Simpson vs. Weir

The articles by Mark Simpson and John Weir that we ready for Friday presented an amazing contrast in beliefs. Although the Simpson piece was meant to be a parody, it is clear through the pairing with the Weir piece that there was no universal understanding of the gay male world by gay men. Clearly both pieces are extreme and on opposite sides of the spectrum, but they present an important dichotomy.

Because Simpson never comes out and says what he really means in his article “Gay Dream Believer: Inside the Gay Underwear Cult,” it is very hard not to take his words at face value. When I first read this article, it seemed to me that he really meant the words he had written: all gay men have found their place in the world and are very satisfied with their lives. His article seems to be about the trivial things, the material things, and does very little to further the cause of gay rights or even the acceptance of gay men into society. There is no discussion of struggle or difference and it places a blanket understanding of gayness over all men who identify that way. Additionally, he claims that “any unhappiness is clearly the result of straight oppression, [or] self-oppression…” Of course, this may be true in many circumstances, it would be completely inaccurate to say that gay men have no problems that don’t stem from their sexuality—they are human too, with problems that move beyond who they choose to sleep with and lust after.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, John Weir’s article, “Going In,” is remarkably unforgiving of gay culture. He makes some very interesting points, such as his point about gays having Stockholm syndrome, as well as the idea that gay liberation has really only opened the way for privileged white men. He does, however, take his statements to the extreme, claiming that he wouldn’t care if a gay man got beaten up on the basis of his sexuality. Although I don’t want to put words into his mouth, it seems that Weir is really trying to say that people like Simpson, who believe that the gay male world is about pretty underwear and gay bars, are ruining it for the rest of gay male society. They are enforcing stereotypes that he doesn’t want to be associated with and which are inaccurate representations of most gay men or even dominant gay culture.

Clearly, neither of these articles should be taken completely at face-value, but the contrast that they show is vital in understanding perspectives of gay life among gay men.