Straight-acting: Difference between revisions
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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." |
}}</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://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_972/ai_n16865061 The myth of "straight-acting"]</ref> |
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==Miscellaneous== |
==Miscellaneous== |
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Revision as of 18:38, 4 August 2007
Straight acting (also known as "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]
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.[11]
Lance Bass incident
In an interview with People magazine, former 'N Sync member Lance Bass 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."[12]
Bass received much heat from the gay community over the statement, which many believed implied that effeminate gay men were not 'normal'.[13] 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. [14]
Miscellaneous
"Straight acting" in L33T or SMS speak is sometimes abbreviated as "STR8 acting."[15] SAG is an abbreviation of 'straight acting gay.' [16]
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
- ^ 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) - ^ The myth of "straight-acting"
- ^ Love@AOL Gay & Lesbian Singles & Dating- Decoding Gay Profiles
- ^ The myth of "straight-acting"
See also
- Butch and femme
- Metrosexual
- Gender role
- Masculinity
- Femininity
- Classical definition of effeminacy
- Frot
- Lance Bass
