
[I originally said this to a female friend of mine. Yes, it got an interesting reaction.]
[UPDATE:] A "cultural stereotyping" debate is raging in the comments section. Rock on.
Hugh,
You've outdone yourself. THAT is one of the funniest ones yet. I don't even know where to start...
Posted by: Tim Jackson at January 4, 2006 5:08 AMI don't really find that funny. Are you suggesting that all gay men are preoccupied with sex? I feel you are devaluing gay relationships. Way to promote stereotypes and cultural insensitivity.
Posted by: alice at January 4, 2006 3:03 PMI think this cartoon is a reflection on men understanding women Alice... at worst it weighs in at around 0.0001mg of sexism, well within the ‘non-PC’ joke RDA.
Posted by: Toks at January 4, 2006 3:48 PMI hope her reaction didn't involve an arab strap. Or maybe that's the sort of disruption you're looking for Hugh, I don't know. Good to see you're taking your theories offline. :)
Posted by: brian moffatt at January 4, 2006 4:17 PMToks, I believe you have missed the point. Yes, the surface of the joke is obviously about the void that exists between men and women. However, this "joke" smacks of the stereotype that all homosexuals are promiscuous. Homosexuals are no different in their sexual exploits than heterosexuals. Some people are promiscuous, some are not. This "joke" can then be taken a step further to explore the statistics of STDs in homosexual and heterosexual populations. Or you can take it even further with the arguement of using "gay" in a pejorative sense. Either way, you have opened a can of worms my friend. This is a dialogue that desperately needs to surface in contemporary American culture as our civil rights, or glimpses of civil rights not yet had, slowly slips away.
Posted by: alice at January 4, 2006 4:42 PMAnalysis this: It's funny! PERIOD.
p.s. I'm straight but if I was in a room with Hugh.....
Posted by: Duarte Da Silva at January 4, 2006 4:53 PMIt appears, from a quick poll, that there are many gay men who would kill for that on a tshirt :)
Posted by: Chris at January 4, 2006 5:03 PMTo me, a gay man wearing that t-shirt has a completely different connotation than a straight man and also carries an entirely separate set of stereotypes; mainly that gay men prey on straight men. So here's the next question: Is self-stereotyping okay?
Oh, and Duarte, I think you meant "analyze this," not "analysis this."
Posted by: Laura at January 4, 2006 6:44 PMNot sure this is even my fight but, Alice, the point [if there really is one, i'm beginning to think not]is whether or not the two characters in Hugh's cartoon are fucking because they are gay or because they are men [yeah, its not lost on me either but bear with me].
If the former is true, i'm frowning and stomping my large PC feet in time with yours [this is no reflection on the size of your feet.. one way or the other...], if its the latter then please refer to my earlier post.
You have a good cause, just a bad case. IMHO
[ ot, a bitsy ]
Oh, and Laura, did I reach a english grammar blog ? ;-)
[ /ot ]
Posted by: Daniel at January 4, 2006 7:04 PMI'll have one of those on a t-shirt please Hugh. Should cheer up a few of the miserable buggers I run into over here. If it doesn't do that, it might clear a space at the local bar - either way it's a win-win.
I've heard that line before. No, I don't hang out in bars.. but there's way more truth in it than many people are willing to admit. Even people *with* a sense of humor.
Rock on, Hugh.
Posted by: Bradley Allen at January 5, 2006 7:24 AM:-D
Happy New Year Hugh!
It's funnier if you read the set-up.
It's also an accurate reflection of the way straight men view/envy gay men. And it's pretty close to the way gay men view gay men.
Posted by: Jim at January 5, 2006 11:05 PMHmm, being a gay man, I can safely say this is about the difference between men and women... not between straight and gay men, who (in general) are led equally by you know what.
Posted by: pieterr at January 6, 2006 12:02 AMhey hugh,,, funny definitly funny
Posted by: jenna at January 6, 2006 3:00 AMhaha.. that was a funny thing to read. I remember saying something similar to a friend of mine... I guess you can take certain things as serious statements and start a discussion about social paradigms, I don't think Hugh is aiming that way.
From Guayaquil, Ecuador. Dan.
Posted by: Daniel at January 6, 2006 6:53 PMThe best part is that it even works in French.
Posted by: Olivier Blanchard at January 7, 2006 2:23 AMDude, it's been a long time since I've lauged out loud at a blog post.
Bring it on...!
(now, back to being a contrarian before anyone notices)
Posted by: Rich...! at January 10, 2006 7:11 PM