Gay and Streaming

[Masha]

I am not qualified to comment on this general topic because whether a person or an actor is straight, gay or some combination of the two is irrelevant to me.

The only point which you raised which does concern me is simulation of sex. Any form of explicit sex is not to my taste. I am fine with nudity no matter if it be male, female or small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri and do appreciate the natural beauty of the body with indirect only association with sex. The only times that I will watch a movie with explicit sex is if I am looking for new techniques or if it is such a quick scene that it has little or no bearing on the story as a whole and can be quickly forgotten.

It is of unusual interest to me that you mentioned: Matt Bomer. I know of him only from: White Collar (2009-2014). His role in that required him to seduce a woman every nine-point-three minutes for six seasons. His performance was such that I assumed he was something of a player in real life and was typecast. I was surprised when I learned quite recently that he is virtually a poster boy for his gender. I watched the series last year and I am not quite in the mood to watch it again so soon but I will be interested in seeing whether my impressions and opinions are different in any way. I believe they will not but there is no way to be positive. It may be a little quirky in the pilot episode because there is a scene wherein he uses his most scintillating charm on a woman but it leaves her cold. He is somewhat abashed until he is informed that she is not straight. I do wonder how it will play now that I know that he is gay in real life and she is straight in real life.

[TikiSoo]

I am not qualified to comment on this general topic because whether a person or an actor is straight, gay or some combination of the two is irrelevant to me.
The only point which you raised which does concern me is simulation of sex. Any form of explicit sex is not to my taste. I am fine with nudity no matter if it be male, female or small furry creatures from Alpha Centauri and do appreciate the natural beauty of the body.

Agree 100%
I am uncomfortable with any depiction of sex on film- to me sex is private and I don't enjoy watching others in their intimacy. I know what it looks like, there's no need to waste precious screen time on it-just tell the story!

As a straight woman who was brought up surrounded by gay men, I'm glad for any representation of gay charactors in movies. So gay sex scenes are equally boring to me as straight ones.
I actually think sex scenes are included because men are more "visual" & enjoy seeing sex because of fantasizing- I'm sure many women do too.

I will say however, I once borrowed my friend's porn VHS tapes out of curiosity that led to many a discussion about the physicality of gay sex.
While I found the 80's gay tropes HILARIOUS, I also felt very sad & humiliated after watching them. For whatever reason it seemed to me that one partner was always "trying" to be a woman. And the thought of wanting to be something you're not was heart breaking to me. But hey-it was just porn.

[Swithin]

Kingrat,

Thank you for starting this thread.

I remember when the LGBTQ+ thread was initiated on the TCM site. It was a welcome addition, for gay men like me, and for other members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as others who might like to participate.

The subject of course transcends the sex act. Like films with "straight" subjects, there are all kinds of films focusing on gay themes and gay characters. Like straight films, most gay films do not involve the depiction or discussion of the intricacies of the sex act; some do. As we said on the TCM Board, anyone who is uncomfortable with the subject or any of the discussions has only to stay out of the thread.

I'm glad that we now have this thread. There is an LGBTQ+ thread at "the other place," and it's about time that one was started here. But I will say again, if anything makes you uncomfortable about it, PLEASE, just stay out of it.

[jimimac71]

The only thing I see is how every new post is shown at the top of the SSO home page.
Other forums I've seen, including the former TCM site, required a user to go looking for what they want and would then see what is new. That could upset some, but hopefully not, including management.
It would be out of my comfort zone, even though Victor/Victoria is my favorite movie.
So yes Swithin, I will stay out. It would be wrong and unfair for me to voice a negative feeling.
We need to all get along and that is so not the way it goes. We have two wars happening that prove that point.
I might suggest a different title though, including LGBTQ+. Streaming is a single category as is gay.

[jamesjazzguitar]

I find the title, Gay and Steaming to be very clever click-bait.

[Swithin]

I find the title, Gay and Steaming to be very cleaver click-bait.

James, do you have two typos in your post, or were they intentional? Either way, very amusing:

steaming

and

cleaver

[jamesjazzguitar]

I find the title, Gay and Steaming to be very cleaver click-bait.

James, do you have two typos in your post, or were they intentional? Either way, very amusing:

steaming

and

cleaver

Only one was a type-o, (which I corrected). As for steaming: that was intentional.

[Swithin]

I find the title, Gay and Steaming to be very cleaver click-bait.

James, do you have two typos in your post, or were they intentional? Either way, very amusing:

steaming

and

cleaver

Only one was a type-o, (which I corrected). As for steaming: that was intentional.

Thanks for clarifying. With the other word, I thought you might have been making a subtle comment about a gay subtext related to Leave It to Beaver.

[jimimac71]

James, do you have two typos in your post, or were they intentional? Either way, very amusing:

steaming

and

cleaver

Only one was a type-o, (which I corrected). As for steaming: that was intentional.

Thanks for clarifying. With the other word, I thought you might have been making a subtle comment about a gay subtext related to Leave It to Beaver.

I was thinking of Yan Can Cook who has a "clever cleaver," AKA Chinese food processor. "Cut it up. Cut it up. Set it aside."
Beaver? ... Nevermind.

[TikiSoo]

I find the title, Gay and Steaming to be very clever click-bait.

...and imagine that would accurately describe our SSO members!



(At least that's how I imagine them)

[I Love Melvin]

Even though the sex scenes in Fellow Travelers can properly be called rutting, there's a lot being revealed about the unequal dynamic between the two men, as kingrat has stated. So often sex can seem like a "time out" for the characters, whereas here it's treated more as an extension of a growing, though ebbing and flowing, relationship. I read somewhere that Bomer and Bailey made a pact when they first met before shooting began that they would commit wholeheartedly to the characters and not hesitate to "go there" when the time came, and they've honored that pledge. The bottom line is that the admittedly hot sex isn't the totality or even the most noteworthy aspect of the show. It's a big story about some shameful parts of American history, bookended by the "Lavender Scare" of the 1950's, in which homosexuals were hounded mercilessly in both government and civilian sectors, and the AIDS epidemic of the 1980's, when governmental neglect and inaction cost many lives among the afflicted. The source is a 2007 novel, which was first adapted for a 2016 production by The Cincinatti Opera, which has subsequently been done by other companies. It's a timely story, even without the raw sex.



It's unfortunate that there's no designated LGBTQ+ sub-forum, but I think kingrat made the right decision to just start the discussion in the only way available to him. Yes, even though it's been posted "out of sight", each new posting appears at the top of the Board Index page. It seems like there's been a general show of respect and an agreement to pass over the thread by those who aren't interested or may take offence, so hopefully it's something which can thrive. In the old days on the TCM boards there was a "safe space", but it was added after a complete blow-up in what used to called "Hot Topics", an alternate discussion site to General Discussions, resulting in a lot of snark and more than a little invective. The Hot Topics forum was itself removed in the next board update, the reason given being that it was redundant, which it was, but it was also something which I interpreted as being related to the big dust-up. Forgive me if I'm misreading the room, and my impression is that this room is both respectable and respectful, but I'm just being mindful of what can and has happened when this type is discussion is initiated "out in the open". Once everyone has weighed in on their personal receptivity, hopefully the thread can settle into a pattern of simple back-and-forth discussion.

Speaking of Gay and Streaming, Netflix also posted earlier this year a series from Spain called Smiley, which features some sex but is more about the interwoven lives of a group of straight and gay characters in Barcelona. It doesn't break a lot of new ground; there are echoes of HBO's Queer as Folk and Looking, as well as some plays which haven't been done as films or series, but it has a very engaging cast and Barcelona itself looks spectacular. It's dubbed into English but that's done well enough that it shouldn't be a distraction.

[Swithin]

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that this thread sits in an odd corner of the SSO site.

May I request that the Mods create an LGBTQ+ site in "The Films" section of the board, where it belongs?

Thanks!

(I've just sent a PM to Lomm requesting the above, though the message seems to sit in my outbox. I assume it will travel to Lomm.)

[TikiSoo]

Forgive me if I'm misreading the room, and my impression is that this room is both respectable and respectful, but I'm just being mindful of what can and has happened when this type is discussion is initiated "out in the open". Once everyone has weighed in on their personal receptivity, hopefully the thread can settle into a pattern of simple back-and-forth discussion.

It's all a matter of respect. Thank goodness this group seems to be comprised of mature adults.

May I request that the Mods create an LGBTQ+ site in "The Films" section of the board, where it belongs?

I hate segregation.

[Swithin]

With respect, Tiki, people hate all kinds of things. But nevertheless there is still right and wrong in this world, and it would be the right thing to do, now that it has been requested, to set up the LGBTQ+ forum in the Films section.