Brokeback Mountain: A Woman Writer Imagines The Life Of Gay Men
One of the things that came up when looking up reference material for my review of Queer Cowboys was this fucked up nut job over on the NARTH (National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality) website.
For those who are not aware NARTH is about providing “reorientation therapy” to normalize homosexuals who are suffering apparently from a “low masculinized brain” according to our dear Quack Louis A. Berman ~ The Puzzle: Exploring the Evolutionary Puzzle of Male Homosexuality.
The point I want to make is look at his arguments on Brokeback Mountain…
Does the film sharpen our image of the gay man, or does it actually becloud it, romanticize it, elevating political correctness to a dazzling new level. How much does the story tell us about the social and inner life of gay men?
My ideas around this are and always have been. I question the movie as a “Gay Romance” about “Gay Men” or is it really about “Homosexual Men”.
See to me talking about “Gay Men” is talking about politics, or culture, or the personal courage of admitting to yourself you are a “Gay Man” and living such a life closeted or otherwise. “Homosexual Men” is simply in my terms about a sex act.
So for simplicity here compare Torch Song Trilogy to Brokeback Mountain.
Do you get it? Torch Song shows men living as “Gay Men” and Brokeback shows men coming to accept being “Homosexual Men” in love. Brokeback Mountain never steps one foot into the political or the cultural identification aspects of being Gay. But… Mr. Berman does not get this.
This makes a believable story for straight folks to behold, and gives the movie a very romantic touch, but this does not recognize the importance of cruising in the life of a typical young gay man.
Typically, a young man who has just discovered his taste for gay sex, is eager to explore the widest range of sexual possibilities. He visits bars, pool halls, or other places where young men congregate, searching for kindred souls, getting physical with good buddies or with total strangers, testing himself out with guys just like himself, or completely unlike him; getting to know how he responds to older men and to younger men.
UM NO… There actually is a brief scene of Jack cruising men in Mexico which is why I personally think he is Gay. So after admitting he has never really watched the movie our Quack goes on to repeatedly say…
Yes, there seems to be a womanly touch to this major theme of the story
and in his final tap dance he says…
The intent of this commentary is not to debunk Annie Proulx’s story as an impossible tale. Human life has endless possibilities, and this tale unfolds just one of them. The story appeals to the readers’ imagination (especially to the reader who, like the author of “Brokeback Mountain,” is a woman), but the story does not consistently serve the filmgoer (or reader) who is trying to arrive at a realistic picture about the inner and social life of gay men.
Nah, it’s seems the intent of this commentary is to insult “women” writing about “Gay Men” when they were simply writing about “Homosexual Men” and also to point out how Mr. Berman thinks “Gay Men”, the ones who actually admit to themselves they are Gay and decidedly live as such, are pretty bad off.
I love when you package obvious chauvinism with homophobic rhetoric. Two hates in one!
UPDATE!
I am giving Quote Of The Week to Lee Rowan for a response she over heard about the whole “Naughty Womenz writing Gay Romance” deally…
“I didn’t ask for your permission, Daddy.”
Oh I like that!
That’s juicy, accurate, highly translatable in any gay vernacular, and so full of win.
Tags: eBook Commentary
katiebabs wrote,
“Human life has endless possibilities, and this tale unfolds just one of them. The story appeals to the readers’ imagination.”
I love this because there are so many possibilities. And there must be something so special about this story because regardless of the two main characters being the same sex, it appeals to us all because the main focus is love and devotion and the steps someone will try and go to be with that one they love. They may not always succeed and there is a good possibility they may fail, but in the long run they loved and did it well. And, what’s wrong with that? Not many will take that chance.
Of course I am going off of the movie, not the story, that I really still have to read.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 10:45 am
TeddyPig wrote,
The book is very different from the movie. I find in the book the characters are far more in love than what gets translated in the film but then in the book you get their thoughts.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 11:44 am
K. Z. Snow wrote,
Oh gawd, don’t get me started on those “reorientation” nutjobs like the ones at NARTH and PFOX. I researched the ex-gay movement for a book I have coming out from DSP, and looking into the destruction wrought by these homophobes was intensely disturbing.
You’re right, Teddypig. This guy is a condescending ignoramus. Why am I not surprised?
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 12:15 pm
erastes wrote,
*rolling eyes so hard that they are likely to fall out*
I just love people who expound an opinion and then say that they’ve never actually seen the film properly. I agree with you that they seemed far more in love in the book, but then as you say, it’s because of the thoughts. Sheesh. Did he not get where and when it was set? Hardly a place where they could rush around seeking homosexual experiences, they were having enough trouble just dealing with it on a personal level, but yes.
i see one of the themes here – the one which seems to state that ONE person’s experience is everyman’s experience and it baffles me.
*Stops before eyes fall out.*
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
A lot of what he is saying is a reflection of the whole good gay / bad gay argument (My take is always… Who are you and who voted you gay judge and jury?) only in this case he is blaming “women writers” for somehow not reflecting politically correct “gay values” and not to mention the fact the whole argument is being brought up by a Quack who thinks all gay men are fucked up anyway.
I guess if you cannot win the argument by quoting the closest Bible the next best thing to do is stir shit up by being an asshole to everyone.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Julia Rachel Barrett wrote,
To be completely honest, I’m not sure what he’s trying to say. That if women make up a gay story, it’s just us women romanticizing the gay lifestyle? And somehow we women soften the truth – as he sees it – and make gayness more palatable for the average non-gay guy? Is he saying women who write M/M romance do society a disservice? My husband and I were just talking about this today – people who consider homosexuality a disease and/or a choice instead of just part of who a man or a woman is. We were discussing how diseased these ignorant bigots are. Worse than annoying…dangerous.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 4:41 pm
Emilie wrote,
Annie Proulx said that the story was about rural homophobia. It’s clearly both external and internalized by the characters. The scene of Jack cruising and, later, how he was getting close with another gay married man showed that he’d accepted the idea that he much preferred men, dangerous as that was in that environment.
Berman’s article is confusing. He says some things which sound like realistic behavior. I believe that a good number of gay men will have multiple partners, especially in the first few years after they come out, if the opportunities are there. I suppose he means for the idea to be off-putting, but it has absolutely no shock value for me. You get a bit of his reasoning as to why men are gay, which would be the cockamamie part of things.
But somewhere in that messy reality we’ve been talking about, there’s the truth that two men can fall in love and commit to each other. That’s authentic, too. Part of the bigotry is the insistence that this doesn’t happen. The various academics who become aware of the melange of people writing about and reading m/m romance can continue to analyze it. Some of us will just keep reading fiction which has aspects which ring true to us.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Lee Rowan wrote,
Is this clown trying to pad his CV for a tenure review?
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 8:02 pm
TeddyPig wrote,
Berman’s article is confusing. He says some things which sound like realistic behavior. I believe that a good number of gay men will have multiple partners, especially in the first few years after they come out, if the opportunities are there. I suppose he means for the idea to be off-putting, but it has absolutely no shock value for me. You get a bit of his reasoning as to why men are gay, which would be the cockamamie part of things.
The point is Emilie that this quack is still playing in the fields of moral judgment. Despite whatever they insist about their organization not being religious based.
Men typically do not have a concept like “male slut”. We don’t.
You don’t get pregnant and there’s no property entanglements or legal responsibilities caused by it so who cares how many guys you have had sex with as long as you are safe. Who cares? What about it is wrong?
He is trying to create this view of homosexuality as a dysfunction or disease and the whole “sex is bad” thing which is also used against women by the way in order to cast a moral value judgment. The only problem is you call a guy a slut and they laugh at you for being a freaking jealous nut job. As far as I am concerned he is just as bad as any other Bible thumper out there although they at least do not lie about their motives.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Angelia Sparrow wrote,
*sigh* Every gay male of a certain age that I spoke to said Brokeback was the reality of his life, if not in every minute detail, at least in the overarching ideas, the constant fear and homophobia. If that’s not inner life, i don’t know what is.
The setting is not conducive to gay culture or social life. He wants that, let him go watch La Cage aux Folles or Victor/Victoria or Jeffrey or Angels in America. Hells, let him watch Brokeback FIRST and then comment.
You want a good look at the inside of one of those “ex-gay” programs, watch Peterson Toscano’s DVD “Doin Time at the Homo No Mo’ Halfway House.” I got to see him perform this live during the Love in Action Protests here in town.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Emilie wrote,
Right, but it just seems like he’s using such outmoded arguments. I’m aware of the “sex is bad” double standard.
Some anti-gay organizations, religious or secular, have a veneer of concern over their homophobia. It may make them seem kinder and gentler, and make their message more palatable, but it doesn’t make them less damaging. I guess he’s taking a mix of old information, old myths and theories, and some aspects of scientific findings, and slanting it his way.
Link | January 24th, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Alex Beecroft wrote,
“This powerfully drawn theme of endlessly patient and faithful love, has the earmarks of a feminine imagination.”
Oh yes, because no man has ever penned a story about the endlessly patient love of a good woman. (Even Pirates of the Caribbean has the lovely theme that the heroine must remain faithful to the hero during his 10 years absence or he’ll remain cursed for eternity – no reciprocal obligation on his side, of course.) Straight men love the theme of faithfulness – as long as it’s their partner’s faithfulness and not their own. /cynicism
Also he’s plain wrong, since – as you say – Jack does go cruising. And very probably the only reason Ennis doesn’t is that he’s terrified of being beaten to death by his neighbours if they ever find out about him – a very romantic theme, I’m sure.
Also, if he’s trying to say that gay men can’t be faithful to their partners, I’d like to see where he proves that with statistics about every single gay couple in the world.
So young, single, straight guys never go to places looking for a chance to get laid? Single women never do that either? Funny, I thought that was what the clubbing scene was all about. I guess that means that straight people are incapable of faithfulness too, and would never even write stories in which it was held up as an ideal.
This guy’s ideas about everything seem to be stuck somewhere in the 1950s.
Link | January 25th, 2010 at 3:32 am
TeddyPig wrote,
And very probably the only reason Ennis doesn’t is that he’s terrified of being beaten to death by his neighbors if they ever find out about him
Let’s face it Ennis was a hard nut to crack. He was obviously much more bisexual and yeah a ton of issues going on there.
Link | January 25th, 2010 at 4:07 am
Why is my gmail showing snow? | Erastes wrote,
[...] super-teddypig has a very interesting post discussing some wanker’s opinion on Brokeback Mountain. Amazingly manages to be homophobic and chauvinistic in the same [...]
Link | February 10th, 2010 at 9:44 am