Gay Literature

Coincidentally, I have just read two biographies of two very different, but very similar, icons of the pop world. 'ELTON', by Philip Norman, and 'BRIAN EPSTEIN' by Ray Coleman are about two very well respected gays who, although never working together, were forerunners in the late sixties. Just as the boy Reg Dwight was coming out of every closet imaginable, Epstein was peaking and starting to fall toward his ignominious end. But this didn't stop either of them giving the listening public untold treasures.
The main thing they had in common, apart from their sexuality and common propensity to dramatic outbursts, was their talent for what they did. Elton John was/is a very gifted composer/pianist who can put music to someone else's words in minutes. Brian Epstein was, by virtue of his obsessional nature, the ideal person to take a raw talent like the Beatles and, Svengali-like, mould them to an acceptable public persona.
Both these books debunk several scurrilous rumours have done the rounds over the years. For instance, Epstein's interest in the Beatles, and especially John Lennon, was devoid of any sexual connotation. True, he appreciated that Paul McCartney's prettiness would be a great draw but his interest was on a business level and, the secret of his success with them, a paternal level. A closeted gay, Epstein realized that children of his own were not a reasonable expectation and vicariously parented the four musicians in a way never before experienced by any singer or group.
Elton, on the other hand, could have done with a little of Epstein's obsessive attention. Never a self confident person, the emergent Reg Dwight had to be pushed and shoved into every opportunity that shook his career. Reading his story, one wonders how one person could have such luck in being in the right place at the right time.
What comes across in these books is that both of these talents were privately very unhappy, and not because they were gay, although the pressures on them in the sixties added to their problems. No, both suffered from interminable mood swings that made them very difficult to get on with. But, both were very lucky in that they engendered a fierce loyalty and love from people around them. Elton, in particular, provoked, again and again the remark 'Well, you had to forgive him his "little moments" because he was such a nice guy', and this after he had called someone all the shits under the sun. Epstein was very similar in that his apologies were invariably accepted after his outbursts
Elton's tantrums were/are completely attributable to his insecurity. But, his professionalism was such that he was never satisfied with his public offerings and frequently refused to go on stage until reminded that his public were waiting. And then he would give the performance of his life, every night!
Epstein's moods were symptoms, again, of his insecurity. But in his case the insecurity was of not being in total control. He was quite willing to take the blame for any mistakes he made but he could not stand anyone interfering. His constant nightmare was of someone trying to take the Beatles away from him.
Neither of the men seemed to 'bitterly regret' not being straight, but both made public and private efforts to embrace the heterosexual norm. In neither case did it work, understandably.
What warmed me to both these tomes, apart from their fascinating subjects, was that neither was blaming their homosexuality for personal failings and, in both cases, their sexuality was a rather minor issue, much as the colour of their hair.
Although 'BRIAN EPSTEIN' was published in 1990 and 'ELTON' in 1991, both are still widely available -and I would recommend both for bedtime reading.

First published on Gay UK Net
(c) Paul Towers January 2000

Gay Florida

It was the middle of January, temperatures were plummeting towards zero and the prospect of a couple of weeks in the Florida sun was too good to miss. Now, I have to say straight up that January in the home of orange juice is not quite as pleasant as I had anticipated. We took a late fly drive deal with Air Tours and started off with a 7 hour delay at Gatwick while a sick passenger had to be returned to the Bahamas for urgent medical treatment. Our arrival at Orlando was scheduled for 2pm but turned out to be 9pm instead. Fortunately (!) we had pre-booked 4 nights at the biggest gay complex in Orlando, Parliament House, so were able to drive straight from Sanford Airport, down Orange Blossom Trail (not as picturesque as it sounds) to the resort (yeah, I know Orlando is miles from the sea but we are only separated from the Americans by a common language, so beware!). We had looked Parliament House up on their internet site and were impressed by the pictures, listings of nightly entertainment and plush facilities. It just shows how easy it is to hoodwink punters with a few glossy pics and careful wording. The place was a dump! Imagine a cross between the Bates Motel and a 50's Butlins camp with the morals of a cat house thrown in and you will have some idea of the standard of it. The place is a bordello. Day and night an endless parade of rent boys and their potential punters cruised the balconies and pool area. The entertainment turned out to be a bevy of drag queens miming to one number while working the audience for tips. To be fair, this is standard practice in the States. A drag show consists of a compere who does a couple of numbers and then introduces a series of serious trannies who do straight mime routines with no comedy. As none of these performers get paid to appear they are reduced to begging for money and it is accepted practice to tip an act a dollar or more just for getting up and doing their stuff. All very demeaning.
In the cold light of day the resort looked even worse so it was fortunate that we had planned to stay only long enough to do the usual tourist things. Day one, correctly anticipating major tiredness, was a half day trip to Gatorland. Located just south of Orlando on Orange Blossom Trail, this attraction doubles up as an alligator reserve with large breeding programmes and conservation/education facilities. Plenty of opportunities to get up close to alligators (not crocodiles!), snakes and even get your picture taken wrestling a 'gator made this a nice undemanding excursion before we got into hard core touristing.
Day two was Seaworld, home of the killer whales. As we had heard about a new attraction, Discovery Cove, that belonged to the same company, we phoned up to book and found that the high admission price included a one week pass to Seaworld. Bonus! A quick trip back down Orange Blossom Trail to pick up our booking confirmation and passes and it was into the wonderful world of fish for a day at Seaworld. As the weather was quite cool (64 degrees) there were no crowds and we got to see and do everything from hand feeding dolphins and sting rays to the spectacle of the Orca and sea lion shows. Equally fascinating was the arctic world that has been created to house penguins and polar bears. A complete sub zero environment means the penguins have real snow falling on them. Added to this is the obligatory glass tunnel walk through the world of sharks and manatee and then it was back outside for thrills on a couple of white knuckle rides before heading home exhausted but happy.
Our second night in Orlando, so we decided to check out what there was in the way of gay bars and clubs. We picked up a selection of freebie mags and newspapers but were disappointed to find that there wasn't much else close by Parliament House apart from Empire (a nightclub further up Orange Blossom Trail) and a couple of bars near it. After checking out the in house western bar (yup! Leather, denim and a couple of cowboy hats on guys whose stomachs hang well over their belts) we retired to bed early in preparation for the morrow's exertions.
Day three was the Universal Studios tour. We had to decide between Disney and Universal due to time constraints. Universal won and we had a great time. Although we were disappointed that the Earthquake ride was closed for upgrade we were very impressed with the rest, especially the Terminator 2 experience, one of the most entertaining attractions we had seen. Also worthy of note were the Jaws ride, Twister (you stand in the middle of a set that is destroyed by a tornado. Very Dorothy!) and Back To The Future. Again, because the weather was not great the park was quiet and we got to see everything in one day, not something you can usually do in peak season.
Our last day in Orlando was the one we were really looking forward to, Discovery Cove. The sister attraction to Sea World, it only opened last autumn and in high season there is a one week waiting list for tickets as they limit the number of visitors. There is a fast moving freshwater river surrounding the compound. At the moment it has no fish in but they do plan to stock it in the future. Contained within the area is a huge artificial tropical sea water reef containing all manner of fish including sting rays, all within your reach. Using the supplied wet suits and snorkeling gear you actually swim with the fish and can feed them as the day draws to a close. It is a very bizarre experience hand feeding a sting ray small fish. They literally suck the food from your hand into their mouths which are located on their underside. Within the tropical reef are also a couple of areas behind glass which house the dangerous sharks. You can only see these from under water so it feels like you are swimming with them without the attendant danger. The final area is the dolphin pens. Here, for a supplement, you can swim with the dolphins and interact with them under the watchful eyes of their trainers. And yes, it is true what they say about close proximity to a dolphin. It is the most relaxing thing to do and you come away with a feeling of complete contentment which lasts for at least a couple of days. That was probably the only thing that allowed us to get through our last night in Orlando and the appalling Parliament House Resort.
Next day we checked out of the bordello and set off south to the Florida Keys via Miami. We especially wanted to see South Beach the location for 'The Birdcage'. As we drove south out onto Interstate 95 we were glad to put behind us the grubbiness and tat of Orlando and look forward to the glitz and glamour of Miami.
We deliberately side-stepped gay mecca Fort Lauderdale on the way down as we wanted to see some of the less well known side of Florida. After 3 hours we arrived in South Beach Miami, home to the fabulous Art Deco district homes of Versace and Madonna. South Beach is a peninsular off the coast of Miami connected by a causeway and we found a gay friendly hotel, Hotel Shelley, on Collins Avenue, one street back from the fabulous wealth of Ocean Drive, for two nights. There is a large gay scene in both mainland Miami and South Beach. The easiest way to find it is to either pick up freebie mags in venues or check on the internet. After a gorgeous dinner at Café of The Arts we settled on the nearest club to us, Twist, and spent an evening cruising the local talent successfully. The following day we checked out the splendours of the gay beach. Miles of clean white sand dotted with lifeguard stations and liberally sprinkled with gorgeous bodies still didn't convince us to disrobe in the breezy sunshine and temperatures only just touching 70 degrees. We wandered uptown to Lincoln Road, described to us as an outdoor, gay friendly mall. It was. Late night shopping heaven. After dinner at an Italian Restaurant we decided to sample the local gay nightlife. Score, the bar next door, was not very busy but we stopped for a few drinks. We had been tentatively invited to an S&M club called Crobar by a straight guest at the hotel but we demurred as we had a long drive ahead of us the following day. This same guy had also recommended an Ethiopian Restaurant but I thought it was too much of an oxymoron to be worthwhile!
While Miami South Beach looked very nice on the seafront when you ventured inland just a couple of blocks it was a different picture altogether. We felt distinctly uncomfortable there in daylight and nothing would have persuaded me to venture away from the main streets after dark.
With the weather still on the chilly side we left Miami the next morning and headed south for the Florida Keys and warm weather, according to the Weather Channel.
The 3 hour drive south was spectacular. The Keys is a series of islands stretching 126 miles and linked by 42 bridges and causeways. The road, US 1, is signposted by mile markers which tell you how far you are from Southernmost Point in Key West and takes you through each island, or Key, and over the water between. Some bridges are mere yards long and some are miles. The longest is 7 Mile Bridge linking Marathon Key to Bahia Honda Key. The scenery is awesome and, as you get further south, the temperature rises noticeably. By the time we got to Key West it was in the 80's.
Key West was everything that we had expected of Florida but hadn't found. It is picture perfect with most of the houses old colonial style. I felt like Vivian Leigh in Gone With The Wind! All I needed was to find a Clark Gable to sweep me off my feet. What I got was a stoned New York pizza chef in the Jacuzzi, but that's another story!
We didn't have anywhere booked so we headed for the nearest Internet Café (something that doesn't exist in Orlando, by the way) and looked up gaykeywestfl.com, an invaluable guide to the gay Keys. From there we headed to Fleming Street where a lot of the gay hotels and guesthouses are located and checked into the newly refurbished, sumptuous Coral Tree Inn. This turned out to be one of a pair (its sister, The Oasis, is situated opposite) and is the ultimate in luxury self catering accommodation. We were warmly welcomed and given a guided tour of the facilities of both The Coral Tree and The Oasis; heated Jacuzzi and pool, free coffee, drinks, even videos to borrow. There were even complimentary condoms on the bedside table. The rooms were very well equipped with all the essentials a queen needs to enjoy herself in this little piece of Paradise. Everything was done to ensure you had a very pleasant stay.
Now, it has to be said that once you have looked round the town and gone on a couple of boat trips there isn't much to do in Key West apart from haunt the extensive gay scene which is centred along Duval Street. Oh well, if I must! Ambling down Duval in the evening, stopping off at bars that look interesting and popping into fascinating little shops selling bijou gorgeous thing, is a great way to wind down after a tiring day of sightseeing. We especially liked 801 Bourbon Street (inexplicably located on Duval) where we finally found a drag show that could actually be called entertainment. Divas & Dudes, a couple of doors down, combined a drag showbar on one side and a gay lap dancing club on the other. Something for all tastes! Another bar we really liked was the New Orleans House on Duval. The large front bar has huge video screens showing pop videos but out the back is what they laughingly call the beer garden which comes complete with a pool that would put many local councils to shame! But while there are plenty of gay venues the whole town is very gay friendly and you can be sure that at least one member of staff in every establishment will be gay.
Key West does not have any usable beaches. The ones they do have are made of imported sand which seeps back into the water and creates a muddy bathing area. We chose to go snorkeling with one of the many charter boats that go out to the reef and provide all equipment for the excursion. Perhaps we were unlucky because we got stung to pieces the minute we got in the water. Apparently this is unusual and only happens at certain times of the year. Never mind, we did get to see turtles swimming in the sea, avoid the odd Portuguese Man O' War and dive with barracuda on the reef. Another favourite pastime is to go to Mallory Square, grab a table on the pier bar and wait for the unbeatable sunset while sipping frozen Marguaritas. Heaven!
However, for a relaxing time in beautiful surroundings and perfect weather (so long as you avoid the hurricane season of April to June) then Key West is the perfect resort. Add to that the overwhelming sense of tolerance on the Key and it is the ideal gay destination. In fact Key West has adopted the phrase 'One big family' as its credo.
As with the rest of Florida there are loads of freebie mags to help you find your way around the gayest of the Florida Keys. Key West is not cheap but you do get what you pay for.

First published on Gay UK Net
(c) Paul Towers January 2000

Gaydar

GAYDAR - URBAN MYTH OR REALITY?

Gaydar is that mythical extra sense that gays are supposed to have that allows them to spot each other across a crowded room. But how real is it? Or is it just another urban myth put about by the perpetually hopeful? I talked to quite a few people, as well as chucking in my own two-pennyworth.
In my time I have many times been introduced to guys who I have thought to be gay, only to be told by their nearest and dearest that they are as straight as a die. Subsequently they have either confessed or discovered their true sexuality. I thought that maybe this was a personal gift but others have experienced the phenomenon.
'At the first meeting, after only a few sentences exchanged, I was 90% certain he was gay. I've no idea exactly HOW I knew. It was as if my subconscious could see and was giving me the results but not the raw data which produced them.'
'Well, I have it and I can spot a gay man or woman - extra powers you see. My friends are amazed at when I can spot a gay person and I always turn out to be right.'
But what is the true meaning of Gaydar? Is it, as some believe, just a finely attuned astuteness? Or merely 'it is usually best to think that if somebody looks like a dog, and acts like a dog, it is probably a dog' as someone graphically put it to me? I personally used to think it was to do with recognising common traits in others. But how does this account for recognising gayness in someone who doesn't even know they are gay? Or in someone who is to all intents straight but dabbles occasionally, as happened to me recently.
'I don't like the word Gaydar because it sounds like we have some mystical power. I'm against anything that makes gays seem abnormal.'
Quite right, we are not abnormal, just normal in a different way! But there has to be some explanation for Gaydar, which I have no doubt exists, even if it is a mystery.
'There is nothing mystical about Gaydar. It is merely the process of analysing a complex set of subtle signals ….. it's just that some are better at analysing those signals than others'
nevertheless, some people still need to ascribe Gaydar to some kind of spirituality. However, more scientific observers think they have an explanation relating specifically to 'patterns of eye movements (looking first at the face, then the crotch, then back up, possibly hesitating around the chest)' 'It's a lot more subtle than who you are staring at and it's often subconscious, thereby giving rise to some people's belief that it's an extra sense.'
All of which, while explaining some aspects of Gaydar, still leaves unsolved the recognition of those without a sense of gay identity. Perhaps we are all wrong and there are traits that we are born with or develop unconsciously that signal our gayness. I guess we will never know.
One of the questions I was asked while researching this was 'Whatever happened to those buzzing things that went on sale a year or so ago? They were called Gaydars and acted by vibrating in your pocket whenever they were in the vicinity of another unit.' They were very popular with lesbians and got snapped up by the niche market!

First published on Gay UK Net
(c) Paul Towers January 2000