Gay/Straight Ad Watch: Enjoy Your Nature
Gay Guy,
I think straight guys' fascination with lesbians (or the hint of girl/girl action) is unique in the animal kingdom. I just can't imagine that there are bulls in the pasture who would thrill at the thought of two heifers getting it on. It really is an abstraction that's hard to defend.
These commercials aren't wrong, exactly, just idiotic. And homophobic? Does "It's different" mean "It's wrong"?
Of course, no one is interested seeing two schlubby dudes dance awkwardly or oil each other up. But I'm sure there is an audience for the guy/guy dynamic if it's cast correctly. Oceans 11 - 13 anyone?
Maybe there are some straight women who could be entertained (and marketed to) with a little bromantic teasing. "Will they or won't they?!?" I just don't think there's the same intensity when the equation is flipped. Please let us know.
Any sociologists out there who can dig a little deeper on this?
Any new readers who missed the GG/SG discussion on the Girls Gone Wild double standard (girls allowed to experiment, guys labeled forever) can check out these earlier posts. Link. Link.
--Straight Guy
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4 comments:
That was a great post. I also read the previous posts. I do not claim to be an expert on sexuality, it is a complicated issue which is at the most socially constructed; but I do believe that there is a double standard when it comes to gay men.
As far as the beer commercials, there are undertones of homophobia.
I thought there was a lot of sexual tension between Holmes and Watson in the new Sherlock Holmes movie . . . and it was fun to watch.
Expatresse: Great call on the Sherlock Holmes movie. Downie has taken some flack from the Doyle estate over his statements on the bromance between Holmes and Watson.
I saw it, and liked it. Of course Downie plays Holmes as despairing and self destructive... that's how he plays all his roles.
Well. It seems to me that if 2 guys see 2 girls dancing seductively, they guys don't think the girls are gay...just the opposite...that they're only dancing that way to tease the guys. However, those 2 guys in that ad are NOT sexy (IMO, alone or together), so it's so blatantly rigged, if you will.
NOW...had the guys been super-ripped and gorgeous...ppl would assume they're gay. The gay male audience would love it (and the straight gals would revel in the eye candy) and the straight guys would probably hate it.
I may be way off here, but that's how I see it.
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