Parents Just Don't Understand

Today at 10:45 pm: Picking up my other half. Insert "better" in there if you really must.

Did you know that much of James Dean's appeal, and iconic status, is due to his androgynous sex appeal? I thought he was an icon just because he's the ideal of old school cool with his leather jacket, poofed up hair, and lazy cigarettes but apparently Dean devotees admire him for his experimental lifestyle and much has been made of his sexual orientation. When asked whether he was gay, he once replied enigmatically, "Well I'm certainly not going through life with one hand tied behind my back."

I recently watched Rebel Without a Cause and while the movie is certainly dated and somewhat of a disappointment, it's impossible to ignore Dean's powerful charisma. The movie makes no sense and is, to contemporary eyes, heavy handed and lacking in nuance but as a part of cinematic history, it plays a powerful role I guess. Sal Mineo stars as the most effeminate sidekick in history and is often credited with portraying the first homosexual teenager on-screen. It's odd to think that this was over fifty years ago.

How much further have we come since then? Not a whole lot I'd say. I mean, Brokeback Mountain was recently hailed as a breakthrough but really, that shit was watered down and took no chances. Plus, Heath mumbled his way into an Oscar nomination, which was probably the most controversial thing about the film.

As a skinny, frail-looking guy with a penchant for jewelry, I'm often assumed to be gay. I can't tell you how many times I've been cornered by some random guy as my friends die laughing from just off-stage. I mean, I certainly don't mind it, aside from the momentary uncomfortability, but I feel like it must be horrible to have this one thing play such a prominent role in the way people perceive you. Forever and ever, you'd be known as "the gay guy" or "the lesbian girl." Yada yada.

Then again, what's the difference between that and ethnicity? I'm always asking "So, what ethnicity is he/she?" in order to achieve some context. (It helps with my stereotyping if I can get a quick tip-in as to the person's skin color.) In the right circles, I'm sure sexual orientation trumps everything else as an identifier.

I feel like there must be some taxonomy order of operations for this kind of thing. Like how Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, etc. works you know? Before I meet someone, for example, I'd like to be able to identify them according to: Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Age, Where from, Job, Significant Other?, Economic Status, Religion, Interesting Errata, Name.

E-SO-A-W-J-SO-ES-R-IE-N. Somebody come up with a mnemonic for that...

Bonus: Check out these fun "gay-themed" scenes from Chasing Amy and Reality Bites (apparently PFLAG is a real organization?!).