Bear with it through the last paragraph, then let's discuss:
Alright. First of all. I wish that I got paid to publish online "Articles" that essentially amounted to what my notebook writings and ramblings look like at times. Writing critique aside...
Secondly. That last paragraph is pretty, sort of, apt. It's a nice little bit of an affirmation to read this outside of the group of people who "Get It" that I surround myself with. Lately, I have been settling some unsettling personal things and my mind has instantly (it's kind of incredible how quickly) gone back to occupying itself (note: Not me occupying myself...my brain just does this. It's where it goes, automatically) with this sort of queer fuckery. Music is something that I had never even considered. Really? I missed that. I guess my musical tastes are pretty rounded. I often bond with people over music, so most of my friends have similar broad ranging musical tastes. While I say broad, I do recognize my lean towards 80's, Synths, New Wave, Wacky, Tacky, and Danceable. But even within that, I feel I've got a pretty wide idea of what constitutes or is contained within all of those.
I do take a little bit of issue with the writers use of "The Gays" as an all-encompassing statement for us all. Especially when part of the point they are trying to make is that "The Gays" are often in fact not such a broad grouping, and that "The Gays" are actually as divided a group as any other social "type". They may actually be white middle class mainstream gays, or poor white blue collar gays, or even as the article tip-toes, "Urban" gays. Urban? In an article entitled "Why do gays hate Black music?," I find it incredible that the writer then can not say a a blatant "Mainstream white gay culture is kind of afraid of black culture, gay or in general." Is that not the underlying idea? Hey! Maybe some of "the gays" are like some of the everyone else, racism and all...
Of course this is not the case for (I would hope) most of, since we are grouping, "us." And, while I am sure most of these mainstream white gay's would not consider themselves racists (or classists, or agists, or sexists....) there is definitely this type of sentiment prevalent in the homo-normative (5!) gay bars/hangouts/social scenarios I've encountered. It's a similar happening at Kelly's Bar, in East Liberty (a largely poor black neighborhood in Pittsburgh that was a victim of what I would describe as racist urban planning in the 60's, which is now being gentrified by the neighboring affluent white Shadyside faster than you can eat an all natural locally grown organic fair trade gourmet cupcake). Having a jukebox loaded with discs of great old soul, jazz singers, and funk along with punk and rock standards is great when it's because you are into playing that music. However, not allowing rap/top 40 on their jukebox soley to keep the "Wrong Crowd" out is just the same old song. (even if in my opinion it's just fine without the top 40) It's the "We're not racist, we have lots of soul and funk on the Jukebox!" "We're not racist, we have Janet Jackson and Beyonce remixes on the video lounge screens" kind of mentality. Not racist, in a wizard hat wearing way, but racist nonetheless. It is a pinch of classism, a dab of racism, a smackering of elitism. Is there a word I am missing out on here that covers this all? No? Well I think we've hit it pretty close then. It's all of the above stewed together for stinking dose of disdain and social exclusivity.
Oh, as an aside, don't worry. You don't have to be black, or hispanic, or even the result of a horrible disfiguring/crippling accident to be disreguarded, feared, or simply given bitchy looks. You can even be white and non-conformist to common gay societal "norms" presented to you via hetero societal norm bearing mass media. This article basically comes down to a familiar conclusion. A good portion of "The Gays" are just like a good portion of everyone else. A good portion transparent, a good portion pretty shitty.
Alright. Time to figure out how this one is going to look on silver gelatin?
Secondly. That last paragraph is pretty, sort of, apt. It's a nice little bit of an affirmation to read this outside of the group of people who "Get It" that I surround myself with. Lately, I have been settling some unsettling personal things and my mind has instantly (it's kind of incredible how quickly) gone back to occupying itself (note: Not me occupying myself...my brain just does this. It's where it goes, automatically) with this sort of queer fuckery. Music is something that I had never even considered. Really? I missed that. I guess my musical tastes are pretty rounded. I often bond with people over music, so most of my friends have similar broad ranging musical tastes. While I say broad, I do recognize my lean towards 80's, Synths, New Wave, Wacky, Tacky, and Danceable. But even within that, I feel I've got a pretty wide idea of what constitutes or is contained within all of those.
I do take a little bit of issue with the writers use of "The Gays" as an all-encompassing statement for us all. Especially when part of the point they are trying to make is that "The Gays" are often in fact not such a broad grouping, and that "The Gays" are actually as divided a group as any other social "type". They may actually be white middle class mainstream gays, or poor white blue collar gays, or even as the article tip-toes, "Urban" gays. Urban? In an article entitled "Why do gays hate Black music?," I find it incredible that the writer then can not say a a blatant "Mainstream white gay culture is kind of afraid of black culture, gay or in general." Is that not the underlying idea? Hey! Maybe some of "the gays" are like some of the everyone else, racism and all...
Of course this is not the case for (I would hope) most of, since we are grouping, "us." And, while I am sure most of these mainstream white gay's would not consider themselves racists (or classists, or agists, or sexists....) there is definitely this type of sentiment prevalent in the homo-normative (5!) gay bars/hangouts/social scenarios I've encountered. It's a similar happening at Kelly's Bar, in East Liberty (a largely poor black neighborhood in Pittsburgh that was a victim of what I would describe as racist urban planning in the 60's, which is now being gentrified by the neighboring affluent white Shadyside faster than you can eat an all natural locally grown organic fair trade gourmet cupcake). Having a jukebox loaded with discs of great old soul, jazz singers, and funk along with punk and rock standards is great when it's because you are into playing that music. However, not allowing rap/top 40 on their jukebox soley to keep the "Wrong Crowd" out is just the same old song. (even if in my opinion it's just fine without the top 40) It's the "We're not racist, we have lots of soul and funk on the Jukebox!" "We're not racist, we have Janet Jackson and Beyonce remixes on the video lounge screens" kind of mentality. Not racist, in a wizard hat wearing way, but racist nonetheless. It is a pinch of classism, a dab of racism, a smackering of elitism. Is there a word I am missing out on here that covers this all? No? Well I think we've hit it pretty close then. It's all of the above stewed together for stinking dose of disdain and social exclusivity.
Oh, as an aside, don't worry. You don't have to be black, or hispanic, or even the result of a horrible disfiguring/crippling accident to be disreguarded, feared, or simply given bitchy looks. You can even be white and non-conformist to common gay societal "norms" presented to you via hetero societal norm bearing mass media. This article basically comes down to a familiar conclusion. A good portion of "The Gays" are just like a good portion of everyone else. A good portion transparent, a good portion pretty shitty.
Alright. Time to figure out how this one is going to look on silver gelatin?
2 comments:
"which is now being gentrified by the neighboring affluent white Shadyside faster than you can eat an all natural locally grown organic fair trade gourmet cupcake"
ZING! I agree...to the extent that the gentrification is already done...on the one side of baum/penn blvd. they won. shadyside wants its ugly services on its outskirts: car dealerships, health services, grocery stores. it has mostly succeeded and may continue to succeed depending on how aggressive their tactics are. meanwhile the boutique bullshit stays in the middle. yawn.
i think the kelly's thing is more about social capital than it is about blackness, or "person-of-color"ness... i would argue that that's why those songs appear on the jukebox. not to say that race doesn't play a part in the process of white people gathering social capital.
despite the mngmt's consciously anti-racist politics, kelly's is still an almost-purely "destination" bar, which attracts people from lots of different neighborhoods...i like that part, but i hear what you're saying.
as far as the article, i just can't treat it as valid. i mean, gays hate black music? most of those artists are disco? uh... no. i guess somebody could get really abstract and say that gays unconsciously hate black music, but that would be really hard to prove. the author needs to wake up: every single last form/genre of music that has emerged in these blessed united states owes a fucking whole fucking fuck of a lot to black people. is appropriation a form of hate? and where did the thing about gays being afraid of urban-ness come from? wtf?
the one good point that i can find in the article is the criticism of "out" for making the top 100 artists 89% white. that is egregious and sickening.
I hear all you are saying. And thanks. I guess alot of what I talk about here also more specifically relates to the way I have observed things in Pittsburgh, which we know is not the epicenter of forward anything.
It's probably not good for my freakout ratio either that issues like these are magnified in this area, magnifying my own unsettled notions about them. So on and So On, my brain goes and settles on ideas and makes me write things like this.
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