Is being *camp* an affectation, a pre-conditioned *gay* behaviour or a kind of advertisement of homosexuality?

Question

Is effeminacy in gay men borne of natural gender-role traits that subvert the female heterosexual as being *desireable* in attracting other gay men or is being *camp* a superficial parody (or protest) of how society defines masculinity?

Answer 1

Its more like a survival mechanism . Using humor and irony to keep sad feelings at bay . The Jewish community has a similar sense of grim humor , used to shrug off bad times .

Answer 2

I wouldn't say it subverts much of anything by being desirable, simply because its generally not the preference of most gay men, and by extension would seem a pretty poor way to advertise one's homosexuality.

Likewise I wouldn't call it a gay behavior unless you were to recognize as part of a spectrum of gay male gendered behavior, not the flamboyant extreme of a flamboyant-straight acting spectrum but one part of a broad range of different ways to be with multiple different extremes not all of which could be easily classified as masculine or feminine. I wouldn't favor any one sort of behavior in that range over the others by calling it *gay* bahavior.

It could be a protest of how society deines masculinity, but the message behing that protest would be kind of vague and confusing, whats exactly is being prostested and how?

Answer 3

I think that "camp" could very well be defined as the ironic appreciation of any aspects of popular cuture that subvert the perception of what the social majority sees as "normal." Case in point: having been a staunch fan of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW for many years, I met a lot of the members of fan clubs who have participated in hundreds of midnight showings, and I would say that the ratio of gay RHPS fans vs. straight was about 60/40. And that included a lot of guys who wouldn't ever dream of having sex with another man, but felt comfortable enough in their own masculinity and with their own sense of "camp" appreciation to don the fishnet stockings, garter belts and mascara that define the lead character, Dr. Frank N. Furter.

Answer 4

I guess one would have to define "camp". In many cases I think it is a flamboyant affectation. In others, it's just how one is. It would be a wonderful world if one could just "be" and be accepted for that. No fear on either side, we are confident in ourselves.

Answer 5

I've known of several straight men who pretend to be gay so they can get girls ("No, really. you're my first!!") Their "camping it up" is far more affected than any gay man I've ever met.