Gay Families Traditionalizing Gay Culture/Dale A. Carpenter

". . .There are unmistakable signs that the emphasis on relationships and families in gay life, politics, and media is having traditionalizing effects on gay culture.

This is evident in the causes and trends that have dominated the gay movement for the past 15 years or so: serving in the military, joining the Boy Scouts, attending services at large gay-friendly churches, and above all, gay marriage.

This development can even be seen in America's capital of gay sexual liberation, San Francisco. Recent stories in the B.A.R . and the Los Angeles Times document the beginnings of a change in attitudes toward open and explicit displays of sexuality in the Castro. The change is being spurred especially by gay families with children, who want a more family-friendly environment and are chafing at a culture they see as saturated with sex. . ."

"Last year, a lesbian mother of two, now 6 and 2, complained about a sadomasochistic tableau in a clothing shop window that featured a male mannequin chained to a toilet. 'As an adult I find this disgusting,' she wrote in an e-mail to city officials. 'As a parent I find it unconscionable.'"

Just a few months ago, the B.A.R . ran several stories about a life-sized wooden statue of an aroused naked man that was displayed in a Castro storefront. Parents in the neighborhood objected that it should not be visible to children who pass by on their way to and from school. After police got involved, the owner reluctantly covered the statue's private parts.

Some business owners are sensitive to families' concerns. A lesbian mother reported to the Times that a clothing store manager helpfully warned her about taking her 12-year-old daughter into a back room where "suggestive leather outfits were displayed." With more children in the neighborhood, she predicted, "businesses that accommodate the sensibilities of families will survive, while those that are less child-friendly will not."

"Our kids need a place in the community," said July Appel, executive director Our Family Coalition, an organization for gay families and a lesbian mother of two. "The Castro is big enough for everyone. Gay cruising has its place. But so do playgrounds."

The trend is being felt beyond commercial venues, reaching into the heart of gay organizations and events. The annual LGBT Pride Parade in San Francisco, by far the largest in the country, now provides a children's area with licensed day care. This year's parade will include a float celebrating gay families, complete with children singing Village People songs.

At the LGBT Community Center, nudity is now forbidden in the hallways – requiring bondage classes to stay behind closed doors. "Twenty years ago we couldn't have had such a rule," the center's director, Thom Lynch, told the Times. "People would have fought it."
posted by maggie at 8:12 PM VOTE

2 Comments:

At 4/27/2006 8:55 PM,  Chairm said...

Does Dale want us to applaude the emergence of a more mature attitude and behavior among some in the homosexual community?

Empathy for their being marginalized is a given. Applause for acting like grown adults, well, that's a little condescending, I think.

Maybe I have misread Dale's remarks, but I don't think so.

 

At 4/28/2006 12:43 AM,  On Lawn said...

This reminds me somewhat of the lore of how the Wild West was tamed. Probably best told by the Mayor of the town in the movie, "Support your Local Sherrif" (from memory)

"First people will start settling down, then the women will get together and start formin' commitees and such. Then they'll probably run Madam Orr and her girls out of town."

I hope Dale all the best for civilizing homosexual culture. Of course that rode leads ultimately to the humanitarian virtues of gender integration and responsible procreation. I'm not sure how Dale plans to cross the chasm those concepts have with homosexuality, or if he plans on crossing them at all. Which would be a shame really.

In some ways a sham.

In Spain as well as Massachusettes birth certificates are altered so that in-tact family creation is impossible to foster. Children are robbed of their heritage to suit the accessorizing of relationships of many couples, who as Dale point out in turn do run sex-toys out of town.

Lets hope Dale won't stop short, and lets hope that he will find a better way to civilize homosexuality. Something Steve Yuhas argues can and should be done without selling marriage out.

 

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