I liked this column
in The Advocate by gay outdoorsman David Stalling, who-referencing
the elk hunt in "Brokeback Mountain"-posted a query at a website
for bow hunters. He writes:
For fun, on the Big Game Forum, I posted a new thread: "Brokeback Mountain: Best Elk-Hunting Movie?" Since folks on this site often and justly complain of poor Hollywood depictions of hunting, I mentioned that here was a good positive portrayal. The response didn't surprise me. People with screen names like Terminator, Sewer Rat, Bearman, and ElkSlayer wrote things like "No queers could really hunt elk"; "Elk are too majestic an animal to be killed by faggots"; "Imagine a gay elk camp: guys would worry that camouflage makes them look fat."
A lot of anti-gay swill? Sure. But considering that the media images of gays (excepting Brokeback) run the gamut from "Queer Eye" to "Will & Grace"-and these are the representations upon which GLAAD, HRC and The Advocate bestow their effusive praise-is it really any wonder that rural America sees gays the way it does?
Maybe Willie Nelson's new gay cowboy song will help. Or maybe not.
More. I guess not. Willie means well, but the
song (penned by Ned Sublette in 1981) promotes the same old
stereotypes that conflate sexual orientation and gender
identity:
"What did you think all them saddles and boots was about?...Inside every cowboy there's a lady who'd love to slip out."
Alas, still more confusion about sexual orientation and gender identity isn't what gay people need.
Say Anything blog's posting has a link to an audio excerpt.
Some very thoughtful comments (ok, obviously not the first one).
Check 'em out.