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Posted on 01/05/2006 4:21:21 PM PST by Incorrigible
BY DRU SEFTON
It's true, the movie "Brokeback Mountain" does provoke what one researcher calls "a very strong ick factor" in some straight men.
What is it in this story of two cowboy pals in 1960s Wyoming who find themselves in lifelong love -- yet go on to marry women -- that elicits this response from heterosexual males?
The answers are as complex as the plot.
A psychologist who coined the word "homophobic" said the revulsion is precisely that. A scientist who discovered genetic links to sexuality said he simply does not understand the response. The author of "The Sexual Brain" said there is nothing on a neurobiological basis to explain the aversion.
To film fan Eddie Hargreaves of Stockton, Calif., it's more like the "ick" of romantic drama. "I'm not going to speak for everybody," he said, "but I don't know a lot of straight guys who said, `Oh, man, I can't wait to see "Bridges of Madison County,""' 1995's famous tearjerker.
"Brokeback Mountain," directed by Oscar winner Ang Lee and starring box-office hunks Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, is sparking both critical praise and water cooler chatter. It's been nominated for seven Golden Globe awards.
But when movie critic Dave White, who is gay, wrote a humorous piece titled "The Straight Dude's Guide to `Brokeback,"' "I got hundreds of messages, most of whom hated me for just existing," he said.
An excerpt from the column: "The good news -- there's less than one minute of making out. It's about 130 minutes long and 129 of them are about Men Not Having Sex."
We're not talking here about rejections of homosexuality based on moral or religious grounds, though the film has provoked its share of those. It's that some men who pointedly won't see "Brokeback" are social liberals who generally find no fault with people being gay.
"I didn't write the piece with the homophobe in mind," said White, a Movie.com reviewer in Los Angeles who wrote the column for MSNBC.com. "I wrote it for the liberal guy who just can't see this movie, because they know that reads as socially uncool."
White's theory on straight-male queasiness centers on self-identification. "These characters are too close to being regular guys," he said. "That's part of the freakout."
Timothy Shary also noticed that. He's director of the Screen Studies Program at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., and examines masculinity in movies.
"This is a threat to most men because it opens up the possibility that two men who are friendly may become affectionate," Shary said. "That's something men just do not want to consider."
Countless movies feature characters who marry (or are married to) someone but linger evermore over feelings for another -- think "Casablanca."
"But this is about two men who are attracted to each other and keep that connection. That's especially troubling for some men," Shary said, adding, "but that's what makes this a truly revolutionary film."
George Weinberg said this aversion is "definitely homophobia." He is the New York City psychologist and researcher who invented that term in the 1960s, and broke ground with his 1972 book, "Society and the Healthy Homosexual."
"This is the idea of one man's adoration for another," Weinberg said. "A love affair more deep and lasting and romantic" than with their wives.
His advice for straights uneasy about "Brokeback" is to "first understand you have this problem. At least by acknowledging it, that's a start. It's like saying, `I have a fear of heights."'
Research into a physical source of these feelings is lacking.
"It does seem to be almost culturally universal that heterosexual men can have a deep repulsion to overt homosexuality," said Dean Hamer, scientist and author of "The Science of Desire: The Gay Gene and the Biology of Behavior."
"But there is no study I know of to ascertain whether this is a biologically based trait," Hamer said.
Simon LeVay agreed. He is a lecturer on neuroscience and author of "The Sexual Brain," a biological overview of sexuality.
"From a neurobiological basis, I just don't think this response has been researched at that level," LeVay said, "although it's something that should be."
Movie buff Hargreaves, who is straight and married, still isn't going to see "Brokeback Mountain." Not that there's anything wrong with that.
"To say that straight guys are missing out because they're unjustly turned off by the plot, well, there wasn't anything to turn them on in the first place," Hargreaves said. "At least `The English Patient' had a plane crash."
Jan. 5, 2006
(Dru Sefton can be contacted at dru.sefton@newhouse.com)
Not for commercial use. For educational and discussion purposes only.
"Setting aside the whole "abomination to God" thing for a second, the reason that hetro men don't want to see this crap is that it sickens them. Why? Becasuse sex is like food. Someone may choose to eat live worms from a bowl, but it makes me want to puke if I have to watch them eat it."
"Its really that simple."
Nicely stated. Not to mention true.
And as a girl, I agree.
"A psychologist who coined the word "homophobic" said the revulsion is precisely that. A scientist who discovered genetic links to sexuality said he simply does not understand the response."
The term is "homodisgustus" because there is no FEAR involved, only revulsion. The guy is either homosexual or an idiot if he doesn't understand revulsion at the idea that another man would have a sexual interest in him.
'He wants to do "what" with me?'....'and I'm not supposed to NATURALLY feel revulsed?!?!?!?'
You are repelled BECAUSE THE ACT IS AGAINST NATURE!!!!
And we're supposed to take some shrink seriously when he says he doesn't understand it because he can't find a cause?
WoW! Its as if they are human beings that everyone can identify with and respect YET at the same time looking at activity and behavior be rightly repulsed by and discriminate against such abhorrent and intrinsically disordered activity such as adultery and homosexual activity etcetera.
NO it is not self-identification, homophobia, or even fear of people that act abhorrently -- [it] is just discrimination, an inherent and normal behavior to distance onself from repulsive activities that people do NOT want to observe let alone contemplate beyond simple and just condemnation that is warranted...
Actually the correct response to this movie from a cowboy (namely me) is:
Sheepherders? Gay?
Quelle Surprise.......
This article is a joke, isn't it? I mean, in case it's NOT a joke, it's not the "affection" it's the well, what else can I say? It's the bareback mounting.
Sorry to the freeper who is so sick of that joke he started a vanity thread to complain about it. I hope he sees this piece, that's all I can say.
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As I said in another thread--unfortunately, the homos have tried to jump on Shane, too. They like to think there was some homoerotic thing going on between Shane and little Joey. Sick bastards. SHANE WAS A FATHER FIGURE!
ick!
Oh puhleeease! No pervert is going to convince me that I have a problem because I think a couple of fudge packers are disgusting, not to mention the fact that it is even more ridiculous and disgusting to make a stupid movie about it. And I don't "fear" them at all as one of these morons would imply by calling me "homophobic". I simply think it is morally wrong, exceptionally risky behavior and disgusting.
;)
Maybe if it were about gay cowgirls I'd see it.
later pingout.
"a very strong ick factor"
That's really an understatement. I like what the actual real cowboy in a Wyoming bar said when asked if he'd go see the movie: "I'd rather get hung, and I'd die the knot myself".
Or words to that effect.
I wish I could meet this pointy-headed sodomite so I could unburden myself of this "problem". Though I doubt it would be to his satisfaction.
-ccm
"Real men don't say "askance"
ROFLMAO!!!!!
Oh, thanks for that!
How about "gross". Do they understand the word "gross"?
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