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Nov 25, 2009
Nov 2, 2009
OSS # 179: Beach Barbie
Puppeteering
A while back, I was talking about the caring side of gay guys. But we all know that this is not the only side gay guys have. The gay bitchy queen is a far more popular archetype. I know a lot of gay guys, who didn't have to be in drag, have channeled this queen at one time or another, including myself.
Is being a bitchy queen part of being gay? David Nimmons, in his book, tried to explain that another (non-gay) force is at work here. Let me try to simplify this time using (what else?) dolls.
Shown above are two dolls from the same manufacturer having the same quality but the blond one costs more than twice the brunette. Other than styling, the major difference that caused the price difference is the quantity of the dolls produced for each variant. Although both Barbie dolls are collector's edition, the blond was produced at a lower number. Rarer, though not necessarily true, is seen as better in the collecting community. Rarity is valued by a lot of collectors. It somewhat gives a sense of exclusivity. Other than the doll, limited edition doll manufacturers (not just Mattel) sell pride in exclusivity.
"...people in a capitalist society do not desire a product for its intrinsic qualities but desire the product as a symbol of some social value that is attached to it."*
In a (capitalist) gay community, guys with flawless complexion, gym built bodies and fashionable clothes are regarded as people of higher value. The capitalist society has thought us that they are better. Those who are not so lucky are usually given the bitchiest remarks a creative mind can think of. People then shell out their hard earned money for the gym membership, dermatologists and/or fashion boutiques to satisfy the false needs the capitalist industries has instilled in us with the help of the creative marketing people.
There's this local TV ad showing a guy having traces of femininity being crushed by a giant beer bottle. There are saying that if someone wants to be masculine (which is regarded as better), guys should buy their beer. I can't help think that a bunch of gay guys thought of that idea!
Nimmons adds that gay guys bitching about each other seems like a good source of entertainment (for the heterosexual crowd). This is quite prevalent in Philippine entertainment. The bitchy gay guy is always funny. I could only imagine this as entertaining (for straight guys) as two women clad in bikinis wrestling in the mud. Personally, I don't find it funny but instead hurtful. Still, it's a part of capitalism. If you don't want to be scorned... buy something to improve your self-worth.
This is not to pass the blame to capitalism for our bitchy behavior. This is to let us ask ourselves the next time we bash another person because of what he wears/owns or how he looks/acts, even how he speaks, we should ask ourselves first if we are just being dumb capitalist puppets.
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* source: http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3001.html
Oct 30, 2009
OSS # 178: Carmilla
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