Little Love Arrows

I am currently distracted by rehearsals every evening this week for our current musical production; we give our first public performance on Friday night, then four more shows that weekend and the next. This time: "Kiss Me, Kate", by Cole Porter.

One amusing moment in the show is the dialog between the star, Fred Graham, and a rival of his for the affections of Lily Vanessi, the General. Now, the General is a decided Republican*

The General is outlining his theory of women, whom he believes not only need a firm hand now and then but — between the General and Fred — he thinks they like it. Fred continues to draw the General out in very ironic terms:

Fred: Women should be struck occasionally, like gongs?
General: Who said that?
Fred: Noel Coward.
General: Now there's a man I'd like to meet — a real straight talker.
Fred: Um, not really.

Of course, what we have here is a little pun via Mr. Porter — himself a person of some homosexual persuasion — on the word "straight": Mr. Coward, a well-known person of the homosexual persuasion, can hardly be described as a "straight talker" and the joke is on the General but being a staunch Republican he doesn't realize it.

There is another place where the General sings his song to Miss Vanessi and refers to a time when things were "so gay". "Gay" was popular in song lyrics of the time; among other things, it's easily rhymed with lots of useful words about love and things.

Now, in later years, one of the big complaints straight guys have made about the "homosexual agenda" is that it has ruined a perfectly good word, namely "gay". "Gay", they say, used to mean happy and carefree, something about which straight boys apparently wished to speak and sing frequently.

But then, "gay" also has meant gay in the modern sense for quite some time. Now it struck me: think for a moment about all those times when "gay" was used as a "good word". Largely, these uses seeped into the public lexicon via popular songs of the time, popular songs largely written by people like Cole Porter and Noel Coward, and others of notoriously homosexual persuasion.

What a delicious irony that so many of those "good" uses of the word "gay" might turn out to be coded little irony arrows launched to pierce the hearts of just those staunch straight men who decry its debasement since then.
———-
* Probably "staunch" in the manner of all such Republicans. Does this word ever get used to describe anything other than Republicans?

Posted on March 13, 2007 at 12.06 by jns · Permalink
In: All, Faaabulosity, Reflections

One Response

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  1. Written by rightsaidfred
    on Wednesday, 14 March 2007 at 00.45
    Permalink

    I have experienced piercings from the staunchly gay.

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