Why are the arts so gay?

[Wilson23]

Why is it that the proportion of gays in the arts always seems to be greater than in the general population? What is it about a same-sex orientation that correlates with artistic inclinations?

Even gay athletes seem to gravitate to sports involving some element of artistic expression, like gymnastics or figure skating.

 

[BillyWalrus]

Straight guys are only interested in cars, sports and lawn care.

 

[Britva415]

Yeah.

The reason the arts are stereotyped as gay isn't because gays are overrepresented in the arts, it's because so many straight guys think the arts are gay all on their own, regardless of who's in the art world.

Maybe artistic inclinations are not correlated with same-sex orientation. Maybe homophobia is, and that keeps straight guys from daring to go and be artsy.

 

[comegently]

An interesting question. Maybe partly because artists present reality in unconventional ways, that are about perceiving things differently from what is demanded by convention.
The ancients (Greek at least) did not recognize different categories of straight and gay men - either kind of sex was recognized as normal.
An artist challenges what the herd see as normal, but those categories have been constructed by humans, and they can be deconstructed.

 

[comegently]

There is also the more mundane consideration that the Arts is a safe place, because thugs are not interested in it. I am trans, and in my very early days going out in public, I favoured modern art galleries as a destination for that reason.
Unintelligent or bigoted people don't go there, because it ain't what they call art.

 

[RobLivesInTexas]

It's interesting and frustrating dealing with stereotypes in the arts. I agree with the comment above about homophobia being correlated (in a negative way) with the arts. I'm bisexual and a retired music teacher. I often ran into comments such as "singing is for birds and girls" that made it difficult to recruit and retain boys in my program. I even saw a workshop at an upcoming convention about "overcoming gender stereotyping in low brass instruments." It still stuns me that people are shocked if a girl plays tuba and a boy plays the harp.

When I was a music student myself in college, I found so many gay and bisexual men in the music school, and they were mostly open about it. I think the arts allow more freedom to be who you really are. But even there, many stereotypes persist.

 

[Wilson23]

Related question: Why are show tunes gay?

 

[BillyWalrus]

Why is it I read this thread and all I can think is: "These gays, they're trying to murder me!"

 

[cw5523729]

Straight guys are only interested in cars, sports and lawn care.

That's not true at all.


You forgot grillin', fishin', and blow jobs.

 

[BillyWalrus]

That's not true at all.


You forgot grillin', fishin', and blow jobs.

Yeah and there are probably a couple of other things they like too that we have forgotten.

 

[cw5523729]

Yeah and there are probably a couple of other things they like too that we have forgotten.

I also thought of guns and tools but I didn't want to push blow jobs too far down in the list

 

[BillyWalrus]

I also thought of guns and tools but I didn't want to push blow jobs too far down in the list

Tools, oh hell yeah. Best time you can show a little boy is to take him to the hardware store. Hours of fun!

 

[cw5523729]

Tools, oh hell yeah. Best time you can show a little boy is to take him to the hardware store. Hours of fun!

 

[Wilson23]

Related question: Why are show tunes gay?

Flashing on a scene from the Brendan Fraser/Elizabeth Hurley version of Bedazzled: Fraser is trying to convince himself the intellectual he has wished himself into being is not gay despite having a flaming-obvious male roommate. The roommate asks, "Who starred in The Pajama Game?" Fraser says, "Well, it depends on which production you mean, because there was a revival . . . Oh my God, I am gay!"

 

[Britva415]

You forgot grillin', fishin', and blow jobs.

But not those blow jobs!

 

[cw5523729]

But not those blow jobs!

Well, not unless you say "no homo" first, obviously.

 

[cw5523729]

Oh, what a shock - all of the other posts by the OP are in the politics board. Who coulda guessed that?

 

[Britva415]

Well, not unless you say "no homo" first, obviously.

ah yes, the get-out-of-gay-free card