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A gay choreographer and painter has picked up acclaim for his latest artistic offering: turning himself into a ‘Super Gay Barbie.’
Gunnar Montana is a Philadelphia-based dancer and performance artist whose work has appeared in numerous festivals across the region. According to his website, he specializes in “visual art installations, prop-based choreography, set design, costume design, transformation of atmosphere, and innovative movement, concepts, and ideas.”
Related: Dance instructor slays with his kitchen quarantine fashion displays
Gunnar’s also picked up a large social media following with his off-the-wall creations. Yesterday, he posted a video of his latest project. Together with collaborator Colin Burke, he turned himself into a very special Barbie doll. You can watch a video via the Facebook post below.
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|Super Gay Barbie| The process behind making the box!
Posted by Gunnar Montana on Wednesday, March 10, 2021
The two men put together a seven-foot-tall box and then assembled some ‘super gay’ accessories to go inside the box: a dildo, fan, thong singlet, cell phone with Grindr installed, some glasses, douche bulb, some weights, some bling, and the pièce de résistance… a plane ticket to Puerto Vallarta!
“Every month during this pandemic I’ve set aside time to collaborate with photographer Joe McFetridge on a shoot,” Gunnar told Queerty when asked what led him to this project.
“It helps me stay active and goal-oriented in bizarre times. We are both very creatively queer and have a lot of fun fucking with gender norms and giving everyday society the middle finger. This shoot is a really great example of that. It was just for fun, purely passion-driven.”
Related: Nine of the hottest, queer, erotic artists to follow
And how has he been coping with things during the pandemic? Presumably, his choreography work has reduced?
“I’m actually quite reserved and introverted off the stage and outside of social media. The quieter side of my personality has really been enjoying this time.
“I made it a very clear goal for myself last year that I would only be surrounding myself with things that bring me joy and projecting that outward as well. No news, no drama, no feeling sorry for myself. Just Joy.
“I’m also very fortunate in that I have always juggled being a painter and a performer. At the moment, life is all painting, all the time! It’s been really exciting and fun for me to find myself through that, while occasionally stepping into the shoes of the most ridiculous Barbie you’ve ever seen.”
You can check out some of his latest painting work (a portrait of Barbra Streisand), below, with his Instagram offering plenty more.
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BoylesqueBubble
One of the last seasons of ANTM did this exact same thing, the handsome Nyle diMarco was one of the “dolls”. Also a porn studio has already done this with their models, so I can’t give him props for originality.
marquez
xmeet.fun – a great project for single men who are looking for a sex partner!
Josh447
Omg, I hope it comes with free barf bags.
Godabed
LMAO
Leash
did you make a 2nd account to lmao your own post because it just wasn’t that funny. Really I don’t see the justification for a “lmao” at all.
Harley
Dayum. It’s not real. I was getting out my credit card to get one. Sad.
James26
The worst of gay culture will always promote effeminacy and promiscuity. They are the twin pillars of the religion of this failed subgroup of largely urban men, who have some of the worst physical and mental health outcomes in the developed world. And since misery loves company, the chief goal of these people is to convince normal gay and bisexual men that effeminacy and promiscuity is what it means to be gay, that they can’t be authentically gay otherwise. That’s why “supergay” Barbie comes with Grindr, dildos, fans, and floral patterned clothing.
DarkZephyr
The worst of gay culture will always promote sex shaming and attacks on their fem brothers who did most of the heavy lifting during the fight for gay rights, especially in the early years while most everyone else stayed in the closet.
The best of gay culture will always be welcoming to everyone, fem or butch or beyond.
James (controversial2019)
I wouldn’t say it’s trying to promote effeminacy – Weights, tats, big cats; all stereotypically masculine.
At the end of the day, it’s still “Barbie” so the heels, floral, dildo – they make sense. Only cynics who can’t embrace that being Queer CAN include (but doesn’t have to) heels, dildos, fans, florals would take issue with the box and packaging.
Personally, I think he looks good and the nod to Queer culture (“fem” and “masc”; both of which are in the box) is welcome.
renzinthewoods
The “worst” IMO is the continuation and prevalence of internalized homophobia. It can affect the best of us. This art installation is not promoting effeminacy…this is pure CAMP…something the gay boys have relied on for decades to keep ourselves sane. Rather than bemoan expressions of queerness that make you uncomfortable as wrong, may I suggest you do some self awareness checks regarding your own comfort level with your sexuality. Here’s the thing…haters are gonna hate…no matter how “straight laced” (pun intended) we present ourselves to the world, the haters won’t care. Just be you.
RyanMBecker
And what is exactly inherently wrong with “effeminacy”? You are a perfect example of my graduate work, which posited that sexism is at the foundation of homophobia. You are the reason many gay and transgender boys are suicidal. To be rejected by society and even one’s parents is sadly expected — but to be also be rejected by one’s own peers in the gay community is unforgivable. And often the trigger for suicide.
You seem ignorant that research repeatedly shows that many, if not most, gay boys exhibit some type cross-gender behavior as a child. Indeed, such behavior is seen as the most reliable predictor that the boy will grow up to be gay. But of course, you will deny any such behavior in your childhood due to internalized homophobia and ignorance. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, however, and day that it’s due to self-protective repression. A fascinating study asked gay men and their mothers of there was any crossgender tendencies in the man’s childhood. The vast majority of mothers remember vivid examples whereas the men didn’t. It was likely due to repressing the memories as they suppressed the behaviors, which started when they realized that society disapproved.
The next time you see a boy, consider how your neanderthal attitude might be affecting him. It’s not healthy for a straight boy, and quite possibly fatal for a gay boy. THINK about it.
barryaksarben
WTF is wrong with YOU? There is absolutly nothing wrong with the effeminacy and only someone so brainwashed by our hetro dominanted sick male dominated society. As for promiscuity it is part of hetro society as well and is only a problem if the person isnt mentally strong enough to handle it but please since you seem to have all the answers how masculine does a gay guy have to be and just howm many sexual partners makes someone bad? You are ill and need help. Your insane judgement of others is out of control and you need to get a grip girl
barryaksarben
The whole thing is a humorous art piece and is not promoting gridner or dildos or any of the other items in this instalation
James26
@RyanMBecker With all due respect to your “graduate work,” you have a lot more reading to do. You also need to understand the difference b/t qualitative studies and quantitative studies. Finally, you need to learn how to understand and apply statistics. Research from 1895 to 2020 shows that gay and bisexual men are found all along the spectrum of masculinity-femininity. While it is true that effeminacy is more prevalent among gay and bi males than among hetero males (by a factor of about 4), that does not mean that effeminacy is inherent in being gay nor does it mean that most gay/bi men are effeminate. Indeed, there isn’t a single study which shows that femininity is an inherent trait of gay or bisexual males. The majority of gay/bi men are not effeminate and the large majority of effeminate males are not gay and bi. Recent youth surveys by the CDC, administered by high schools, indicate that about 3/4 of teen males who range from “somewhat” to “very” feminine are heterosexual. Further, social science shows that effeminacy, unlike sexual orientation, can and does change.
So no, rejecting effeminacy is not homophobia. Some homophobes do equate the 2 phenomena, but that is no reason for us to mimic them. We should be doing the opposite of what homophobes do. We should be making clear that being gay and being effeminate are 2 different things. we should be encouraging those suffering from mild forms of effeminacy to improve themselves as men. And we should condemn “art” like this, which seeks to promote effeminacy. Hopefully, when you get out of graduate school, you will decide to fight homophobia rather than perpetuate it. Good luck!
MacDaddy
Yo… I would really love to sit down and talk about who hurt you so bad and what damaged your perception of the world .
Every image that is produced does not have to represent every facet of all of the gay culture. You can’t look at one image of a straight person and say it represents all straight people. Seriously get over yourself.
First off, this image is A super queer Barbie archetype poking fun at heteronormative constructs of a Barbie. It is also critiquing gay men who fight off to Puerto Vallarta during a pandemic for a circuit party… So it’s obviously not taking itself too seriously. If you can’t understand satire or CAMP then you obviously are not on this level. It has been an essential part of queer culture to critique culture in subversive ways.
Also take that heteronormative sex shaming somewhere else. Just because your sexual practices don’t align with someone else’s doesn’t mean that they are wrong. Straight people want to think that non-heteronormative relationships are not good and that’s not the case. Sex is a personal choice and should be able to be explored in whatever consensual way that works for the parties involved.
If we all subscribe to heteronormative constructs of relationships the queer liberation movement would not have happened. We were all just continue to pretend to be straight.
Catch me outside with that bullshit. Bye girl bye
LeBlevsez
. James26, your original post stated “The worst of gay culture will always promote effeminacy and promiscuity.” Then, in a subsequent post you said “We should be encouraging those suffering from mild forms of effeminacy to improve themselves as men.” Suffering? If men don’t conform to your binary sex/gender expression construct, they’re suffering from a malady? Or is it a pathology? And they’re getting too much touch?
. I predict that there will be more swishing and shtupping, so you can continue to fret, or you could rouge your nipples and dive in.
DarkZephyr
@James26
You truly live in a world of your own creation. Well, most of us don’t want to live there with you. And you ARE dangerous to the young. The language you employ about encouraging effeminate men to “improve themselves as men” is exactly what many straight people will say about gay and bi men regardless of whether or not they are “effeminate” because all they need to condemn you is the fact that you like d*ck or man butt. To them that is the epitome of feminine, whether you behave in a butch manner or not. That doesn’t matter to them. If you are sucking d*ck, taking d*ck or putting your d*ck into the body of another man, you have debased yourself in their eyes. You have “sunk” to the level of a woman (yes, homophobia IS largely based on misogyny. Something you seem to indulge in yourself). If you think their treatment of gay men in general is bad, then why do you treat effeminate men that way? I don’t care if you want to delude yourself into thinking effeminacy in gay men is unrelated to their being gay. Let’s pretend you’re right. SO the F*CK what?? Who are you to declare that effeminacy in men is a bad thing? Who died and put you in charge of gender norms?
At any rate, you aren’t going to get your way. Effeminate men are here to stay. They’ve been here longer than you’ve been on this earth and they have been fighting greater battles than you can throw at them. You owe your equality to them. Something you would NEVER have bee strong enough to help fight for back in the day. You would have cowered in your closet.
You are a relic of a dying breed. And when the last of your hate-filled, dangerous-to-the-young kind is finally gone, the Wicked Witch will finally be dead.
DK
There is nothing less masculine than a gay guy that’s so self-loathing, insecure, and lacking in humor that he takes a silly camp art project as an opportunity to remind everyone that he hates women, is terrified of sex, and takes himself way too seriously. Maybe chill out and have some weed, bro?
Willy
You would be absolutely correct, Sir.
Mr. Stadnick
Too many unattractive tattoos for my taste. Seems kind of silly over all
MacDaddy
I totally understand that tattoos are a personal preference. I see people with tattoos I would never get all the time. But that doesn’t mean that those tattoos don’t mean something to that person and can’t be validated by others around them. Beauty is seen and understood in so many different ways. I would love for you to try to see beyond these antiquated things ????????
Peter
Couldn’t agree more.
darklight413
This is what straight people think we are. It’s nice that you support the stereotype.
Kangol2
Why are you concerned with what “straight people” think? They’re not a monolith and anyways, being gay or bi isn’t the issue, homophobia is. Don’t normalize and internalize it, stand up for yourself and other gay people!
DK
Imagine being a whole adult gay male still obsessing over what straight people think lol
CKNJ
Holy crap James26, I think you just exposed yourself as the worst of ANYTHING gay… self hating, straight conformative, and just plain myopic… You should come with a barf bag! God forbid anyone should be anything but the narrow 1950’s male that you seem to idolize. Ugh!
James26
My friend, thanks so much for illustrating EXACTLY what I was talking about in my original comment. It is the chief goal of the promoters of effeminacy and promiscuity to convince gay and bi men that effemnacy and promiscuity are part and parcel of being gay/bi and that they can’t live authentic lives without embracing effeminacy and promiscuity.
Your response to me was to accuse me of being “self hating” and “straight conformative.” In other words, to be against effeminacy or promiscuity is to hate myself because, deep down, I “must” really be those things by virtue of being gay. And to not be those things means that I really “must” be conforming to straight norms, since only straights could have a problem with effeminacy and promiscuity. Gay and bi guys won’t thrive until we have eradicated your toxic mentality from our lives.
renzinthewoods
James…it is your need to attack and degrade that makes you appear self hating. No one is promoting any kind of universal gay behavior but YOU. You are so concerned with conformity that you are threatened by gay expression that differs from your norm, most likely due to an irrational fear that THEY will equate that behavior with you. Somehow I suspect NO ONE makes that mistake, but your fear keeps you obsessing and posting your criticism of any images that reveal freedom from established gender roles. Just be you. Just don’t be such an a$$hole about it.
James26
@renzinthewoods If I attack others, that is not “self-hatred” unless the focus of my attack is something that also applies to me. I am neither effeminate nor promiscuous, so my “hatred” of those 2 things is not “self-hatred.” Words have meaning. Use them wisely.
Effeminacy and promiscuity are not wrong b/c of what straight people think. These behaviors would be wrong even if they became wildly popular among straights. They would be wrong even if straight people vanished from the Earth and were not here to pass judgment.
Fin.
RyanMBecker
Cute, but I can definitely see Mattel coming after then for using the distinctive Barbie logo…
A friend bought me a 1st edition Magic Earring Ken a few years ago as a gag gift. It was the one gays jokingly called Magic C*ckring Ken because he wears a metal ring as a pendant, and he’s dressed all in fabulous lavender. Most of the Ken dolls are gayish, but this one was a favorite among gays. Old-timers tell me that in cities with a large gay population, they flew off the shelves within a day or two.
Openminded
Yup, I’m betting the Mattel lawyers are already in action about this copyright infringement.
RandomGuy
I love it when guys call themselves “reserved and introverted” then post every inch of their bodies online every chance they get and someone should inform him that being a clicks desperate attention sponge isn’t art.
LeBlevsez
Crafty, clever, campy eye-candy? Works for me!
Fahd
Why are the available ones never my type?
mecmass
Wow, nothing like perpetuating every negative gay stereotype. I thought we were trying to get away from this.
This is the equivalent of a black man posing in a box with a watermelon and a Little Black Sambo book.
Leash
It says SUPER GAY Barbie on the box, not Heteronormative Barbie or Lets not anger the heteros – Barbie. I find it sexy and freeing. If someone looks at this and goes “oh all gay people must be exactely like this” then they would be wrong, blame them not the artist.
I don’t know where you’re trying to get to, I would like to live in a world where I can express myself freely without people telling me I have to act a certain way to be worthy of not being beat up in the streets.
Like we all grew up in a world where we were told being gay was something bad and it shows. This way of thinking is still deeply rooted in ourselves. I want to be free.
DarkZephyr
@macmess,
What’s so “negative” about any of it?
DK
You take life way too seriously my dude.
trojanboy
Yeah.
Blue.Jacket
Please, let’s not forget about sweet G.I. Joe !
renzinthewoods
James26 et al. Have you never heard the feminist criticism of Barbie as an unrealistic portrayal of an ideal femininity? “Barbie” is an exaggerated plastic image of womanhood, who would have to be like 7’ tall in reality to possess the body measurements she portrays. Barbie IS AN EXAGGERATION. Let that sink in. So what do you suppose this artist might be saying? What statement might he be making about EXAGGERATED images of gay men? Go ahead…I’ll wait. And yet he accomplished this with a spot on use of Gay CAMP humor. The problem IMO is that you have no sense of humor. You seem to exist in a state of obsessive concern about how you may be misrepresented in the culture as a gay man. That is truly sad.
dustychiffon
Wow the comment people sure got into it over this one! I’m not sure what the big deal is either way. We’ve seen this Barbie in a Box thing many times before. This iteration is a big queen who likes dildos and grinder.
I can’t wait to see what the next “look I’m a Barbie in box” we get.