Queer Eye for the GAY Guy

[Doc]

I have been watching the new show, QE for the Straight Guy and I have but one conclusion to make. I think I am a defective gay guy.

 

I don't get into all that fancy food, designer clothes, exfoliation, hair cream, and well, for that matter, all the things they straighten up on the straight guy. So basically I am a gay guy with no taste. The show is cute and entertaining, and I will keep watching. Maybe I can get more in style. For being in my early 30's, I could be in serious trouble, but just don't understand why, I can't be a cool gay guy. Sounds like most if this crap should be automatic, but evidently not. I am not bashing the show, or the ideas. Just wondering if there are other defective gay guys like me?

[+ deej]

I'm missing that gene too, Doc.

 

I've had guys ask "are you sure you're gay?" as they're rearranging vases to make something (arms up!) FABULOUS! in the same space.

 

I'm usually thinking "but it was easier to dust before"

 

We don't all have the fashion gene. We don't all have the decorating gene. (I *did* get saddled with the caterer gene ... I can put on a FABULOUS feed at a party, as long as someone else handles the crystal and linens.)

 

We're all different, and we're all FABULOUS!

[Samai139]

Why assume that YOU are the "defective" one as you put it? Give some thought to the premise that maybe, just maybe, you are seeing on that show, one small slice of a culture that is not monolithic. So you are not interested in expensive designer clothes, skin creams, exotic foods, wildly expensive hair styling. What do those things have to do wtih who appeals to your erotic sensibilities? Is it possible that those "fab five" don't SEE some wonderful gay guys who are walking around the streets of many cities because they are looking for superficial shit?

Entertaining? Yes, a little, but certainly not a template for how you should live your life---so don't sweat it.

[+ Charlie]

I think what bothers me about the show is its assumption that what you look like, wear, cook and how you decorate your home are more important than your character, intelligence, personality, and what you contribute to society. Furthermore, it seems that this is the message that gays are selling to clueless straight men as the point of the show. I don't think that appearances are unimportant--I have a well-developed aesthetic sense that certainly influences my opinions of others--but it makes me uncomfortable to see the superficial presented as all-important. Thank god for gays that don't make surfaces the consuming focus of their lives.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

Hello Doc and Deej,

 

I truly agree with Samai on this one.

 

I watch QE faithfully and I watch all the reruns. I love the website and the FAB 5 are all truly educated men. I have even tried to download the theme song "All Things" by Wildlife. However, the show does capitalize on everything that is "queer" perceived in our society. The show is a gay-stereotype candy store.

 

Doc and Deej, you are gay because you like men. Now, because you can't whip up homemade wine in 24 hours, re-make your living room into a Florentine Palace or have your own personalized couture doesn't not mean your membership to the Joy Luck Club has to be revoked.

 

My nails are awful. My ears have to be waked. My refrigerator is filled with Slim-Fast, Budweiser and left over pizza. However, I also feel there aren't enough Baldwin brothers.

 

I am addicted to QE and, most of all, the humor in the show. I would love to see a lesbian version of the show but what would they do - take the straight woman to Home Depot or shop for clothes at .... SEARS!?!?!

 

PEACE

VDN

}(

[Will]

I think it's GREAT that you aren't "cool." It's even sort of hot, when you stop to think about it. What's wonderful, to me, is that you can claim yourself as gay and not be "typical." On that show, of course, it's important that all five of those guys are straightforwardly what they are, otherwise the show wouldn't work as entertainment. But your post proves what I've been thinking, and that maybe it's a special gift of many gay men to put the plumes back on the males of the species, rescuing them from the dullness of the past couple of centuries. The next time you go to an art museum, make a special effort to look at 17th and 18th century French and Italian portraits: ANY ONE of those men could be "gay" if you use the hackneyed sense of the word. But then look at 17th Dutch portraits of men, and many 18th century British portraits of men, and you'll see the origins of BORING. Anne Hollander, in SEX IN SUITS, has written extensively on this history of male fashion and its meanings. Over the past thirty years, I think we're moving into a new era, and that QUEER EYE is another sign of that.

 

After reading and thinking a lot about Devon's comments last week, I watched the latest episode from beginning to end (the one about the Long Island suburbs guy who lived in a romper room and looked like a squeaky toy). What the Fab Five did for him and his wife had nothing whatever to do with "cool". It had to do with helping them both grow up and gain self-confidence. Now, I'm a convert.

 

Also watched the second BOY MEETS BOY last night, and will also follow it, because both James and his friend -- as well as a fair number of the "contestants" -- are beginning to see how disgusting some the show's premises are. Of course, you don't have to look much further than that awful British skank with the nasal voice, a drag version of the LIFE STYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS guy.

[Will]

Great idea! But a lesbian show would have episodes where some woman with nails learns to change a tire, play softball, and train obedience dogs.

[ValleyDwellerNorth]

>Great idea! But a lesbian show would have episodes where

>some woman with nails learns to change a tire, play softball,

>and train obedience dogs.

 

ROFLMAO!

 

.... OR how to install MANY electrical outlets in EVERY room of the house!

 

VDN

 

}(

[btmstudnyc]

two snaps in a circle

 

Two snaps in a circle, Wave of the Gay Wand. Endora would be ashamed, Liza becomes voiceless,

 

YOUR GAY CARD IS HEREBY REVOKED.

 

Does anyone miss the fraternity of being gay. It used to be fun to know there were other guys out there wearing little symbols....NOW IT'S all in your face. No more mystery. ah well.

 

I love and hate QE. Hate that that EVERY SINGLE GAY GUY is a generalization. Why couldn't they have just one guy who tames them a little. That would be hot...AND NO, NOT a LEATHER Queen. I love the outright DRAG humor.....I SEE SKID MARKS. That was fucking funny.

 

How about Straight Eye for the queer guy....

 

Ok...I'll take the lesbian show...they can call it BOZILLA...Lesbian Monsters who spit fire at you when you even think Straight.

 

There has to be some benefit of being gay...hell maybe some of you are just straight guys In GAY BODIES...

 

 

Some of you need to relax...RELAX...I can't get my hand out...relax.

 

JIM

[woodlawn]

The basic premise of the show is a silly stereotype -- that there is something about being gay that makes one more knowledgeable about decorating and fashion. To my mind there's nothing constructive about popularizing the stereotype of the gay man as a sissy who dedicates his life to shopping. I'd like to see the entertainment industry portray gay men in a way that moves beyond the very limited roles to which it has traditionally assigned them, just as it has done with women.

 

But the producers have something to go on in assuming that straight men have relatively little interest in fashion. At present the menswear industry in this country is suffering because men continue to buy clothes for themselves very infrequently and because there has been a marked decline in the frequency with which women buy clothes for men. Most department store chains are in the process of reducing the space they devote to men's fashions as a result.

[bootdad]

For more than a decade I have lectured around the planet proclaiming that America is void of exports - it has lost its manufacturing base - its unions are in shambles and the current economic decline will take longer to reverse than anyone can even begin to imagine.

 

America now has a single commodity to export = POP CULTURE. It is produced voraciously and the average consumer is oblivious to the implications . . . it is the essence of every brand like Nike or Gap or Abercrombie, it can be Hollywood, music or television. But - the engine driving the machine is the fleeting nanosecond of pop culture - which America produces more effectively than any nation on the planet. For this reason America is simultaniously revered and reviled.

 

Imagine Starbucks penetrating contries that have had coffee cultures for centuries while Americans drank instant coffee for the last hafl century. The power and mystique of Starbucks like Queer Eye is yet another fleeting second of pop culture - which is churned out at a speed that is incomprehensible to the average consumer . . . and certainly has none of the staying power of anything artistic, creative or musical created prior to the birth of pop culture in the sixties.

 

As for not fitting the stereotype of the delightful fags featured in the show . . . well some might argue that could be said for the images conjured up by Boys in the Band as well, however if history be the judge . . . I think that movie was certainly more signifcant as a ground breaking epic identifing the Gay Mystique.

 

Now - talk amongst yourselves about the following . . .

 

With our preferences we create the way we live: what we do, the places we like to go, where and what we like to eat. This is how we make up our own image of who we are, and the image we hope to project to others.

You may only spend two weeks a year golfing, but your lifestyle might involve investing year-round in golf clothes, equipment and gift-themed golf paraphernalia.

 

A “weekend handyman (aka - a LESBIAN)” finds his or her paradise in a mega-store packed with tools and timber, fittings and finishes. A bookworm loves the escape into the world of the printed page over a steaming cappuccino. Fashion conscious women and gay men (no one will even remember the word - metrosexual a year from now) check out new looks and styles regularly at their favourite stores – buying the seasons latest trends to add to or dress up an existing wardrobe. This is how contemporary consumerism created the lifestyle trend and ultimately lifestyle retailing.

 

Changing Consumer Priorities . . .

Consumers these days are difficult to read, as lifestyles and tastes are complex, fast-changing and unpredictable.

Mass markets have fragmented into niche and micro markets, and splintered further into micro niche and niche of niche.

Demographics play a role in the current shift: Baby Boomers are reaching middle-age, traditionally a time for re-assessment and new directions.

 

There are New Luxuries that will define the balance of this decade . . .

Luxury is now about having time and space, peace and quiet, harmony and balance in life.

Quality of life is becoming more important than quantity of possessions.

Disposable income is being diverted from fashion toward a wider array of pleasures as the focus shifts to mind, body and spirit . . . and the comforts of home. Urban consumers are in search of spiritual growth and self-awareness, and demand escape, enhancement, education and empathy.

 

Fashion Reality this decade . . .

Consumers are no longer as passionate about fashion as they once were . . . casual reigns supreme. Consumers now shop very selectively, demanding more for less. Consumers seek items that have “meaning” to them and their lives, rather than following the advice of fashion icons, gurus or designers.

 

Interior / residential reality this decade . . .

Home is seen more than ever as a refuge and haven from emotional and physical stresses. Home – the most desired status symbol of this decade. Complementary is becoming an interior mantra – things don’t have to ‘match’ as long as they complement one another. And consumers this decade will gravitate towards shopping environments that reinforce the comforts of home, that are stress-free and/or stress-reducing.

 

Here are my TOP Trends And Predictions that you won't discover watching Queer EYE.

The balance of this decade will embrace and reflect . . .

1. Connections and intimacy with family and friends

2. Aging of the population / focus on safety / security

3. Middle class dissolving – polarization of income, education and technology

4. Nostalgia – environments with ‘retro’ design / memories of a better time

5. Focus on a new ‘LUXURY’ in life . . . having time and space, peace and quiet, harmony and balance

6. Well-being, wellness and living healthfully

7. New Age / Soul Searching / Sprituality

8. Blurring of home and work

9. Technohome – integration of technology into home

10. Summed up in a single thought . . . QUALITY OF LIFE VERSUS QUANTITY OF POSSESSIONS

 

This list by the way is not in order of importance.

 

In the end - Queer Eye is but a piece of lint in the great social fabric representing pop culture that has the longevity of yesterdays COLD Grande lowfat double latte at Starbucks.

[woodlawn]

>Here are my TOP Trends And Predictions that you won't discover

>watching Queer EYE.

 

>4. Nostalgia – environments with ‘retro’ design / memories of

>a better time

 

You obviously know nothing about fashion and haven't watched the Queer Eye show either. The "little bit country" episode featured a rather long sojourn at Ralph Lauren on Madison Avenue. For those like you who know nothing about the fashion industry, Lauren has made a huge amount of money since the 80's by repackaging men's styles of the 40's and 50's and making people believe that if they buy these styles they will be living as people lived in that era. There is no one in America who has made more money from nostalgia than Ralph Lauren. The Queer Eye fashion expert Carson Kressley used to work for his outfit.

[Chuck50]

RE: Queer Eye for the STR8 GUY

 

Once again enjoyed the show and thought the guys did a good job with what they had to work with. I bet more fashion conscience people are paying attention now. HUGS Chuck

[BuckyXTC]

Bootdad:

 

Thanks for your thoughtful post......I couldn't agree with you more about our shallow fixation on pop culture and it's shallowness.

 

Of course, Woodlawn had to pick out one little thing to jump on, and make wild assumptions about you and what you have or haven't watched. Seems to be his tradeemark.

[+ Charlie]

RE: Queer Eye for the STR8 GUY

 

I wonder what my fashion "conscience" would tell me (?). (I'm not making fun of you, Chuck--it's a very common spelling error).

[FrancoDiSantisxxx]

VH-1

 

>But your

>post proves what I've been thinking, and that maybe it's a

>special gift of many gay men to put the plumes back on the

>males of the species, rescuing them from the dullness of the

>past couple of centuries. The next time you go to an art

>museum, make a special effort to look at 17th and 18th century

>French and Italian portraits: ANY ONE of those men could be

>"gay" if you use the hackneyed sense of the word. But then

>look at 17th Dutch portraits of men, and many 18th century

>British portraits of men, and you'll see the origins of

>BORING.

>

 

 

One of the comments made about homosexuality in the VH-1 special earlier this week is that heterosexual men (and their women) have become more interested in appearances in ways good and bad.

 

Yes, fashion and decor can be superficial. Organizing and cleaning up one's home environment is not. Organizing and contemplating one's closet is not. I would not make any number of the fashion choices that have been made on this show, but I do think all of us, straight or gay, need to go through our closet and get rid of items of clothing we do not wear and would otherwise benefit from making the place where we spend a great deal of time both inviting and welcoming for ourselves and any guest we may have.

 

Even as a renter, I am very interested in creating a home enviroment that works for me. Some of it might strike some of you as very "queer" and some of it might not. What I believe may be good about this show is the extent it may cause a small portion of the population to take more interest in simple and clearly inexpensive ways to create a more hospitable and comforting "nest."

 

To the extent anyone is left with the impression that gay men only care about surface as content or that a paint job, haircut, manicure and new wordrobe will may someone "gay" means that they have missed any potentially beneficial underpinnings of shows such as this and all other self-help shows.

 

To assure freshness and potency, store in a cool, dark place.

 

http://www.erados.com/Franco

[duke37]

You have no idea where that uniform has been..

 

For all of you Queer Eye fans.

 

http://entertainment.msn.com/news/article.aspx?news=131835

 

Apparently the Port Authority has a LOT of free time on their hands. On the other hand I had no idea it was a bad idea to wear a cops uniform. I hope the hundreds of innocent strippers who wear cop uniforms across America don't run into trouble because of this. Remember ignorance of the law is no excuse. :+

 

Jeff

[axebahia]

RE: You have no idea where that uniform has been..

 

I was wondering abou that too when I saw it!

[Michael]

>You obviously know nothing about fashion

 

... but, since (for some of us at least) fashion is completely meaningless, there is, by definition, nothing to know about it ...