User:Parammon/Straight Acting

(tag removed) mergefrom|Homomasculinity|date=February 2007}} Straight acting, a term that comes from gay slang, is used to describe a person who does not exhibit stereotypically gay mannerisms, style of dress, or behavior. The label is used by and reserved almost exclusively for gay men (although it is also used to describe "lipstick lesbians"), but because it invokes a stereotype, its application is often controversial and may cause offense. "Straight acting" is often used in conjunction with "straight looking."

Criticisms
Sex advice columnist Dan Savage has noted the popularity of the "straight acting" image in gay personals. He criticizes both the preference itself (noting he does not share it) and the idea that a man seeking a gay relationship through a personals ad is "acting straight." .

Filmmaker Spencer Windes also explored what the term means and how we define masculinity in his documentary "Straight Acting," which delves into the world of openly gay men who play violent contact sports like rugby and hockey.

The gender role stereotype itself is often criticized. The idea is that a man is no less a man if he does not possess a certain list of attributes -- that masculinity is either a bankrupt concept, or that it is a socially-constructed concept which should be significantly broadened.

The association of homosexuality (and heterosexuality) with a certain list of attributes is also criticized. The gay subculture of homomasculinity actually takes the traditionally desirable attributes of masculinity and pairs them with homosexuality. In the contemporary heterosexual cultural phenomenon of metrosexuality, men adopt traditionally feminine attributes, such as devoting considerable attention to personal appearance.

Some gay men think that the term "straight acting" implies that a "straight acting" gay man is acting, as if he is not being true to his real self. Other gay men think that to infer such motives from the term "straight acting" is a misuse of the term.

Related terminology
"Straight acting" is sometimes abbreviated as "STR8 acting."

Other terms are sometimes used to describe men who do not fit the "gay stereotype". Being on the down-low is a slang term used among African Americans for men who secretly have sex with men while maintaining romantic relationships with women. Similarly, the neologism "g0y" is used to identify men who are affectionate with other men, but choose not to partake in anal sex. They detest the ways in which homosexuality has been linked to effeminacy and so have opted to create a new facet of sexual orientation. Both of these terms are, however, also often controversial and seen by some as an excuse for homosexual men to stay closeted. No exactly related term exists for the term "straight acting" yet, one is clearly needed. Much confusion exists surrounding this term as it is often misused to describe a macho affect.