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sarahmichiganSo, I'm feeling rather ashamed of myself that I've just now sort of unpacked and examined a stereotype/prejudice I didn't really consciously realize I had: that gay men are apolitical.
Lesbians? Sure, I expect them to be politically active.
But, come on, Sarah, there were gay men at Stonewall, and you don't get too much more political than that!
I think it comes from the fact that most - though certainly not ALL - of the gay men I've known personally have been apolitical, some to the point of apathy and/or intentional ignorance. But there are plenty of examples of gay men who are making things happen in the area of GLBT rights but also anti-racism and other social justice issues.
And by "political," I don't necessarily mean going to protest marches or organizing boycotts, ala Harvey Milk. You can have a political consciousness and not do marches; you can influence people just by the way you choose to live and the causes you choose to support with your money or by leveraging your fame.
Most recently, I've been respecting the hell out of gay men who were out and/or active pre-Stonewall. Two examples: Christopher Isherwood and Quentin Crisp.
I just finished Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" and reading up on him on Wikipedia. Definitely not apolitical.
And Quentin Crisp? I recently watched "The Naked Civil Servant" on Watch Now, with John Hurt playing Crisp. Hurt's performance is FUCKING FIERCE, and he deserves every award he got. My eyes tear up just thinking about it. Crisp is oddly passive in his love life in the film depiction (and likely in the memoir its based on), and yet the way he lived his life was so brave- he refused to be anybody but Quentin.
In an interesting coincidence, when I was googling the made-for-British-TV-movie, I found out that John Hurt will be playing Crisp again, as an older man.
Lesbians? Sure, I expect them to be politically active.
But, come on, Sarah, there were gay men at Stonewall, and you don't get too much more political than that!
I think it comes from the fact that most - though certainly not ALL - of the gay men I've known personally have been apolitical, some to the point of apathy and/or intentional ignorance. But there are plenty of examples of gay men who are making things happen in the area of GLBT rights but also anti-racism and other social justice issues.
And by "political," I don't necessarily mean going to protest marches or organizing boycotts, ala Harvey Milk. You can have a political consciousness and not do marches; you can influence people just by the way you choose to live and the causes you choose to support with your money or by leveraging your fame.
Most recently, I've been respecting the hell out of gay men who were out and/or active pre-Stonewall. Two examples: Christopher Isherwood and Quentin Crisp.
I just finished Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" and reading up on him on Wikipedia. Definitely not apolitical.
And Quentin Crisp? I recently watched "The Naked Civil Servant" on Watch Now, with John Hurt playing Crisp. Hurt's performance is FUCKING FIERCE, and he deserves every award he got. My eyes tear up just thinking about it. Crisp is oddly passive in his love life in the film depiction (and likely in the memoir its based on), and yet the way he lived his life was so brave- he refused to be anybody but Quentin.
In an interesting coincidence, when I was googling the made-for-British-TV-movie, I found out that John Hurt will be playing Crisp again, as an older man.
