Straight-acting: Difference between revisions
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====Down-Low==== |
====Down-Low==== |
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{{dablink|See also [[Down-low]]}} |
{{dablink|See also [[Down-low]]}} |
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"The Down-Low," or "DL" is a [[slang]] phrase used among [[African American]]s for men who secretly have [[men who have sex with men|sex with men]] while maintaining romantic relationships with women.<ref>[http://gaylife.about.com/cs/gay101/a/dl.htm The "Down Low" or "DL"]</ref> |
"The Down-Low," or "DL" is a [[slang]] phrase used among [[African American]]s for bisexual men who secretly have [[men who have sex with men|sex with men]] while maintaining romantic relationships with women.<ref>[http://gaylife.about.com/cs/gay101/a/dl.htm The "Down Low" or "DL"]</ref> |
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====g0y==== |
====g0y==== |
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{{main|Men who have sex with men}} |
{{main|Men who have sex with men}} |
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In the early [[1980s]] the [[Centers for Disease Control]] created the term "Men who have sex with men" (MSM) to refer to an [[AIDS]] risk group. At the time many criticized the term as a mere euphemism for gay men, but a new survey of "MSM" in [[New York City]] shows important differences between gay men and non-"gay" MSMs.<ref>[http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31092.html Independent Gay Forum - Gay Men Vs. ‘MSM’]</ref> |
In the early [[1980s]] the [[Centers for Disease Control]] created the term "Men who have sex with men" (MSM) to refer to an [[AIDS]] risk group. At the time many criticized the term as a mere euphemism for gay men, but a new survey of "MSM" in [[New York City]] shows important differences between gay men and non-"gay" MSMs.<ref>[http://www.indegayforum.org/news/show/31092.html Independent Gay Forum - Gay Men Vs. ‘MSM’]</ref> |
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====Lance Bass Debaucle==== |
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In an interview with <i>People</i> magazine, [[Lance Bass]] (foremerly of the boy band [[N' Sync]]) referred to himself and his friends as "SAGs". "I call them the SAGs — the straight-acting gays," Bass said. "We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer."<ref name="Mother" /> Bass received much heat from the gay community over the statement, which many believed implied that effeminate gay men were not 'normal'.<ref>{{cite web |
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|url = http://www.advocate.com/print_article_ektid36685.asp |
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|title = The myth of "straight acting" |
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|accessdate = 2007-07-13 |
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|author = [[Christopher Rice]] |
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|date = [[2006-09-25]] |
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|publisher = [[The Advocate]] |
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}}</ref> Bass later apologized on his [[MySpace]] blog, where he wrote, "I am very new to all this and I feel like even if I said the word "Dog" I would get letters of concern. So I apologize to anyone offended by terms I use." A major critique from the gay community was that the rather effeminate Bass (who seems to suffer from internalized "sissy phobia") seemed to be under the delusion that he could be classified as a "straight-acting gay" himself, which many argued is ridiculous by any stretch of the imagination. <ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAG</ref> |
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[[Image:Lance.SAG.jpg|thumb|Lance Bass, Straight-Acting Gay?]] |
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==Miscellaneous== |
==Miscellaneous== |
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Revision as of 23:08, 13 July 2007
Straight acting is a slang term used to describe a person who does not exhibit the appearance, or mannerisms of the gay stereotype. Although the label is used by and reserved almost exclusively for gay and bisexual men, it may also be used to describe a lesbian with stereotypical feminine appearance and mannerisms.[1][2] The label is most often used by those who do not self-identify with the traditional, standardized perception of gay men.[3] Because the term invokes negative stereotypes of gay people, its application is often controversial and may cause offense.[4]
Criticisms
Sex advice columnist Dan Savage commented on the popularity of the term "straight acting" in gay personal ads, criticizing both the preference, and the idea that a man seeking a gay relationship through a gay personal ad is acting straight.[5]. Even use of the term has been labeled as damaging to the LGBT community, with its association of a list of certain attributes with homosexuality.[4]
Men in the straight acting community express resentment that "straight acting" implies they are acting and not being their true selves.[2]
Media
Filmmaker Spencer Windes explored the term and the definition of masculinity in his film Straight Acting. The film is a documentary about Windes' journey from being a closeted Mormon missionary to an openly gay man, through his involvement in the subculture of gays who play contact sports. [6]
Related terminology
Other terms are sometimes used to describe men who do not self-identify as gay, or identify with the "gay stereotype."
Down-Low
"The Down-Low," or "DL" is a slang phrase used among African Americans for bisexual men who secretly have sex with men while maintaining romantic relationships with women.[7]
g0y
The neologism "g0y" is used to identify men who are affectionate with other men, but choose not to participate in anal sex. They detest the ways in which homosexuality has been linked to effeminacy and so have opted to create a new facet of sexual orientation. [8] "G0y" proponents dislike the grouping of gay male culture with intersexed and transgendered people. The word "g0y" comes from replacing the letter 'A,' representing anal sex, in the word "gay" with a numerical '0.'[9] Both "g0y" and "down-low" have been criticized as an excuse for homosexual men to stay closeted.[10][8]
Homomasculinity
"Homomasculinity" is a term coined by gay activist editor in chief of Drummer magazine Jack Fritscher in 1977. [11] The term describes a subculture of gay men who prefer masculine-identified men as legitimately as some men prefer effeminate men and drag queens. Equating the three self-fashioning identity labels "gay," "homosexual," and "homomasculine," Fritscher also coined "homofemininity" for lesbians to whom he opened Drummer magazine in the late 1970s by publishing writing about the Janus Society and writing from Samois, a group founded by gay activists Patrick Califia and Gayle Rubin. Humanist Fritscher intended "homomasculinity" as an identity concept and never as an exclusionary concept as promulgated by Jack Malebranche in his latter-day book Androphilia. The term "homomasculinity" grew out of the gay-identity movement and the leather subculture of 1970's San Francisco. and is detailed in Fritscher's gay linguistics essay "Homomasculinity: Framing Keywords of Queer Popular Culture" presented at the Queer Keyword Conference, University College Dublin, Ireland, April 2005.[11]
MSM
In the early 1980s the Centers for Disease Control created the term "Men who have sex with men" (MSM) to refer to an AIDS risk group. At the time many criticized the term as a mere euphemism for gay men, but a new survey of "MSM" in New York City shows important differences between gay men and non-"gay" MSMs.[12]
Lance Bass Debaucle
In an interview with People magazine, Lance Bass (foremerly of the boy band N' Sync) referred to himself and his friends as "SAGs". "I call them the SAGs — the straight-acting gays," Bass said. "We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer."[13] Bass received much heat from the gay community over the statement, which many believed implied that effeminate gay men were not 'normal'.[14] Bass later apologized on his MySpace blog, where he wrote, "I am very new to all this and I feel like even if I said the word "Dog" I would get letters of concern. So I apologize to anyone offended by terms I use." A major critique from the gay community was that the rather effeminate Bass (who seems to suffer from internalized "sissy phobia") seemed to be under the delusion that he could be classified as a "straight-acting gay" himself, which many argued is ridiculous by any stretch of the imagination. [15]
Miscellaneous
"Straight acting" in L33T or SMS speak is sometimes abbreviated as "STR8 acting."[16] SAG is an abbreviation of 'straight acting gay.' [17]
References
- ^ Science Fair Projects - Straight-acting
- ^ a b The Journal of Men's Studies
- ^ Straight Acting.com
- ^ a b Acting Straight
- ^ This American Life | Sissies
- ^ Straight Acting. A Story about Queers and Sports
- ^ The "Down Low" or "DL"
- ^ a b Imprint Online: The "g0y" phenomenon
- ^ G0YS.org - Spelled with a ZER0
- ^ 10 Things You Should Know About the DL
- ^ a b Jack Fritscher, Ph.D.
- ^ Independent Gay Forum - Gay Men Vs. ‘MSM’
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Motherwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Christopher Rice (2006-09-25). "The myth of "straight acting"". The Advocate. Retrieved 2007-07-13.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAG
- ^ Love@AOL Gay & Lesbian Singles & Dating- Decoding Gay Profiles
- ^ The myth of "straight-acting"
