Hello all! Welcome to the first installment of Things Gay Men Like!

I was inspired to write this blog after coming across the literary phenomenon, “Stuff White People Like”, which is fairly hilarious. I thought, “Self, why don’t you create a spinoff of this concept for gay men?” I pondered. “Well, Self,” I thought in response, “That’s a fantastic idea! You are so smart.”

And I did.

And it was good.

Right?

Now, I know what you’re thinking (mainly because I can read minds. It’s true, read the Bible.) You’re thinking, “If I like some of the things you post about, does that make me gay?!” Well, I’m sick of this question and I’m here to tell you once and for all… yes. Yes it does. If you like anything on this list you are gayer than Spongebob, Tinkie Winkie, Sean Hayes, and Prince COMBINED. Wait… Prince isn’t gay? Are you sure? I mean, you’d think… with the eyeliner and the tight outfits…

Okay, gayer than Spongebob, Tinkie Winkie, Sean Hayes, and Daniel Radcliffe combined! … What? Radcliffe also isn’t gay? Oh, whatever, he’s totally gay.

Now, before I start I have something to say. I am not here to debunk stereotypes, or anything silly like that. I don’t care if you don’t fit the stereotype, if you’re the most “straight-acting”, least fashionable, Gaga-hating, truck driving, John Deer cap wearing, football jersey collecting, bloody rare steak-eating gay man on earth, I don’t want your hate-mail about how I’m perpetuating stereotypes and I’m a bad influence on the gay community. I really don’t care. Oh well, some of you are going to send me hate-mail whether I want you to or not. Send it here and I’ll make fun of you in the blog.

With that said, I am moderately proud to present to you Things Gay Men Like, a weekly blog about things that are unfailingly true about all gay men everywhere without exception.

#1. Musicals

Let’s face it here; stereotypes would not exist if there was not a shred of truth to them. There is no denying that we homos are disproportionately involved in theater. Hell, musicals would not even exist anymore if not for the gays. Gay men fill the seats of the theater, they are the actors, the directors, and even provide the instrumentals. We make musicals happen. Sure, there are a few straight people in theater but that is more the exception that proves the rule. Simply put, theater is really, really gay.

But why? My theory is that it is simply because the theater crowd is accepting of us. Oh, that and gays are fabulous and some of the more fabulous types need to get it all out there.

It’s a sense of camaraderie. Gay men involved in theater stick together, protect each other, and help one another through difficult times, especially in cases of coming out. From a personal standpoint, acting in high school allowed me to exit myself, take my mind off the constant bombardment of taunts aimed my way, off of my home situation when my parents still thought that I could choose to be straight, and the inevitable “gay boy problem” when one finds himself attracted to a straight boy. I could forget it all and just act. While I may have never gotten involved in theater beyond crew work, I was very involved in Speech and Debate, especially my senior year when adversity came to a peak. My category was in drama and for a few hours every weekend I got to be a character, to lose myself in the story.

When I had few friends, I found friends in the theater department. I found that my sexuality was accepted, even embraced. Theater was protection from the real world.

Even for those who don’t act, watching a musical can take one away from their life and engage them in a story, more engaging than simply watching a movie. It’s a form of escapism for many, a need to perform for some, and for those initiated it’s a place to be gay, enjoy gay culture, and find like-minded individuals, gay or not.

Well, that’s all for this week. I look forward to posting next week when the topic is even GAYER. Are you excited yet? You should be. It’s going to be sexy.