Becuase Everything Else Sucks

In Defense of Mr. T

By Manila Ryce
Published Saturday, August 2nd, 2008, 10:00 am
Filed under: Videos: Other, Society/Culture: Sexuality, Society/Culture, Videos

Wayne Besen seems like a nice enough guy, so it really sucks that I have to hate him now for making me agree with O’Reilly. What did I ever do to you Wayne?

WPvideo 1.10

In explaining human sexuality as existing more along a widely varied spectrum than as something definable by two rigid options, Gore Vidal once said, “there are no homosexual people, only homosexual acts”. For Mr. T to be homophobic by Vidal’s standard, speed-walking would need to be a homosexual act. Besen sees the speed-walker in this video as gay, but why? Because he’s moving his hips in an effeminate manner? Writing off effeminate men as being gay is the same homophobic connection straight people are often guilty of making.

Attributing certain mannerisms and characteristics to a sexual preference is where we run into problems. Granted, it’s clear that Mr. T is targeting effeminate men, but effeminate does not equal gay. Arguing in such a manner-of-fact manner that this caricature must be gay only serves to reinforce stereotypes. As noble as his intentions are, I do believe it is here where Besen does more harm to his cause than good.

Despite evidence of sexual orientation being genetic, Vidal is essentially correct in assessing sexuality itself as a spectrum. Sure, many gay men are effeminate, but so are many straight men. Spend 30 minutes browsing the emo kids on MySpace if you doubt me. It’s the mannerisms of the speed-walker which Mr. T is trying to “correct”, and though that still may not be a positive message, it certainly doesn’t seem like a gay specific prejudice. Effeminate mannerisms are the clear target here, so the sexual preference of the walker is not something you can be so bold as to assume without basing them on stereotypes yourself. Speed walking is fucking ridiculous, and fortunately for the gay community, it’s not something most people would identify with homosexuals.

If anything, I’ve always found that the line between homo and hetero blurs more heavily towards the masculine end of the spectrum than towards the feminine end. For example, what’s gayer than wrestling, the military, boy scouts, prison, bodybuilding, or anything else considered macho? Hell, look at Mr. T himself. The guy wears jewelry and muscle shirts. In fact, we may be witnessing the very first televised scene of gay-on-gay crime. Now that’s progress!

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7 Responses to “In Defense of Mr. T”

  1. I’m not so sure that Mr T would suck one, but I am willing to bet that he’d at least hold one in his mouth.

    BuelahMan
    08/2/08 at 11:37 am

  2. Mr. T? I thought Eddie Murphy outed him 25 years ago.

    qwerty
    08/2/08 at 4:13 pm

  3. I disagree. You correctly point out that effeminateness needs no connection with gayness. But the problem is that, in the mind of the general public, there is in fact a very strong connection between being gay and acting effeminate. You can’t pretend that this advertisement exists in some cultural vacuum - it’s going to affect people according to their prejudices.

    Bernie
    08/2/08 at 4:43 pm

  4. O’Lie-lly misspelled “foppish.” Haha, what a dick. Anyway, I have to agree with Bernie. It’s pretty obvious the intent here was to portray a gay man. While reasonable people would understand that being effeminate does not necessarily mean someone is gay, 90% of the people watching that ad would just assume that he was.

    Andy
    08/2/08 at 7:12 pm

  5. Even if we subtract the issue of homosexuality from the picture, it’s still not something to be condoned. It’s obviously to do with masculinity, essentially saying that masculinity is to be asserted through intimidation and so on. If masculinity must be asserted in this fashion, then you’re going to have a pretty fucked up culture (and we do; any sane culture simply would not tolerate war-mongering neo-cons being in power). So approach it as you will, gay rights or feminism or anti-war or whatever other perspective, it doesn’t matter. Although, I must say that energy could be better spent elsewhere, instead of criticizing some candy-bar commercial.

    Bernie
    08/2/08 at 10:52 pm

  6. […] up: gender roles and sexuality. Don’t hold your breath. Tags: Advertising, Commercials, Dating, Eye of Hell, Obama, Race, […]

    Waiting for the Great Leap Forward | qwerty's qoncepts
    08/6/08 at 9:31 pm

  7. Mr. T is the man and pulling the ad is stupid! I mean what year do we live in, last time I checked it was 2008 for pity sake.
    I just downloaded Mr. T’s voice from Navtones.com for my GPS and I love it. But my question is, am I meant to get offended every time I make a wrong turn and he calls me a fool or something? On that note, I also got Kim Cattrall from Navtones, can I claim she is sexually harassing me when she says, “Lets just pull over and get in the backseat, that’s bigger enough for us two, or maybe three”?
    The Snickers ad is just an ad and with them pulling it, it’s probably getting more attention than it would have if it just came out. (Pun)
    “Get Some Nuts.”

    Slipstream
    08/7/08 at 9:50 am

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