Gay, lbian, bisexual, queer and transgenr cricism (Chapter 17) - The Cambridge History of Lerary Cricism

Contents:

• GAY CRICISM
• 17 - GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, QUEER AND TRANSGENR CRICISM
• GAY THEORY AND CRICISM
• KG VON TELLS POLICE HE'S 'GAY' IN RURFACED JAIL VIO
• EMEM RPONDS TO ANTI-GAY CRICISM WH SAME LAME EXCSORRY I'M NOT SORRYFACG MORE ANTI-GAY ACCATNS FOR THE LYRICS OF 'RAP GOD,' EMEM STANDS BY HIS CLAIM THAT A HOMOPHOBIC SLUR IS JT A MON DISS. WHO'S TIRED OF THE BROKEN RERD?KEV FALLONSENR EDOR, OBSSEDUPDATED JUL. 11, 2017 6:13PM EDT / PUBLISHED NOV. 04, 2013 4:07PM EST PIERRE ANDRIEU / AFPTHERE’S AN OLD TRICK HIP-HOP, WHERE A SOUND EFFECT MIMICS THE SCREECH OF A RERD BREAKG, AND THE SAME FEW BARS OF A SONG KEEP PLAYG OVER AND OVER AGA LOOP, LIKE A STUTTER. EMEM HAS BEEN G THE TRICK FOR OVER A NOW— HIS MIC AND HIS LIFE. SCE THE BUT OF THE SLIM SHADY LP 1999, CRICS, CIVIL RIGHTS ANIZATNS, AND MIC FANS WH NSCIENC HAVE BLASTED EMEM OVER THE RAMPANT E OF LYRICS HIS SONGS THAT ULD BE NSTED AS HOMOPHOBIC, OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, HATEFUL AND OFFENSIVE TO THE GAY MUNY. AND SCE THE BUT OF THE SLIM SHADY LP 1999, EMEM HAS NIED THAT HE IS FED BY ANY OF THOSE BIGOTRY-DITG ADJECTIV…BUT HAS GONE ON G THE NTROVERSIAL LANGUAGE ANYWAY. THE BROKEN RERD KEEPS ON SCREECHG. THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW TRACK, “RAP GOD,” OCTOBER SURFACED HOMOPHOBIA ACCATNS YET AGA. IN A NEW TERVIEW WH ROLLG STONE, EMEM REFUT THEM. YET AGA. IN “RAP GOD,” HE RAPS ABOUT HIS ABILY TO “BREAK A MOTHERFUCKER’S TABLE OVER THE BACK OF A UPLE FAGGOTS AND CRACK HALF.” AND THERE’S THE RANT THE SAME SONG THAT “GAY” AS A SHAMG SULT: "LTLE GAY-LOOKG BOY / SO GAY I N BARELY SAY WH A STRAIGHT FACE-LOOKG BOY / YOU WNSG MASSACRE LIKE YOU WATCHG A CHURCH GATHERG TAKG PLACE-LOOKG BOY / 'OY VEY, THAT BOY'S GAY,' THAT'S ALL THEY SAY LOOKG-BOY / YOU TAKE A THUMBS UP, PAT ON THE BACK, THE WAY YOU GO OM YOUR LABEL EVERY DAY-LOOKG BOY."ROLLG STONE ASKS EMEM WHY, AFTER YEARS OF BEG LLED ANTI-GAY FOR HIS LYRICS AND YEARS OF TELLG TERVIEWERS HE HAS NO PROBLEM WH GAY PEOPLE, HE NTU TO E WORDS LIKE “FAGGOT” AND “GAY-LOOKG” AS AN SULT.“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS WHOUT SAYG HOW I’VE SAID A LN TIM,” HE STARTS HIS RPONSE. (“TELL ABOUT ,” SAYS EVERYONE WHO’S TIRED OF HAVG TO POT OUT THAT HIS LYRICS ARE OFFENSIVE, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIM HE SAYS HE DON’T TEND THEM TO BE.) HE THEN LNCH TO THE SAME STORY HE’S TOLD BEFORE, ABOUT HOW WHEN HE WAS GROWG UP, LLG SOMEONE A “FAGGOT” WAS JT AS MON AND MEANT THE SAME AS “LLG SOMEONE A BCH OR A PUNK OR ASSHOLE.” (REMD Y’ALL OF A CERTA BUTTER-LOVG CELEBRY CHEF AND HER JTIFITN OF THE E OF A RACIAL EPHET?) TO HIS CRED, EMEM’S RIGHT. HE HAS A SAID THIS ABOUT A LN TIM AT THIS POT, OR AT LEAST ONCE. MOST MEMORABLY, HE SAT DOWN WH A PRE-OUT ANRSON COOPER AND TOLD HIM “FAGGOT WAS, LIKE, WAS THROWN AROUND NSTANTLY, TO EACH OTHER, LIKE BATTLG, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?” HIS NCLN THEN, 2010: “I DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WH NOBODY.” HIS NCLN NOW, AFTER ANOTHER ROUND OF NTROVERSY: “BUT THE REAL ME STG HERE NOW TALKG TO YOU HAS NO ISSU WH GAY, STRAIGHT, TRANSGENR AT ALL.” SCREECH. HEARG THAT RERD SCRATCH AND REPEAT? Y, Y. WE ARE AWARE THAT EMEM, ALLEGEDLY, HAS NO PROBLEMS WH ANYBODY. BUT ISN’T HE ALSO, THEN, BEG A HYPOCRE WHO HAS NO PROBLEMS WH ANYBODY? HE’S BEEN ADMIRABLY OUTSPOKEN ABOUT HIS FEELGS ON THE GAY MUNY AND THAT HE WISH NO ILL-WILL TOWARDS . HE EVEN ME OUT SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE! BUT WHAT DO THOSE WORDS REALLY MEAN WHEN HE’S RELEASG A SONG WH LYRICS THAT EXPLICLY WISH ILL-WILL ON THE GAY MUNY? TO SAY THAT ACTNS SPEAK LOUR THAN WORDS MIGHT BE A LAZY CLICHé. BUT ’S NO LAZIER THAN G THE WORD “GAY” AS AN EMASCULATG SULT, SO HERE GO. SAYG HE HAS NO PROBLEM WH THE GAY MUNY SUPERFICIALLY DIT THAT EMEM ISN’T HOMOPHOBIC. BUT REPEATG THE SAME TIRED EXCE FOR WHY HE HOMOPHOBIC LYRICS ANYWAY RENRS THE CLAIM ALL-BUT MEANGLS.THE ROLLG STONE TERVIEWER, DISAPPOTGLY, GIV EMEM AN EASY OUT AT THE END OF THE TERVIEW EXCERPT, SENTIALLY EXCG AWAY THE BEHAVR FOR HIM, SAYG, “I KD OF THOUGHT YOU WERE DOG BEE WHEN YOU’RE RAPPG AS SLIM SHADY, PART OF YOUR MISSN IS TO ANNOY PEOPLE.” IT’S AN OPPORTUNY FOR EM TO NOD EMPHATILLY AGREEMENT WHOUT FENDG HIS ARGUABLY HYPOCRIL BEHAVR WH ANY MORE PLEXY. “I THK PEOPLE KNOW MY PERSONAL STANCE ON THGS AND THE PERSONAS THAT I CREATE MY MIC,” HE SAYS. “AND IF SOMEONE DON’T UNRSTAND THAT BY NOW, I DON’T THK THERE’S ANYTHG I N DO TO CHANGE THEIR MD ABOUT .”THE RERD SPS ON. KEV FALLON

GAY CRICISM

Sexual relatns between men, or even jt the sexual sire of one man for another, is the generally accepted crern of gayns whe middle-class Ameri today. For example, Mexin and South Amerin cultur, the mere fact of sexual activy wh or sire for another male do not dite that a man is homosexual. As a macho, a man n have sex wh both men and women and not be nsired what North Amerins ll homosexual.

17 - GAY, LBIAN, BISEXUAL, QUEER AND TRANSGENR CRICISM

The same fn of homosexualy was ed whe Amerin workg-class culture around the turn of the twentieth century: only men who allowed themselv to be perated by a man durg sex and behaved a tradnally feme manner—submissive, y, flirtat, “soft”—were nsired homosexual.

A siar problem for ntemporary whe middle-class assumptns about homosexualy is offered by ancient Athens, where there was no polar opposn between homosexual and heterosexual behavr. In fact, wasn’t until the neteenth century that the notn of homosexual inty and even the word homosexual were adopted Anglo-European and Amerin culture.

The ia that one uld be a homosexual me along wh the ia, promoted by the medil profsns, that such an inty was a form of pathology. This is why many gay men today prefer to refer to themselv as gay: the word homosexual is associated, for many, wh the belief that homosexualy is a medil or psychologil disorr.

GAY THEORY AND CRICISM

The pot here is that attus toward homosexualy, like attus toward sexualy general, differ wily om one place to another and om one historil perd to another. The tense antigay sentiment that emerged an pecially ncentrated and vilent form Ameri durg the early 1950s and that lgers today do not reprent some kd of universally held attu toward, or even fn of, homosexualy. The kds of analys that tend to engage the attentn of gay crics often fall unr the headg of gay sensibily.

How do beg gay fluence the way one se the world, se onelf and others, creat and rponds to art and mic, creat and terprets lerature, or experienc and exprs emotn? In a heterosexist culture such as the twenty-first century Ameri, gay sensibily clus an awarens of beg different, at least certa ways, om the members of the mastream, domant culture, and the plex feelgs that rult om an implic, ongog social opprsn. In other words, part of seeg the world as a gay man clus the ways which one als wh beg opprsed as a gay man.

Among others, three important domas of gay sensibily, all of which volve rpons to heterosexist opprsn, are drag, mp, and alg wh the issue of AIDS. However, not all gay people cross-drs, not all cross-drsers are gay, and not all gay people approve of drag.

KG VON TELLS POLICE HE'S 'GAY' IN RURFACED JAIL VIO

For other gay men, drag is a form of polil activism ed to draw attentn to gay issu, cricize homophobic ernment and relig polici, and raise funds to fight AIDS.

EMEM RPONDS TO ANTI-GAY CRICISM WH SAME LAME EXCSORRY I'M NOT SORRYFACG MORE ANTI-GAY ACCATNS FOR THE LYRICS OF 'RAP GOD,' EMEM STANDS BY HIS CLAIM THAT A HOMOPHOBIC SLUR IS JT A MON DISS. WHO'S TIRED OF THE BROKEN RERD?KEV FALLONSENR EDOR, OBSSEDUPDATED JUL. 11, 2017 6:13PM EDT / PUBLISHED NOV. 04, 2013 4:07PM EST PIERRE ANDRIEU / AFPTHERE’S AN OLD TRICK HIP-HOP, WHERE A SOUND EFFECT MIMICS THE SCREECH OF A RERD BREAKG, AND THE SAME FEW BARS OF A SONG KEEP PLAYG OVER AND OVER AGA LOOP, LIKE A STUTTER. EMEM HAS BEEN G THE TRICK FOR OVER A NOW— HIS MIC AND HIS LIFE. SCE THE BUT OF THE SLIM SHADY LP 1999, CRICS, CIVIL RIGHTS ANIZATNS, AND MIC FANS WH NSCIENC HAVE BLASTED EMEM OVER THE RAMPANT E OF LYRICS HIS SONGS THAT ULD BE NSTED AS HOMOPHOBIC, OR, AT THE VERY LEAST, HATEFUL AND OFFENSIVE TO THE GAY MUNY. AND SCE THE BUT OF THE SLIM SHADY LP 1999, EMEM HAS NIED THAT HE IS FED BY ANY OF THOSE BIGOTRY-DITG ADJECTIV…BUT HAS GONE ON G THE NTROVERSIAL LANGUAGE ANYWAY. THE BROKEN RERD KEEPS ON SCREECHG. THE RELEASE OF HIS NEW TRACK, “RAP GOD,” OCTOBER SURFACED HOMOPHOBIA ACCATNS YET AGA. IN A NEW TERVIEW WH ROLLG STONE, EMEM REFUT THEM. YET AGA. IN “RAP GOD,” HE RAPS ABOUT HIS ABILY TO “BREAK A MOTHERFUCKER’S TABLE OVER THE BACK OF A UPLE FAGGOTS AND CRACK HALF.” AND THERE’S THE RANT THE SAME SONG THAT “GAY” AS A SHAMG SULT: "LTLE GAY-LOOKG BOY / SO GAY I N BARELY SAY WH A STRAIGHT FACE-LOOKG BOY / YOU WNSG MASSACRE LIKE YOU WATCHG A CHURCH GATHERG TAKG PLACE-LOOKG BOY / 'OY VEY, THAT BOY'S GAY,' THAT'S ALL THEY SAY LOOKG-BOY / YOU TAKE A THUMBS UP, PAT ON THE BACK, THE WAY YOU GO OM YOUR LABEL EVERY DAY-LOOKG BOY."ROLLG STONE ASKS EMEM WHY, AFTER YEARS OF BEG LLED ANTI-GAY FOR HIS LYRICS AND YEARS OF TELLG TERVIEWERS HE HAS NO PROBLEM WH GAY PEOPLE, HE NTU TO E WORDS LIKE “FAGGOT” AND “GAY-LOOKG” AS AN SULT.“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO SAY THIS WHOUT SAYG HOW I’VE SAID A LN TIM,” HE STARTS HIS RPONSE. (“TELL ABOUT ,” SAYS EVERYONE WHO’S TIRED OF HAVG TO POT OUT THAT HIS LYRICS ARE OFFENSIVE, NO MATTER HOW MANY TIM HE SAYS HE DON’T TEND THEM TO BE.) HE THEN LNCH TO THE SAME STORY HE’S TOLD BEFORE, ABOUT HOW WHEN HE WAS GROWG UP, LLG SOMEONE A “FAGGOT” WAS JT AS MON AND MEANT THE SAME AS “LLG SOMEONE A BCH OR A PUNK OR ASSHOLE.” (REMD Y’ALL OF A CERTA BUTTER-LOVG CELEBRY CHEF AND HER JTIFITN OF THE E OF A RACIAL EPHET?) TO HIS CRED, EMEM’S RIGHT. HE HAS A SAID THIS ABOUT A LN TIM AT THIS POT, OR AT LEAST ONCE. MOST MEMORABLY, HE SAT DOWN WH A PRE-OUT ANRSON COOPER AND TOLD HIM “FAGGOT WAS, LIKE, WAS THROWN AROUND NSTANTLY, TO EACH OTHER, LIKE BATTLG, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?” HIS NCLN THEN, 2010: “I DON’T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WH NOBODY.” HIS NCLN NOW, AFTER ANOTHER ROUND OF NTROVERSY: “BUT THE REAL ME STG HERE NOW TALKG TO YOU HAS NO ISSU WH GAY, STRAIGHT, TRANSGENR AT ALL.” SCREECH. HEARG THAT RERD SCRATCH AND REPEAT? Y, Y. WE ARE AWARE THAT EMEM, ALLEGEDLY, HAS NO PROBLEMS WH ANYBODY. BUT ISN’T HE ALSO, THEN, BEG A HYPOCRE WHO HAS NO PROBLEMS WH ANYBODY? HE’S BEEN ADMIRABLY OUTSPOKEN ABOUT HIS FEELGS ON THE GAY MUNY AND THAT HE WISH NO ILL-WILL TOWARDS . HE EVEN ME OUT SUPPORT OF GAY MARRIAGE! BUT WHAT DO THOSE WORDS REALLY MEAN WHEN HE’S RELEASG A SONG WH LYRICS THAT EXPLICLY WISH ILL-WILL ON THE GAY MUNY? TO SAY THAT ACTNS SPEAK LOUR THAN WORDS MIGHT BE A LAZY CLICHé. BUT ’S NO LAZIER THAN G THE WORD “GAY” AS AN EMASCULATG SULT, SO HERE GO. SAYG HE HAS NO PROBLEM WH THE GAY MUNY SUPERFICIALLY DIT THAT EMEM ISN’T HOMOPHOBIC. BUT REPEATG THE SAME TIRED EXCE FOR WHY HE HOMOPHOBIC LYRICS ANYWAY RENRS THE CLAIM ALL-BUT MEANGLS.THE ROLLG STONE TERVIEWER, DISAPPOTGLY, GIV EMEM AN EASY OUT AT THE END OF THE TERVIEW EXCERPT, SENTIALLY EXCG AWAY THE BEHAVR FOR HIM, SAYG, “I KD OF THOUGHT YOU WERE DOG BEE WHEN YOU’RE RAPPG AS SLIM SHADY, PART OF YOUR MISSN IS TO ANNOY PEOPLE.” IT’S AN OPPORTUNY FOR EM TO NOD EMPHATILLY AGREEMENT WHOUT FENDG HIS ARGUABLY HYPOCRIL BEHAVR WH ANY MORE PLEXY. “I THK PEOPLE KNOW MY PERSONAL STANCE ON THGS AND THE PERSONAS THAT I CREATE MY MIC,” HE SAYS. “AND IF SOMEONE DON’T UNRSTAND THAT BY NOW, I DON’T THK THERE’S ANYTHG I N DO TO CHANGE THEIR MD ABOUT .”THE RERD SPS ON. KEV FALLON

Also, general, the lbian muny’s adoptn of male clothg and groomg (for example, butch attire) or of androgeno clothg and groomg (for example, lbian-femist attire Lbian, gay, and queer cricism of the 1970s) has tend to be a matter of personal self-exprsn and/or quiet polil statement that hasn’t had the theatril qualy of gay drag.

Therefore, although butch lbians equently have been beaten and raped, pecially durg such reprsive perds as the 1950s, their cross-drsg never drew the natnal attentn foced on gay drag. Camp, of which flamboyant gay drag is an example, is a form of exprsn characterized by irreverence, artifice, exaggeratn, and theatrily. Th, the flamboyant theatrily of Judy Garland and of former basketball star Dennis Rodman—and the flamboyant irreverence of Bette Midler or of Madonna (for example, thk of the tim that Madonna wore her bra on the outsi of her clothg)—are appreciated for their mp quali by many gay fans.

Of urse, livg wh the realy of AIDS, which clus AIDS-related discrimatn, beme part of gay sensibily the late 1980s. It n’t help but affect the way gay men see the world to know that the feral ernment was reticent to fund AIDS rearch until the disease beme a threat for heterosexual cizens as well, to be aware of the lgerg reluctance of some medil profsnals to treat AIDS patients or to treat them wh rpect, to enunter discrimatn the workplace agast people who have AIDS or who are HIV posive (who do not have AIDS but who will prumably velop the disease at some future pot), and to put forth the daily physil and emotnal labor of rg for iends and loved on dyg of AIDS. Dpe their foc on different theoretil issu, there is a good al of siary the way gay and lbian crics approach lerary texts.