Are Jazz And Gay Culture Antithetical? When an American friend of mine told me recently that gay men hate jazz, although that's not my experience in my part of the world, it got me thinking. But the article I found, by Francis Davis, only added to the mystery. Is the audience for Jazz overwhelmingly and creepily white, bourgeois, straight, macho and middle-aged (
which, embarrassingly, just about describes this Jazz fan...)? If it is, why the hell is it? Why are there so few outed
gay Afro-American musicians, for instance? Is there still a "
Don't Ask, Don't Tell" mentality? Or, more interestingly, does it have something to do with Jazz itself? Or even being gay? And what about the other
musical stereotypes (Garland, Streisand et al.) used in caricatures of gay men? Is there anything in them? [
NYT reg. required for main link; atrocious text garbling in the second.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Feb 22, 2003 -
31 comments
Even Ocicats In Hats Do It! How does this extraordinary woman know her cat is gay? Well:
People ask me why I think my cat is gay, and it's really hard to explain in words. If you hang out with him at all, it becomes obvious. His effeminate, overdramatic affectations speak volumes. He will go from languid, swishy posturing to screaming hysterics for no apparent reason, and then will fall over in an apparent swoon. If he is, he's certainly not
alone (predictably, even
Guinean cocks-of-the-rocks do it).
Giraffes are thought to be the gayest of all mammals but
cheetahs seem to run a close second.[
Please scroll down a bit. Requires Real or QuickTime. First link via Andrewsullivan.com.]
posted by MiguelCardoso
on Jul 5, 2002 -
21 comments
