Details' June/July 2008 issue goes to the gay well again with it's article titled "Does Everyone Think You're Gay." The author, Mike Albo, describes the horrible indignities that his friend "Gary" (not his real name) faces when "no evidence to the contrary can kill a certain rumor." Albo, seems so upset that his buddy, who is such "prime dating material" somehow keeps sending the wrong signals to all these women that could be getting a piece of "Gary."

Albo states that:

"(N)o matter how hard I tried to convince her that Gary was as straight as an Arizona highway, she refused to believe it. It wasn't the first time this had happened. In fact, almost every time I introduce Gary to a woman—or a man, for that matter—I'm asked if he's gay. "I wore these new Alain Mikli glasses to work, and it was as if I had worn a dress," Gary told me once, explaining the effect he has on his peers. "All the guys kept saying with lisps, 'Oooh, look at your fanthy glatheth!'""""

How provocative to incorrectly correlate gay with cross-dressing. And the edginess of the gay lisp? Genius! I wonder if "Gary" even exists or the author is taking those fun liberties to illustrate what exists mostly in his fertile mind. Assuming that "Gary," who is described as en engineer, exists, I'd like to know where he works, as the place sounds like he could have lawsuit on his hands.  The article also has cool pictures, like the one below to illustrate...... I can't quite figure that one out, so you guess is as good as mine. Maybe it intends to illlustrate how a gay banana looks stuck in the middle of straight bananas or to how a meaty straight wiener looks when surrounded by gay bananas? I guess it's over my head.

 

While the author claims that this story is simply about his buddy "Gary" not being able to get any dates as no one believes he's straight, the presentation says otherwise. There are the obligatory bits to try and leave no doubt that there is not a shred of homophobia in the piece, I wish that the online article did not exclude the opening graphic which is basically a full page with the word "gay" presented vertically as if it were a big arrow pointing downwards (with a tiny question mark) about to penetrate what looks like a bubble butt. Maybe it's just my skewed mind.....

Some may find that I am taking this junk way too seriously or remind me that the article was written for Details, which already has a proven record of gay-baiting. Both are valid points, but should we turn a deaf ear to these bits, which repeatedly make their way into our lives without any coverage or public outrage. If we're supposed to treat Details like Mad magazine, maybe I ought to put some investors together as there could be a market for a provocative magazine that perpetually goes to town on the fragile psyche of the straight man. Maybe the target audience could be straight females, some gay men, and even a  "stray," a term that the author coins to describe "a straight guy who sends out gay signals like he's shaking a tambourine even as he proclaims himself—and in fact is—100 percent heterosexual."

http://men.style.com/details/blogs/details/2008/06/does-everyone-t.html#more

The link below will take you pictures of famous people who've been hounded by gay rumors, with examples of how they've fought back.

http://men.style.com/details/features/slideshow/v/052708GAY

If Details stands by it's aspiration to be provocative how about a companion piece focusing on gay men who not only don't set off gaydars, but don't have very good ones, thus possibly assuming that every guy they've liked must be straight. Instead of "strays" maybe he could coin a truly an offensive provocative that will get people talking.

 

Guillermo's Media Guillotine: Entertainment, journalism, politics, and popular culture.

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