stereotype, including traits such as alcoholism, womanising, and the use of bogan-language? The second trait at least seems counter productive to listing oneself on a gay dating app. Or perhaps Ryan Ryan is describing himself as closeted, because he's acting straight. But then if that was so why would he post so many face pictures, it seems likely that eventually a viewer could recognise Ryan Ryan and 'out' him. It seems most likely, however, that Ryan Ryan is asserting his masculinity. He may like men and cock, but at least he's not 'a girl about it.'
Bruce Bawer, however, writes about the dangers and limitations of either/or designations (2012). That is to say that perhaps there's more to this supposed bigotry. Perhaps Asian masculinity is different to Western masculinity. Perhaps I've spend the past 900 words focusing on only a small part of the argument. Kong writes that traditional Confucian views of masculinity do not idealise the same traits. Instead there is the "wen ideal (cultured behaviour, refinement and mastery of scholarly work)" (2011:86). Kong uses the example of Cinematic martial art masters such as Li Mu Bai of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Although he's extremely capable of violence, the movie instead idealises his "moral personality (ibid.). It seems that the increased Physical flows of Globalisation have muddied and challenged my community's definition of masculinity and beauty, hopefully heralding a move towards something more egalitarian and diverse.
