Fear of the Gay Penis
I think my favorite pull-quote from this brief video ("Ac**kalypse Now", from That's Gay), which makes mock of gay panic in the US military and fear of the gay penis, is:
"Why go to a gay bar or log on to manhunt.com when you could fly to Afghanistan and risk your life just to sneak a peek at a straight dude's dong?"
It might end up being suitable material, this gay panic, for a new chapter in a revised version of A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis By David M. Friedman. (It's a fascinating book with lots of useful and eye-opening information; one review here.)
I think you know by now that 1) I do, indeed, take it personally; 2) I'd be offended if it didn't all seem so drearily familiar by now; and 3) I know that there are some sensible people, quite a few actually, who think it all as ridiculous as I do.
Here's the entire video, in case you'd like to watch:
[The YouTube link for those who don't see the embedded player.]
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To thwart spam, comments by new people are held for moderation; give me a bit of time and your comment will show up.
I welcome comments -- even dissent -- but I will delete without notice irrelevant, rude, psychotic, or incomprehensible comments, particularly those that I deem homophobic, unless they are amusing. The same goes for commercial comments and trackbacks. Sorry, but it's my blog and my decisions are final.
on Saturday, 13 February 2010 at 23.45
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I've been under the impression that the military has pretty well gotten past this irrational fear. Republican/conservative pols and the usual religious suspects are experiencing paroxysms of apoplexy, but that's to be expected. But am I missing something about military people themselves, other than those of the previously mentioned types?
on Sunday, 14 February 2010 at 00.08
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No, SW, I don't think you're missing a thing. We've known for years that the rank & file really couldn't care less. My father, a career military man, told me 20 years ago he didn't see what the fuss was about–he'd always had gay men in his battalion, he knew it, they knew it, everyone else knew it, and no one cared. It's been political grandstanding and right-wing fearmongering for nearly 20 years. Now the top brass have the balls finally to say publicly what everyone knows anyway, that there's no problem, never was. Between us I suspect all the talk about a year-long study is just misdirection so that all the attention wanders elsewhere by the time the DADT ban is lifted.
on Sunday, 14 February 2010 at 18.06
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Thanks for the clarification; I was beginning to wonder. Misdirection seems likely.