Cathy Crimmins calls herself a self-confessed fag-hag who believes that if the term "queer" could be redeemed and given dignity then the word "fag-hag" too is due for rehabilitation. In the preface of her book she lets us know that she was brought up in an environment set apart from the rest of America. She grew up in an area near New Hope, Pennsylvania where the closeted culture was dominant in terms of restaurants, florists, theaters etc and was appreciated by the straight community.
As a result she was exposed to the homosexual aesthetics at an early age and while homosexuality was not openly discussed while she was growing up but it was implied in her parents’ household.
Reading through the preface of How The Homosexuals Saved Civilization, one gets a fair idea that she is openly partial to the gay community and her book celebrates the contributions and influences that the gay culture made both past and present in shaping the mainstream American culture.
Cathy has divided the gay culture into three components—the Heart, the Body, and the Spirit. While her book seems to deviate into personal anecdotes about her gay friends, their views and her own impressions yet there are little seeds of wisdom that are well planted and germinate into ideas that make perfect sense in terms of the healthy interactions that are happening between the gay and straight worlds.
In the Heart section Cathy talks about terms like gay aesthetics, language, community, home, tastes and mannerisms. And these have tipped over into the straight world.
For example in the aesthetics section she talks about how gays have an eye for clothes; while it is clichéd example, yet it makes perfect sense, as my own brother-in-law who is a flamboyant dresser wears only designer clothes, and I consider his wardrobe to be gay in taste.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Aaman
IMHO, Civilization is in decline, what little of it there actually is.
2 - Bennett
Nice in-depth review swingingpuss, thanks!
Aaman,
In ways, I agree. That or it's becoming a civilization of the computer terminal. The best and brightest huddled in front of their screens making the blogosphere over into what the old town commons once was.
3 - swingingpuss
Are you saying, Bennett, that the Internet will save civilization? For many, it is a curse that is destroying culture, slowness and morality.
TY for the kind words
4 - Victor Plenty
Whenever civilization looks in need of saving, it's time to ask yourself: "What am I doing to save it? Is there more I could do? What is stopping me from doing that? How soon can I change my life to allow me to do it?"
5 - Benett
Naw swingingpuss, I don't believe that. I was just reminded of a conversation I had with my brother yesterday. About how much time is spent in front of the screen, how isolating it is for some people.
And how if the grid ever went down, folks would stumble out onto the street, blinking at the brightness of the world, unsure how to deal with folks face to face for extended periods. But that is a gross generalization as most of us balance the time we DO spend online with social activities.
I do appreciate the vast world of opinions and perspective that I get here on BC. Reading the works of so many different people gives me a better grip on society's potential, more so than the dealings I have with the small population of my rural setting.
That being said, there is no fear of civilization breaking down in northern Vermont. Smaler towns have held on to a lot of what gets lost in urban settings, especialy the larger city centers. imo of course.
6 - JR
Civilization is still improving; I'm just not sure it's sustainable.
7 - Victor Plenty
It's sustainable. We just need more planets.
8 - JR
Yeah.
9 - Nancy
Very intersting, Puss; as soon as I get thru online, I'm actually going to go out and find this book. I'n not usually that motivated that I can't wait at least til Monday ;)
I'll admit I haven't known many gay or lesbian persons thus far in my life. Either they don't come out to me, or I'm clueless, or both. Of those I DID know were gay, I thought they were very lovely people. I've never had any problems w/getting along w/anyone because they were gay/lesbian. No one's ever tried to seduce or convert me, or offend me, for that matter. In fact, it seemed to me the gay guys were, on the whole, rather nicer in general than most straight guys are, as far as just plain being kind & sweet-natured and giving.
A propos of the world being driven into the ground by young people and their culture, some years ago I had a linguistics class in ancient sumerian languages. One of the items that has stayed with me all my life, regarding the world going to hell in a handbasket, was a letter written by a townsman to his farmer brother out in the countryside, complaining about the current younger generation, to whit, his son. 'I ask him where he's been and he says 'nowhere'; I ask him what he's been doing, and he says 'nothing'; I ask him who he's seen and he says 'no one'. He idles around the marketplace and stares all day at the girls, loitering with his useless and lazy friends. I have to make him do his chores. He has been so lazy in school that I had to invite the teacher to dinner and present him with an expensive robe & a ring, and only then did he relent [against the son]. He (the son) is disrespectful to old people, arrogant with those his own age, and spends my money as if it were sand. I would like to send him to you for the rest of the season, to get him away from those who are a bad influence on him, and doing some hard work for you won't hurt him, either. I don't know what's to become of him or the entire younger generation, for they all act this way. I fear for the future of the world....'
Whenever I start thinking about how bad things are, I remember this letter and feel reassured. It was written almost 6,000 years ago. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
10 - Shark
VicPlenty: "...Whenever civilization looks in need of saving, it's time to ask yourself:
"What am I doing to save it?
Is there more I could do?
What is stopping me from doing that?
How soon can I change my life to allow me to do it?"
Funny, I find myself asking,
"Where's my gun?"
"Are there better weapons available?"
"How many can I take out before they stop me?"
"How's my aim?"
========
Have a nice day.
11 - Shark
PS: Bet you guessed I'm yer typical heterosexual American male!
12 - Victor Plenty
Nah, you just think you're funny when you're not, Sharkie.
In case you didn't realize it, the main thing I'm saying to those who worry about "the fall of civilization" is that they ought to reform their own lives first, before they start trying to change other people's lives by force.
People who seriously think the fall of civilization would be a good thing are laboring under an entirely different set of delusions.
13 - swingingpuss
People who seriously think the fall of civilization would be a good thing are laboring under an entirely different set of delusions.
Victor, this line reminds me of Ras Al Ghul's (Batman Begins) belief that the fall of a corrupt civilization is a good thing and to build a new purer one on its foundation would lead to a better life for all.
What hubris!
14 - swingingpuss
Nancy, you are right somethings never change especially teenagers :)
By the way the book is available on Amazon you need not wait for too long. Good way to support BC :)
15 - Bennett
"People who seriously think the fall of civilization would be a good thing are laboring under an entirely different set of delusions."
Yeah, it's all fun and games until the lights go off, and you can't count on the police or fire departments.
I like civilization!
However, I do have a rifle handy, and my dog knows his job is to bark, real mean-like.
(that said, he wags his tail while barking)
16 - swingingpuss
Sounds like a golden retriever:)
17 - RJ
Well, I can agree with this from a personal level.
This one pretty-obviously (though he doesn't admit it) gay dude at work has been giving me fashion advice for a while now. Before his advice, I was simply unable to match a shirt to a pair of slacks to a tie to a belt to a pair of shoes to a pair of socks. But he was able to break it down for me, and the ladies at work have noted it...
Before him, I was utterly clueless. And I still don't really "get it" all, but at least I have some minor grasp on fashion-sense...
So, I guess I am indebted to a certain extent to a gay fella, who isn't even openly gay...
18 - RJ
"it seemed to me the gay guys were, on the whole, rather nicer in general than most straight guys are"
Well, sure. They weren't trying to fuck you...
19 - Shark
Vic: "...those who worry about "the fall of civilization"... ought to reform their own lives first, before they start trying to change other people's lives by force."
Dear Victory Plenty,
Thanks.
Now I'm wondering what's worse: thinking you're funny when you're not -- or thinking you're giving a profound intellectual insight when you're not.
xxoo
S
20 - Shark
BTW, Victor, my profound [unfunny] "point" (in comment #10-11) was that I wonder if gay men (as a generalization) are less prone to violence -- both personal and 'international' -- than straight men.
And conversely, can we blame war and violence on testosterone and the straight silverback alpha-males of the world?
PS: Next time, I'll try to be less subtle when making my unhumorous, satirical, yet highly profound points.
21 - Shark
re: gays as fashion gurus -
I think it's good to know that women don't have an exclusive on Shallow Narcissistic Vanity.
22 - Nancy
Shark, interesting speculation: ARE gay men less prone to violence than straights? I wonder if anyone has ever done any studies on it? I'd bet they aren't, tho. Some of the most horrific serial killers (John Wayne Gacy, Jeff Dahmer, Larry Eyler) have been gay. The question is, were their inabilities to accept themselves as gay the reason for the out of control violence. NB I am NOT implying or stating by this that all gays, or most gays, or any gays, are automatically serial killers, any more than straights would be. But it is an interesting question.
23 - Nancy
One further question, unrelated and not as serious: how come gay men are so fashion-conscious, but lesbians are not? The lesbians I've met all seem to dress out of the dumpster, not by necessity. Just wondering. Maybe they imbibe the 'straight male' inability to dress smartly, a la RJ's comment above?
24 - Dave Nalle
The books sounds fascination, but is no one concerned with the way that it seems to perpetuate and even celebrate gay stereotypes? Isn't this an era where gay men ought to be breaking free of the stereotype that they dress well and like to decorate, and perhaps embracing a more diverse and individual sense of identity?
Dave
25 - Victor Plenty
Good point, Dave. Also, straight men can dress well, be skilled decorators, appreciate musicals, or be gentle, sensitive, and non-violent. We ought to recognize these are not exclusively signs of being gay, just as gay men do not all exhibit every one of these traits.
(Thus we might realize even the "Highly Profound Insights of Shark"(tm) may be somewhat less than gospel truth.)