Jay Leno ought to listen up! San Francisco-based sexpert Violet Blue reminds readers of a rediscovered 1996 Journal of Abnormal Psychology proves that homophobic remarks have a closer relationship to attraction than aggression:
The authors investigated the role of homosexual arousal in exclusively heterosexual men who admitted negative affect toward homosexual individuals … The men were exposed to sexually explicit erotic stimuli consisting of heterosexual, male homosexual, and lesbian videotapes, and changes in penile circumference were monitored. They also completed an Aggression Questionnaire … Both groups exhibited increases in penile circumference to the heterosexual and female homosexual videos. Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli. The groups did not differ in aggression. Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.
Blue insists she’s not calling Leno lavender, although she does note that “there’s ‘something about Mary’ that gives Leno enough of a woody to spout jokes that are insensitive, beyond poor taste, and just make him look out of step with the rest of culture…” Snap!
eric
thats ridiculous, jay leno is not a homophobe, his comments were wrong but he is trying to be a comedian and that happens sometimes. give him a break, not everyone who makes gay jokes is gay.
http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com
Shabaka
*Gasps*…Well this is no news. Anyone with half a brain realizes that obsessing over someone else’s sexuality mirrors your own feelings. But I wouldn’t know about Jay…
Ozma
Remember Kinsey? 1-6 Scale? Sexuality is not gender specific, society is. just because you find person’s of your gender arousing when in sexual or erotic poses doesn’t define you. However, society (gay and straight) insists that you must be one or the other. Being gay is becoming an acceptable definition of male, but any waffling is a perversion. What are all the people 2-5 (most of us)to do? I choose to feel superior to the rest of society, but for many it is an endless struggle to prove themselves worthy. this does not excuse intolerance of any kind, but it does make us all responsible for every homo or hetero phobic act. the day when parents who chance upon their child in an intimate moment with another, what ever the gender and the first thought they have is “God! I hope they are being safe!” we shall be released.
Jeremy
This is by no means the first time. Jay Leno has a long history of disparaging remarks at the expense of the gay community in the name of “humor”.
Interesting that his competitors in the industry don’t seem to need bigotry to pull off a one-liner.
Meeg
I think his comments show that he’s (a) not funny, (b) square, and (c) like 10 years behind the times.