I know that I belong to a subculture or a culture in general being an openly gay male. This is a pretty widely diverse culture, but I find myself again recatagorized to a more specific subculture. I don't really think the subculture to which I belong really has a name or many other members.
When most heterosexuals think of the average homosexual male they think of what we see on TV shows like Will & Grace, flamboyant, well dressed men who flitz around listening to Britney Spears and Cher, and to a certain extent that stereotype is embodied by every muscle shirt wearing gay guy walking around Halsted and Belmont on a saturday night. This is not to say all of us are like this, this is the wider stereotype, which unfortunately for me is very much the ordinary among my people.
I'm almost an outsider among my own people. Instead of following the latest celebrity gossip, I'm reading Wuthering Heights. I don't dance. I do not sing. I do not act. I write. I may dress well, but that's subjective. I don't listen to female pop vocalists, I listen to independant bands whose fans are a subculture of their own. The biggest division I've noticed between "them" and me is that I don't sleep around which is another very true stereotype of my people. I tend to think of myself as old fashion when it comes to that sort of thing.
Dating is no easier for a gay male than a straight male, just to dispell that rumor. I can't date the stereotypes, I just can't do it. When I date, which is rare, I date the other men like me, and trust me they are few and far between. In most cases these other men who read books instead of trash magazines aren't what most would consider "traditional beauties." And I'm okay with that. It's just really hard to find other people who fit into my niche, it's hard to know that your culture has been accepted by society, but you still don't fit in.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
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