From the Brokeback file: The New Yorker (2/23) has a cover with two cowboys in the Ennis & Jack pose. The near cowboy, Mr. Vice President, blows smoke off his gun while the far cowboy, the Prez, looks ruefully over the other’s shoulder. The title? Watch Your Back Mountain. Your reporter was leading a fast waltz at Charlie’s, the gay C&W saloon in Chicago when he realized he was hearing Willie Nelson’s new song, Cowboys Are Secretly, Frequently (Fond Of Each Other). Nelson, in the Chicago Tribune (2/19) says that ‘ [t] he song’s been in the closet for 20 years.’ Other (possibly garbled) lyrics of the song heard through guffaws and shouts: ‘If they talk a lot about their girlfriends, they’re probably queer’ and ‘What do you think all those boots & saddles are about?’
From the Catholics-Do-The-Darnedest-Things file: a cartoon in the Chicago Trib (2/19) to contrast what cartoonists could do to offend Christians as opposed to Muslims—a flock of terrified acolytes being pursued by a hoard of priests titled ‘The Running of the Altar Boys.’ (Also, a little guy at the side asks if the bishop has heard about this and is told ‘ [h] e’s in the pack.’) Meanwhile DePaul University, Chicago and the country’s largest Catholic University is offering a new minor in queer studies. The classes are somewhat overbooked. (Chicago Trib, 2/20) Simultaneously, the University of Notre Dame is restricting gay events on campus (with the Queer Film Festival having to change its name to Gay and Lesbian Film) but ’24 of the 28… Jesuit universities’ have allowed gay and lesbian groups on their campuses. (NY Times, 2/18) Mixed emotions?
Some tidbits from ‘A Pop Quiz on Marriage’ from the N.Y. Times (2/19): Living together unmarried is a break in a long tradition? Nope, it was the norm in England, for example, until the mid-1700s. Strong loving marital commitments are thought to be the backbone of society? Nope, the Romans thought loving your spouse too much was a civic sin; in addition, the Greeks believed pure love could only be between two men and early Christians thought marriage was too tainted by (ick!) sex to be the spine of anything. What was the preferred form of marriage throgh the ages? Polygamy, especially in the Bible. And, do born-again Christians have strong marriages? You judge—their divorce rate is virtually the same (35 percent) as the rest of the country. Seems like gay marriage would fit right in.
From the Flamboyant file: Olympic skater Johnny Weir is playing with reporter’s, ummm, minds. He refuses to say he’s gay so they code-talk him by saying he’s flamboyant or flaming or something of that ilk. While he does seem to have a drag queen’s approach to costuming, the Chicago Sun-Times (2/19)—in an article on the ‘Gayest Sport in America’—says reporters who insist on going after a public figure’s irrelevant sexuality have more of a problem than any closeted celebrity. Amen.