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INTERVIEW WITH ANDREW SULLIVAN THE BOOKS: "Life Outside: The Signorile Report on Gay Men: Sex, Drugs, Muscles, and the Passages of Life."
"Same-Sex Marriage:
"Sexual Ecology."
ILLUSTRATION BY |
Three new books reflect the mainstreaming of gay culture -- and demonstrate a willingness to confront some painful realities. three books: One by a celebrity activist, one edited by a conservative essayist and one by a controversial AIDS-focused journalist. The first offers an informal study of gay life in and out of the cities, the second debates same-sex marriage, the third looks at the relationship between social structure, behavior and disease transmission. At first glance, they don't seem to have much in common, aside from the fact that all three authors are gay, white, East Coast males, and two (Signorile and Rotello) are friends. But actually, "Life Outside," "Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con" and "Sexual Ecology" signal a shift in gay arguments -- or at least arguments hyped by major publishing houses. Their uniting factor? Gay mainstreaming -- in particular, the celebration of gay monogamy and marriage. Whether this shift toward the mainstream reflects the entire gay and lesbian community is debatable. It's no coincidence that two of the most publicized gay and lesbian tomes of recent years are Sullivan's "Virtually Normal" and Urashi Vaid's "Virtual Equality": At times, the lesbian and gay community (or lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community) feels like a "virtual" one, represented publicly by stars and self-appointed leaders. Signorile fits the latter description, and his shift toward the mainstream has been rather dramatic. The author of "Queer in America" no longer champions the sexual nonconformity often favored by urban and collegiate-based activist groups. Today, he's singing the praises of gay couples in the suburbs, while attacking the ghetto mentality of many city-based gays. Still, he clings to his favorite dichotomy, in vs. out. In his view, many suburban gay men today are more "out" -- and thus more admirable -- than city gays, who sever ties (or simply lie) to erase their sexuality in family and work contexts. The subtitle of "Life Outside" -- "The Signorile Report on Gay Men: Sex, Drugs, Muscles, and the Passages of Life" -- conjures up memories of Shere Hite, but Signorile's research methods, involving informal Internet surveys and casual chats, don't qualify as scientific. That isn't to say his observations aren't accurate. The cult of masculinity does have a strong presence in urban gay neighborhoods, with many men pumping iron and drugs for H.R. Giger-like machine-made muscles. Yes, the cult is powered by consumerism and ignorant (or dismissive) of feminism. Yes, it denigrates effeminacy, celebrating rigid extremes: muscle or drag queens. And yes, the cult is epitomized by "circuit" parties -- status and appearance-obsessed events (often with conservative corporate sponsors who are all too happy to take pink dollars) where men dance, do drugs and have unsafe sex (according to Signorile), often in the name of AIDS fund-raising. The presentation and analysis of the masculinity cult in "Life Outside" are problematic, though. The book's interview subjects are uniformly two-dimensional and phony -- are they all unhappy Stepford homos programmed to spew contradictions and clichés? Or is Signorile first putting words in their mouths, then discarding them once he's gotten the quotes he needs? And whether relating history or espousing theory, Signorile tends to oversimplify. Anyone who's seen an AMG physique mag knows that gay obsession with muscles didn't begin with Stonewall. Cutesy and catchy chapter headings are no substitute for thorough reasoning. On more than one occasion Signorile moans that gay male energy wasted on narcissism could be channeled into activism, that pool parties could become political parties. But rather than outline steps for consciousness-raising or group formation, he spends the final third of "Life Outside" rhapsodizing about gay men who've escaped muscle-queendom by living in the suburbs. It's unfortunate that he never gives more than passing mention to urban gay men who don't adhere to the masculinity cult. By ignoring them in favor of suburbanites, he fails to address the cultural and economic reasons why many gay men migrate to (or stay in) the city. Instead, he advocates the "deurbanization of homosexuality." Yes, broader integration definitely furthers societal acceptance. But Signorile's lavender-tinted view downplays suburbia's own stifling status obsessions, and the intolerance in rural areas. next page: Barney Frank and Sonny Bono dance |
