Mauve · 5y

Do you think there's such a thing as a "gay sensibility" which exists separately from, and doesn't depend upon the presence of, homoerotic attraction?

I think this depends. I know a few straight men who regularly get mistaken for gay, and are sometimes thusly harassed, just because they don't take up a lot of space or stuff like that. but I dont think that's what you're asking? bc of course there are ways to "seem gay" which have nothing to do with appearing to have same-gender attraction

I think any kind of gay sensibility probably revolves around either 1. things that the larger culture deems gender non-conforming; or 2. things that rise to popularity within gay communities. for example, poetry and zines tend to proliferate in queer spaces, while they remain genres that the larger culture doesnt care for.

but most aesthetics and genres and values that gain traction in the gay community can probably be linked in some way to same-gender attraction (eg. cruising culture coming out of gay men not being able to openly pursue their sexual interests) or to gender non-conformity (men liking female pop stars is considered faggy, and so only fags allow themselves to like female pop stars). this includes poetry and zines, because they are cheap to produce and assume a small audience, which suits artists that fail to gain a cishetero following. I dont think I believe in a gay soul though, or whatever, I'm much more likely to chalk things up to the material realities of the culture

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