![[Two Stars - Average]](2.gif){kind=small}
This evening Ross and I went to the Plaza cinema to see Oliver Stone's film Alexander.
I'll cut the chase and say that it's not a bad film (the action sequences are
startlingly good) but it's not a good one (the more intimate scenes do have a quality
of Dynasty about them). It's somewhere around a two star experience.
Colin Farrell is very sexy, as you would expect, and gives us a very pleasant look at his bottom, balls and cock (yes, Colin's in with the big league there alright) as he slips into bed.
Even more attractive is Jared Leto as Hephaistion, Alexander's
friend and lover - we could have done with seeing more (much more) of him. The film
doesn't shirk the fact that they were lovers - what we are now talk about as
homosexuality is discussed, the characters express their feelings openly but, apart
from a little neck massage, the two men don't actually physically engage. Certainly,
there's no gay sex as the tabloids would have had us believe.
So, why all the fuss? There does appear to have been whole sections of the USA which were unable to cope with the depiction of an historical fact and stayed away from the film as a consequence. The European reaction seems to have been much more moderate. Where the film has been deplored, it is more because the likes of Angelina Jolie lend the air of a camp classic to the proceedings.
It was good to be reminded, therefore, that not all North Americans are bigoted and some even have a sense of irony.
The first evidence that I came across was an Advocate.com exclusive posted on 18 November, 2004.
Is gay marriage older than the Bible?
The ancient epic poem Gilgamesh, argues its latest translator, scholar and poet Stephen Mitchell, depicts the first known instance of a same-sex union.
John Kerry and George Bush may have found common ground in their belief that marriage should be strictly defined as a union of a man and a woman, but in the October publication of a new translation of the classic epic poem Gilgamesh: A New English Version (Free Press), renowned translator and poet Stephen Mitchell casts such beliefs in a rather absurd light. Same-sex marriage, it seems, far from being a radical new idea, is as old as storytelling itself.
Gilgamesh is widely regarded as the oldest piece of literature on earth, written before the Bible, before the Iliad - even before Queer as Folk. In the introduction to his new translation, Mitchell presents the argument that the ancient epic contains not only one of the first recorded friendships in literature but also the first gay marriage.
Those who dismiss Mitchell’s claim as sensational should consider his prolific, acclaimed career: His work has been hailed by critics and scholars, with Harold Bloom, Robert Coles, and Elaine Pagels all praising his new English version of Gilgamesh. Most recently, Malcom Jones of Newsweek wrote, "This book proves that in the right hands, no great story ever grows stale."
What specifically led you to the conclusion that the relationship between Gilgamesh and Enkidu is not only the first friendship in literature but also the first gay marriage?
It’s obvious that the homoerotic element in their relationship is very strong. When Enkidu arrives in the city of Uruk, he challenges Gilgamesh; their combat is an entrance into intimacy, and as close to lovemaking as to violence:
Gilgamesh, raging,The poem comes just short of stating that the relationship is sexual; but in a few lines in Tablet XII—a separate poem appended to the epic—the genital sexuality is explicit.
stepped up and seized him, huge arms gripped
huge arms, foreheads crashed like wild bulls,
the two men staggered, they pitched against houses,
the doorposts trembled, the outer walls shook,
they careened through the streets, they grappled each other,
limbs intertwined, each huge body
straining to break free from the other’s embrace.
And why should their love be classifiable as a marriage—a term that suggests a more caring, committed relationship?
Our clearest insight into the love between the two men is the intensity of Gilgamesh’s grief after Enkidu dies. He veils his dead friend’s face "like a bride’s" and gives voice to his desolation in a long, exquisitely beautiful elegy, then leaves his kingdom to embark on a futile search for immortality. Everything about the friendship implies an intimacy and an intensity that make it one of the most passionate relationships in world literature.
Does your version express the nature of their love differently than previous adaptations? If so, how?
I have done my job well and the voice I have created matches the power of the story: Both the love and the grief will feel more vivid than in previous translations, and thus more real. What is obviously a marriage between these two heroes is a central part of the epic and stands in all its magnificence for everyone to see. This is the oldest story in the world, the oldest friendship in the world, filled with eros, love, loyalty, grief, and a wisdom beyond grief.
Though it belongs to all of us, Gilgamesh has a special meaning for gay men. It is an essential part of their cultural heritage.
Then, there was this piece on an online newsboard.
Why not us?
This is the question that the heterosexual men of America are asking themselves today. Like the sexual revolution of late 1960s and early 1970s, the gay revolution of the oughts stands to turn the previously accepted paradigm of sexual interaction on its ear. The straight American male has heard exaggerated tales of the non-stop bacchanalia that many assume is the homosexual lifestyle. He has watched his attractive female friends experiment with lesbianism for various intervals, always readily re-accepted as hetero- or bi-sexuals when they return to dating men, without damage to their reputations or loss of respect. He may have even read of the customs of ancient Sparta, where it was considered perfectly acceptable for a man to take a young boy as a lover. Such historical food for thought probably doesn't inspire many straight males to purchase trampolines, Playstations and NAMBLA memberships, but it may make them wonder why it's considered hot for their female friends to make out with each other, but gay (with the attending negative connotation) for them to try the same thing with other guys.
Despite the recent opening of television standards to homo-centric programming such as Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (NBC) and Boy Meets Boy (Bravo), there persists in American culture a stigma attached to homosexual behavior at even the most enlightened levels of society. This stigma exists no longer at an official institutional level, but at the individual level, when a straight male considers such a label applied to himself. He recognizes the legitimacy of the homosexual orientation; yet he immediately perceives a threat to his masculinity when his own sexuality is called into question. The problem is that, through the ages, from Manifest Destiny through World War II to American cultural imperialism, American rugged individualism has embedded itself at the core of the straight man's psyche as a set of values which implicitly forbid any sexual union not ordained by the Christian god. As a consequence, any transgression of these values is seen as a forfeiture of macho status. This article does not aim to change the collective consciousness of Western culture; rather, its goal is to examine and exploit some loopholes in the laws of masculinity - loopholes which allow the straight man to explore the extended spectrum of sexuality while maintaining his heterosexuality unbesmirched.
Some cultural theorists have postulated that the trends of Gay TV and metrosexual fashion signal the fetishization of the male body, and portend the enveloping of the male psyche into the cult of the body which has driven feminine consumerism for decades. What this truly portends, however, is some balls-deep assfucking.
Myth Vs. Reality
Let's identify some of the common ways for a 100% straight man to engage in gay sex, along with some of the common misperceptions. Remember, we're not telling you how to experiment with homosexuality - you can figure that out on your own. We're showing you how to do it while still being able to tell the Duke that you're all man.
As America marches bravely into the future, we cannot forget the sacrifices of those courageous men who went before - the husbands, surprised by their wives while teabagging the mailman, the high-schoolers ostracized for nude locker-room rubdowns, the hairy, musky truckers caught doing 69 in the bathroom of a Flying J - these pioneers and their fearless exploration have blazed a trail for the rest of us. They have shined a light into the darkness, enabling us to finally solve the riddle of heterosexual gayness so that we can safely and proudly enjoy the warm embrace of he-mouth and man-anus without confusion or shame. Now, if you will excuse me, Donovan has agreed to check my ass for polyps.
- It's Not Gay If You Pull Out MYTH
This is patently false, proven by the fact that gay porn has money shots. Just like pulling out to unload on some tits doesn't make you gay, pulling out of the manhole to paint Hawaii on some dude's back doesn't keep you straight.- It's Not Gay If You're In Prison TRUTH.
Just like rape is less an act of sex than it is of power, so gay prison sex is more about status and dominance than actual homosexuality. And hey, should you find yourself having a good time, this doesn't make you any less straight - it's only if you start robbing the 7-11 next to the police station just to get some guilt-free cock that you need to start questioning your identity.- It's Not Gay If You're Just Getting a BJ From a Guy AMBIGUOUS
Here we have a case with subtle distinctions - this can still be 100% straight if A) he's paying you and B) you need the money for hard drugs. If you can afford the crack without the john's patronage, then you should admit that you are at least a little bit gay; it's ok.- It's Not Gay If It's Gay Pride Month MYTH
Sure, any guy can get excited about the Super Bowl, even if he's not really a football fan. But if you're going to be hanging out the window of a red, white and blue Fiero trailing a ten-foot Puerto Rican flag on Puerto Rican Pride Day, you should probably be Puerto Rican. The same goes for gayness.- It's Not Gay If It's With a Spaniard MYTH
This rumor has persisted around Providence, RI for some time, and no one is sure why, as it is completely untrue. It may be more exotic, it may be more fun, there may be a greater likelihood that your partner has not bathed his ass in weeks, but it is by no means less gay.- It's Not Gay If Your Partner Is Under Age 12 TRUTH
The question to ask yourself is, are you a man of the cloth? If not, simply complete divinity school as quickly as possible, and you can do whatever the hell you want with the offspring of anyone who is still foolish enough to raise their children Catholic.- It's Not Gay If You're Too Drunk to Drive TRUTH
Most everyone has woken up next to someone whose level of attractiveness barely qualifies as human, and yet we still consider ourselves attractive people; a similar standard is at work when it comes to gayness. The yardstick here is your level of drunkenness - if you are, in the vernacular, a twelve-beer queer, consider yourself 100% straight. If, however, you are a two-beer queer, you may as well drop the two-beer pretense.- It's Not Gay If It's Your Uncle MYTH
This one has a gray area. While being touched inappropriately (or completely railed) by an uncle is not necessarily gay, neither is it likely to be very enjoyable. Therefore, for the purpose of our study, the point is moot. If it is you who are fucking your uncle, you should know that this is essentially the gayest thing you can possibly do.- It's Not Gay If It's With an Animal TRUTH
This, strangely enough, is true. It's really no gayer to fuck a bull in the ass than it is to fuck a cow in the vagina, so feel free to go to town in this case. However, it should be noted that if you suck the bull's cock, it then becomes gay.- It's Not Gay If There's a Girl Involved TRUTH AND MYTH
This is true, as long as you're on her opposite ends, or at least in different holes. A little congratulatory ass-slapping, even feeling the other guy's wang through the ass/vagina walls is within the acceptable margin, but if he's doing her while you're doing him, your hetero status drops by a few percentage points.- It's Not Gay If You're Only Doing It to Impress a Girl TRUTH
While admittedly counterintuitive, this is true. Just like you love to watch two girls make out, so do many girls love to watch guys engaged in gay sex (nothing turns a straight girl on like watching two guys do it). Hey brah, anything for some pussy, right? As long as you're in there, you might as well throw your ankles over your head, grab some hairy ass and enjoy yourself.- It's Not Gay If You're at the Proctologist's TRUTH
Number one, there's a legally binding confidentiality between doctor and patient, so your reputation will stay unsullied. Plus, consider this - the man has his hand up your ass, massaging your prostate - no one's going to blame you for blowing your wad onto the exam table.- It's Not Gay If You're In the Army TRUTH
This is the ultimate free pass for gay sex. Don't ask, don't tell, sure, but can you show me where they say "don't do?" You can't, because THEY DON'T. You can be as gay as you want, and as long as you're in the Army, it never happened. Go on, Be As Gay As You Can Be! Semper Fi, boys.