Once and for all, is gayface a real phenomenon, worthy of 230-word definitions, or is it merely another device used to propagate the gays’ “other” status?
Public Opinion Poll: Gayface
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rogue dandelion
plenty of men have expressive faces, regardless of orientation.
but if anderson cooper, or chace crawford have it, i want it.
sam
“Hey you, with the gay face!” is one of the funnier things I’ve read on the internet in a while.
thisismikesother
Anderson does not have gayface, but other people certainly do, though I can’t name a celebrity that does. I know a few gays in my everyday life though.
Five bucks says Psych 101 students at some school are going to volunteer to determine if gayface is a real phenomenon or not.
osocubano
Ooookay… hadn’t heard about this.
What does a “straight” face look like?
Jonathan
haha… wait, is “gayface” the face, or the gay? the condition or the patient? either way, i don’t buy it.
Miss Understood
I think it’s real but cultural. Foreign guys from almost everywhere else look gay to an American until you hear the accent.
Gender appropriate mannerisms are cultural. European guys will look you in the eyes and smile broadly when they talk to you, something straight American guys don’t do much. It looks so flirty from an American perspective.
Nick
Jonathan, you know ‘gayface’ when you see it. In my experience the biggest contributor to gayface is eyebrow shaping (and makeup).
FTR, I don’t think Anderson Cooper or Chace Crawford have gayface.
Nick
http://gayface.typepad.com/
The banner provides some good examples.
RainaWeather
@Nick: I agree. Lance Bass has “gay face” and it’s all in the eyebrows
getreal
I don’t think Anderson Cooper has gay face but has anyone seen a picture of Tyler Perry recently? Epic gay face.
Stop! Or My Daddy Will Shoot!
I would be more than happy to help Chase Crawford overcome his gayface. PROBLEM SOLVED.
Dwight Supremacy
No, gay face exists, but who cares. Ugh.
afrolito
It certainly exists, and Anderson certainly has it from time to time….but who gives a shit really?
Dan
@Dwight Supremacy: I heartily agree.
Ryan
Haven’t there been studies where volunteers were given pictures of straight and gay men and more than half the time they were able to accurately guess the orientation?
If the cause, or one of the causes, of homosexuality is hormones in the mother’s womb — which seems the likeliest cause (for men) given the science available — then it would make sense that those hormones would have other, subtle-yet-detectable physical impacts on our bodies.
There are certainly straight people who appear gay and vice versa, but there is something IMO to things like ‘gay face’ and ‘gaydar.’ Who knows how often such things are ‘accurate,’ which is why people shouldn’t make too many assumptions, but just because something isn’t 100% accurate doesn’t mean it’s 100% untrue.