He reminds us that the words “homosexual” and “heterosexual” were first used in the late 19th century. When I was researching my book Queer Intentions, which explores how far LGBTQ+ acceptance really extends, I met gay men from the Middle East who wanted to express a more camp side of their character but couldn’t out of fear for their safety, alongside gay men from the US who felt “trapped” by the idea that they might need to be flamboyant in order to somehow fit in as gay.Īccording to Professor Amin Ghaziani, a sociologist from the University of British Columbia, this tension is not new. Labour MP Chris Bryant (Photo: Oli Scarff/Getty Images) “It’s absolutely shocking I ended up being gay,” he said wryly, reinforcing the idea that some tastes are perceived to be typically gay. Take the Labour MP Chris Bryant, who recently spoke about how his mother was an artist who worked on Shirley Bassey’s wigs. There again, some gay people still actively choose to pander to stereotypes. Democratic presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg speaks at Capital City Pride Fest in Des Moines, Iowa (Photo: Scott Olson/Getty Images) The US Democrat presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg has been accused by some gay people of “straight-washing” his image. On the one hand, society polices gay people for allegedly trying to present themselves as straight.
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We have endless ways of expression that go way beyond that.” See more The pressure to act straight versus the worry of ‘straight washing’ “But sometimes I think people still think the limit of gay personality is camp. “I’m very camp and I love it,” says writer and drag queen Tom Rasmussen, who spends half of their time as their redheaded drag alter ego Crystal.