Ask the Flying Monkey (November 04, 2008)

Of course these are all wildly stereotypical characterizations, so for a more traditionally masculine gay portrayal, check out Thomas in Pocahontas, a settler voiced by Christian Bale who’s clearly in love with John Smith.

Thomas from Pocahontas

What about Pumbaa and Timon? Yes, they’re definitely a couple.

P.S. Catch your allusion? Of course! Timon refers to Rafiki as “The Omniscient Monkey” in The Lion King 1 ½. How many times does the Monkey have to say this: he knows all (and yet isn’t a know-it-all!).

Q: As an affirmed fan of British 80’s pop group 5 Star, many people ask me to explain their popularity with gay men. I get stuck at “sequins and dancing.” With all your expertise, can you explain their gay appeal? Is there any precedent for dancing, glittering, sibling pop groups? -- Paul, Cardiff , UK

5 Star

A: You’re kidding, right? A precedent for dancing, glittering, sibling pop groups? Is there any other kind of singing sibling band? Sister Sledge? The Moffatts? The Jonas Brothers? The Jackson Five? The Partridge Family? The Pointer Sisters? DeBarge? The Bee Gees? The Von Trapp children?

Okay, maybe not the Von Trapp children, but only because Maria had to go and make costumes out of curtains.

A few of their "favorite things" include chintz playsuits

Like you, the Monkey is a fan of the glittery family singing group. What’s the “gay” appeal? Many of us gay guys don’t feel a strong connection with our own families; even when we come from non-raving-lunatic families, there are still often feelings of unease, a lingering question that our families might not accept the “real” us. Family singing groups, by contrast, are all about harmony — literal and figurative. So it’s easy for us to look at these groups and project our own secret wishes for happy, unconditional family love onto them.

Mostly, though — and please don’t take this the wrong way, Paul — the gay appeal of these groups often lies in their camp value. As musicians, they’re not really “good,” and sometimes they’re downright terrible. But they’re still fun. The best of them are true entertainers. The Monkey saw the Osmond family in concert once and he is convinced that, on some level, they knew they were a joke; they were in on the joke. Because they didn’t take themselves seriously as “artists” — because they were loose and funny and self-depreciating — they were delightful.

The Osmonds (left) and the Jonas Brothers