On Friday, March 2, Jake Resnicow, Patrick Crough, Hilton Wolman and Luis Morera teamed up to bring some daytime fun to the infamous Winter Party Festival in Miami, with Matinée: Mercury Rising at Space nightclub. As Billy Lace, Hector Fonseca and Javier Medina worked the booth, hordes of shirtless boys helped say adios to winter’s chill and hola to spring.
If you missed the Matinee madness in Miami you can still buy tickets to Matinée Las Vegas, happening over Memorial Day weekend, or Matinée NYC Pride, on Saturday, June 23.
Click through for more photos from Matinée: Mercury Rising in Miami
Photos courtesy of Matinee North America and the Winter Party Festival
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Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Gauthier
Not that they’re not cute, but all these guys look eerily similar… I sometimes wish I had a body like that, but I’ll be honest; what’s the point if it’s all about competitiveness and envy? There’ll always be a guy more in shape than you. As long as I don’t look like a leaking lavalamp I’m fine, thanks. One of the many, many reasons I never go to these kinds of parties.
Anne
I don’t get it. But I suppose as as heterosexual woman, I’m not suppose to get it. I just want to know if this is truly that appealing to gay men. As a woman, I know that it isn’t in the least bit appealing to me. These men have muscles, but not one of them actually looks masculine. Masculinity is sort of that ‘Je ne sais quoi’ you know it when you see it and you know it when you don’t. I suppose it’s the way these men carry themselves, the way they stand for the camera. Not trying to offend, hope no offense is taken.
Jonathan
Miami is so tacky.
robbieoros
Anne…they don’t get it either…its a lemming effect…one does it they all follow.
and yet, a gay guy meets or runs into a man like myself…and i am pursued. i have what
they have omitted from their bodies..HAIR. hair and muscles, masculinity go together.
case in point…in the gay culture…who are the Hollywood types that the gay guys
swoon over…its guys like Kevin Costner, Geo Clooney, Howie Long, Antonio Banderas,
etc..u get my point…granted all but one of the above have exposed their penis in some pic
picture or movie…and they are all well hung men…but it takes more than a big dick
to get the “Je ne sais quio'” as why these Hollywood guys are lusted.
I agree with you…I am perplexed at their hypocrisy, but perhaps u don’t know many guy
guys….the once constant characteristic i have found in MOST of the gay guys I know
they are self centered, selfish and the worship the phrase “its all about me” or me
first. and not until some severe crisis comes into their life do they grow up and
have an epiphany and sometimes they go into over kill with this new crisis on finding a
way to end the problem. sort of like the chaos of the day event. and one last thing
they are constantly pushing an envelope craving attention..again, its all about them
The Real Mike in Asheville
@robbieoros: Right, hair is what makes a man a man? Are you retarded or what?
Being a man is about being true to yourself, with or without body hair. What fucking business is it of yours whether some guys prefer a smooth body over a hair one? Body hair grows back, obviously your brain cells don’t.
And while this fun party was hopping and popping, a whole bunch of bears were hanging out at the Eagle, and none of the guys at this Winter Party whined about who they are and what they are up to. Live and let live, pursue your own happiness, and fuck off judging those who don’t want to be just like your small and narrow view of being a man.
StuckInMiami
Robbieoros…I couldn’t agree more with you. You’re 100% right about the lemming effect, the numbing single-mindedness and uniformity of the gay party culture, especially in places like Miami, where one is more likely to find an image of the Virgin Mary manifesting on one’s morning toast than stumble across a gay man here who doesn’t walk, talk and look like every other gay boy in this town. It’s as if all gay men in this town were created by mitosis, cell division resulting in two identical cells. The one and only counterpoint I’d make to your perceptive observation is regarding your unfortunate choice of examples of “Hollywood types” that gay guys swoon over. Your four choices might have qualified as swoon-worthy for gay men 15 years ago, but there isn’t a single gay man in Miami –and dwindling numbers even nationally– who would still have Kevin Costner, Clooney, Howie Long or Antonio Banderas even in their top ten for such a list. And the claim that they are all well hung, well, to be kind, there’s evidence to the contrary for at least two of them, and it hasn’t exactly been amply demonstrated for the other two either. But that’s a minor flaw in an otherwise slam-dunk observation.
Dallas David
Any time ya gets an event of that size, it becomes less of a neighborhood party and more of a commercial thing, with predictable results.
Not that I’m necessarily against such things, but I’ve never found them too interesting.
I like my ukulele, lots of peace and quiet, and “sweet bands” from the 1930’s, etc . . .
I suppose the party culture is a step in some people’s lives, and as they continue on to other interests, other newbies come along to take their place, and life goes on. A century from now, historians will look at what we all did, and they’ll romanticize it and write stories about it, just like what we do now about the speakeasys of the 1920’s.
And life goes on . . .
BubbasBack
The White Party still exists? Burp.
BubbasBack
@Gauthier: Leaking Lavalamp! BRILLIANT. LOL. Burp.
MikeE
@Anne: I’m sorry I don’t get it.
the guys in photos 2 and 6 are pretty “regular” looking, if you ask me. they have well-developed bodies, but other than that, they are attractive and… ordinary.
what is it that isn’t “masculine” about them?
other than those photos, however, you can tell that the photographer took pics of the most outlandish costumes, and whatever other guy gave him a hard-on.
I’m sure there were lots of ordinary-looking people at this party.
yeah, none of them look like they work on a farm, or in a steel factory. none of them had their pics taken with beer stains on their t-shirts, or a finger up their nose. it sounds to me like you want some sort of stereotypical version of “masculinity”.
guess what, that’s a minority even in the straight world.
JS
Dear @Anne, your conception of masculinity sucks. Read a book.
Derek
@BubbasBack: Try reading a bit closer – it’s WINTER Party……duh
Just being real
@Anne-You’re correct they ALL look like Ken Doll clones and it’s boring. Then again as a gay man I’ve known for decades that most gay men including the ones that go to the white party, black party, winter party, etc. can’t think for themselves at all.
MikeE
@Just being real: you appear no smarter than Anne.
“most gay men” ..”can’t think for themselves”?
wow, talk about self-hating.
I have only one suggestion for you: get better friends, stop hanging out in saunas, get out into the real world.
There are vast quantities of gay men (and women, for that matter) who “think for themselves” and lead happy fulfilling lives.
The circuit party gang are an infinitesimal part of the gay community at large.
BigBlowJob
>@ Anne,… You ARE correct! Most of these guys are probably going to succumb to a deadly disease. I was once in their “shoes” and was masculine to a tee. [I still am, just a little more wieght but, a bigger heart!]. The others guys I hung around with thought that they could lay another good looking guy with NO repercussions what-so-ever. Well, it turns out that almost all of them have passed on and are never going to be able to find the real “them”. I am going on 51 and I have seen ALOT! Things just keep repeating themselves and no one dares or cares to educate them intelligently. Either that or they do not care to listen being that these young “twinks” think they know it all. It is sad that the human race (not only homos’ but, str8’s) seem to think that beauty is on the outside. It’s even more sad that they do not know the inner love/beauty…BBJ
Michael
It’s the White Party… What do you expect besides a bunch of beefy cookie-cutter gay meat heads? If it makes them happy then so what? If you don’t like it then why are you even checking out the pictures? Really, what’s lamer? Being another dime-a-dozen muscle queen having a good time or being the homebody trolling the internet finding something to bitch about when you see guys in pictures having a good time?
BigBlowJob
>@Michael – The problem I see is that the media portrays gays flaunting their sexuality and THAT is not your typical gay person. Whenever ppl see flamers, they “presume” all gay ppl are that way. It falls into the stereotype of “if they look like that, then I must starve my body to do the same”. It’s a fixation and not a good one. Abeit, they may be healthy but, you do not need a body like that in order to have a good time.
adam
i agree with BigBlow above (classy handle, that)
these are buff, petty boys with the means to make themselves clones of one another, and they persuade people that other gays are just that pretty, and just that wealthy, to spend that much time and money on their bodies and to afford to travel to miami just for a party. when did the rest of us have the time and energy to build those muscles, boogie that long on the dance floor, take that many party drugs, when we were actually . . . trying to earn a paycheck? hard-working, blue-collar, supposedly normal gays just aren’t as photogenic as these guys, so we don’t get the spotlight. so the wide public assumes we’re all dancing the night away . . .
~peace
WillBFair
I enjoy hot guys as much as anyone. But this aspect of gay culture has always bored me. The obsession with looks and bodies, and even worse, the contempt for kindness and character.
You see it everywhere, not just at the big parties. And it ain’t going anywhere. It’s been the standard for thirty five years with only minor adjustments.
I think it’s because gay men are insecure about their masculinity, so they obsess on the superficial aspects of it. It explains the popular gay body type, giant muscles all out of proportion to reality.
The worst part is their inability to choose competent leadership, and the way they treat older people and the less attractive among us.
But again, you might as well ask a leapard to change his spots, or a red neck to open a book. Ain’t gonna happen.
Just being real
MikeE-Stop assuming that I even go to saunas or bath houses, or circuit parties.
BigBlowJob
>@MikeE AND Michael. Maybe, just maybe you could be a little nicer to your fellow men and not be wollering in $hit all the time. You 2 “seem” to be the epiphany overseers’. Ppl like you make me want to puke. Not just puke but, all over U! You think you know it all and call others “homebody trolls” when, in fact, you are the ones whom are just that. I know u won’t respond to this entry because you are probably “trolling” elsewhere since your attention spand is limited. Just let it be known that you are NOT as anonymous as you think you are and people can figure you out no matter what SN you post under. SAD indeed…BBJ
>@Justbeing real. Thanks FOR being real! [AND NOT a FAKE!]
Glad to have you in the “REAL” world.
ThatGypsyBoy
@robbieoros:
Gurl, you need to sit your ass down for a second.
You think those actors don’t rock up to premiers with a face full of slap? You think they don’t have manicures and deep tissue massage-whatever stuff done? If yes, that’s ridiculous, of course they do. They are as manufactured and groomed as the female counterparts.
And finally, you think actors become A-List by going “on no, not little old me.” Child, please, they are as self-centred and arrogant as anyone.
We just can’t all afford publicists.
kuy
@Anne: Who cares if they’re not masculine? Go take your straight bullshit elsewhere.
MikeE
@BigBlowJob: whoa, take a chill-pill dude.
I didn’t call anyone a troll.
what *I* take offense to is some woman complaining that these men aren’t “masculine” enough for her.
And I ALSO take offense when gay people start spewing nonsense like “gay men can’t think for themselves”.
There’s a LOT of gratuitous bashing going on in this thread.
MikeE
@Just being real: and stop making stupid generalizations about the gay community, and talking like circuit parties are the norm and that everyone is into that, or even like that.
kuy
And can gay people please stop trying to police eachother’s behaviour under some erronious belief that “those other gays” are “ruining our image!”. In the media, do you see them using examples of straight people behaving badly and implying that’s what they’re all like? No, because most media is straight. Rather than wasting our time trying to tear eachother down, we should be focusing on the fact that media will always tend to portray a simplified and one dimensional version of gay people, regardless of what the facts are. We should strive to present how varied the gay community is, rather than forcing other gay men to conform to our ideals on what the gay community should look like.
And can we also please stop it with the non-conformist conformity? Who cares if they all look the same. Humans tend to group think and to emulate the behaviour and looks of others. Big deal. Just be yourself, and most importantly, be modest about it rather than trying to pretend it makes you better than other people. Leave pompous pretense of non-conformity to the hipsters.
Qban1029
There are less attractive gays? Having grown up in Miami, I never knew! Seriously, do Miamians overemphasize the importance of looks? OF COURSE, we’re a beach city! Most of the year we’re wearing shorts, tank tops, or no shirts at all so we’re constantly looking at physiques, and great ones at that. Is it shallow? Perhaps, but that’s not my call to make, or for anyone else. So stop hating, you don’t know these people, and you are making assumptions based on a photograph!