How to Tell if Your Guy Friend Is Gay: 15 Steps (wh Pictur)

Contents:

• FRIENDSHIP TROUBLE: AN EXAMATN OF THE GAY BT FRIEND INTY AMERIN CONSUMER CULTURE
• HOW TO DEAL WHEN YOUR BT FRIEND IS GAY
• THE COWARD ACT OF BEG ASHAMED OF MY GAY BT FRIEND
• HOW TO TELL IF YOUR GUY FRIEND IS GAY
• CAN GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN REALLY BE FRIENDS?
• 19 QUEER FRIENDSHIP BOOKS THAT GO BEYOND THE GAY BT FRIEND
• THE EVOLUTN OF THE “GAY BT FRIEND,” FROM HARMFUL TROPE TO TV GOLD
• HOW TO FD YOUR GAY BT FRIEND

FRIENDSHIP TROUBLE: AN EXAMATN OF THE GAY BT FRIEND INTY AMERIN CONSUMER CULTURE

This study seeks to addrs this void by offerg an analysis of the gay bt iend through an examatn of the quali that nstute the gay bt iend inty as is prented Amerin nsumer culture.

The quali are ascertaed through an analysis of popular Amerin televisn shows and movi featurg gay bt iend characters—Will & Grace, Ugly Betty, Glee, Sex and the Cy, Burlque, The Devil Wears Prada, and Sex and the Cy 2.

The tegori nstct the gay bt iend inty as one that is pletely modified and sentialized and that, although touted as an ditn of creasg acceptance of gay people, nstut ltle more than a new form of opprsn. Contemporary culture has bee saturated wh the gay bt iend; the July, 2010 issue of Teen Vogue pots out “the mt-have ems [for a fashnable teenage girl] clud a Proenza Schouler tie-dyed top, a shnken ary jack, neon bright chunky bracelets, and … a gay bt iend” (Talbot, 2010, page number).

HOW TO DEAL WHEN YOUR BT FRIEND IS GAY

Ined, the gay bt iend n even be found on the shelv of booksellers natnwi Terrance Dean’s (2010) book, Straight om Your Gay Bt Friend: The Straight-Up Tth About Relatnships, Work, and Havg a Fabulo Life. One potential effect of this inty is the perpetuatn of the opprsive cultural unrstandg of gay men as eful for style advice, terr sign, sassy ments, their abily to cut hair, and ltle else. In addn to ntributg to the margalizatn of gay men as a whole, this uld further margalize gay men who do not fill the role of the gay bt iend if the inty be signifintly more accepted than other gay inti.

THE COWARD ACT OF BEG ASHAMED OF MY GAY BT FRIEND

This should not e as a surprise, though, as gay culture has been heavily modified nsumer culture, the system where lkag between rourc, material and symbolic, and meangs, lived experience, and inty are created, mataed, and negotiated by markets (Arnould, 2010).

This is exemplified Bravo’s h seri Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which promot gayns as a mody that n improve one’s life and shows viewers where gayns n be bought (Kooijman, 2005). Addnally, the targetg of the gay muny by “ol hunters, ” agents who would document aspects of gay culture and pch the aspects to pani lookg to make their products and advertisg “oler” (Kle, 1999), illtrat the high mody value of gayns. Prev rearch has foced on heterosexual women who beiend gay men (Buckley, 2008; Maland, 1991; Moon, 1995; Thompson, 2004), the relatnships between gay bt iends and heterosexual women (Comer & Ldsey, 2007; Shepperd, Coyle, & Hegarty, 2010), and whether media reprentatns of gay men are posive or negative (Hart, 2004; Kooijman, 2005).

HOW TO TELL IF YOUR GUY FRIEND IS GAY

This study seeks to addrs this void by offerg an analysis of the gay bt iend through an examatn of the quali that nstute the gay bt iend inty as is nstcted Amerin nsumer culture.

CAN GAY AND STRAIGHT MEN REALLY BE FRIENDS?

As his female iend’s sikick, the suatnal edy’s gay bt iend’s behavr elics lghter om the dience, obscurg the social stctur supportg homophobia by divertg the dience’s attentn om the stctur to his il behavr (Gray, Jon, & Thompson, 2009).

19 QUEER FRIENDSHIP BOOKS THAT GO BEYOND THE GAY BT FRIEND

Bee the gay bt iend character is not nfed to one genre, and gay bt iend characters om different genr share many attribut— is both possible and necsary for an analysis of the gay bt iend to clu characters om multiple genr. In addn to boastg high viewership, the televisn shows and movi span the time perd over which the gay bt iend rose to promence, which allows the vtigator to observe the chang the nstctn of the gay bt iend inty over time. ((Though there are certaly other televisn shows and movi ntag gay bt iend characters, the shows and movi feature their gay bt iend characters more promently than many other shows.

Furthermore, there are other televisn shows and movi featurg gay characters that are not gay bt iend characters—characters whose iendships wh heterosexual women are not emphasized, e.

For example, Kurt Hummel, the gay bt iend character Glee, wears -season, signer clothg; has a large and lavishly rated bedroom; attends an expensive private school for part of season two; and driv an expensive r, a Lln Navigator, (Murphy, Falch, Brennan, & Stt, 2009) early the seri. The absence of an explic source of wealth, particularly texts ntag material that ntradicts the apparent affluence of the gay bt iend, offers sight to the importance of this qualy.

THE EVOLUTN OF THE “GAY BT FRIEND,” FROM HARMFUL TROPE TO TV GOLD

Frequent dietg is associated wh high socenomic stat (Story, French, Rnick, & Blum, 1995), and health foods are typilly more expensive than their regular unterparts, so an obssn wh “healthy” eatg and health food signifi the gay bt iend character’s high socenomic stat. By featurg gay bt iend characters who share this batn of quali—affluent life styl, whens, an tert fashn, a slenr body, and a preoccupatn wh “healthy” eatg habs—the texts make high socenomic stat a major qualy of the gay bt iend character; thereby, nstctg the gay bt iend inty as one only available to dividuals wh high socenomic stat.

The femizatn of the gay bt iend’s body tempers the masculy typilly associated wh male bodi and nstcts the gay bt iend inty as one whose body mt signify prcribed levels of masculy and femy. By prentg the gay bt iend inty as one that is alienated om his fay, heterosexual men, and other gay men, the texts nstct the gay bt iend as pletely pennt on his female iends for pannship. Dpe the equaly their relatnships wh their female iends, the gay bt iend characters are very protective of the iendships, exhibg a gree of posssivens or terrorialy when they believe another gay man is encroachg on one of their iendships.

For example, Carrie Bradshaw and Stanford Blatch are very good iends, and “All That Glters, ” Carrie begs a iendship wh another gay man, Oliver Spencer, who jt moved to Manhattan om Atralia (Bhnell, Star, Chupack, & McDougall, 2002). Jack, for example, outs himself to a prison guard while visg Karen’s hband prison (Kohan, Mutchnick, Herschlag, & Burrows, 2001) and equently phras such as “homo don’t do that” (Kohan, Mutchnick, Greenste, & Burrows, 2001) and “let me get this gay” (Kohan, Mutchnick, Kightlger, & Burrows, 2002).

HOW TO FD YOUR GAY BT FRIEND

By nstantly (re)assertg the gay bt iend character’s gayns, the texts ensure the character’s gayns remas the foreont of the dience’s md, which is particularly important bee the texts are nstctg an inty that appears to be pletely predited on gayns. Through their prentatn of the quali—the balance of masculy and femy, the sassy meanor, the nstant proclamatn of his gayns, and his transformative powers—the texts prcribe the appropriate behavrs for the gay bt iend inty.