From the ‘Queer-Eye-For-The-Straight-Guy-Ripple-Effect’ file: the Chicago Tribune (10-1) reports that groups of straight women are gathering, in some numbers, to watch the makeover show. It’s even happening, for instance, at Big Chicks bar in Uptown. Ron Gregg, a U. of Chicago gender studies lecturer, says the phenomenon reflects an informal alliance between straight women and gay men that has been around for decades, reflecting the two groups’ shared values: emotional openness, lack of sports finesse, and, don’t laugh, shopping.
The Trib, a day earlier, fantasizes about a possible ‘Lesbian Eye.’ Among several examples it offers: a makeover beginning with five lesbians popping out of a rusty ’71 VW van carrying ‘… a head of raw broccoli, … a bronze statute of Hecate, … a rolled-up hemp rug made by Honduran orphans, … an armful of tie-dye shirts, and … a chain saw.’ The problem would be deciding just who represents dykedom, and of ‘… finding a group of 5 lesbians who agree on grooming, food, fashion, home décor, and culture, and that will never happen.’
The online magazine Salon (10-1) has some unusual advice for a gay man who has fallen in love with a straight male friend: pretend it’s a romantic affair, take him to a fancy restaurant, give him a gift and break up with him. Tell him you’ve tried to make the relationship work and even though it’s hard for non-lovers to become friends, one can hope. Then pay the check and leave, alone.Hong Suk Chon, the Korean actor who was the first gay Korean celebrity to come out of the closet, was profiled in The NY Times (10-1). He will be returning as a major (and openly gay) character in a TV drama, Perfect Love. He now owns a bar of his own and has an American boyfriend, but it is still disconcerting for him to recall his mother’s reaction when he came out to her: she suggested they take poison together.
The NY Times (9-30) reports that the leader of the Episcopal Church in the U.S., Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, has announced he voted to confirm the gay clergyman V. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire because local Episcopalians had overwhelmingly chosen him in an election. Griswold also said scripture did not condemn same-sex relationships. This puts the former Chicagoan (fondly remembered here) at odds with conservatives in the world-wide Anglican Communion.
—————————————-
—————————————-
—————————————-