Jeremy McMillan writes:

>A lot of people think that it's "gay" to go to art museums and to operas
>and that sort of thing.  We live in a society that likes to stereotype
>different people.

I can empathize with your feelings.  I remember that as a teenager in the
'70's, I was embarrassed to buy classical albums, (particularly the ones
with Birgit Nilsson on the front cover posing suggestively), and would tell
the store clerk that it was "for my mom."

I knew that my tastes were off the beaten track, and I think your friends
do as well.  As with many stereotypes, there *is* a grain of truth to them.
Awhile back another poster wondered if there was a correlation between the
arts and homosexuality.  I think the answer is yes and no.

Urban areas attract artists.  Cities tend to have a concentration of
enlightened people, money, educational institutions and culture.  Most
major cities have major symphony orchestras, art galleries, libraries,
and the like.  Artists can find work, share ideas with other intellectuals,
and enrich themselves.  Gays, like many other groups in history finding
themselves the objects of misunderstanding and hatred, have created ghettos
for themselves in the same major urban areas for both protection and a need
for more tolerant and enlightened neighbors.

While being gay doesn't necessarily make one inclined to be an artist, it
should be no surprise that with so many gays and artists sharing the same
concentrated yet invigorating space, that an association was drawn.  (And
how convenient and wonderful it must be to take the bus down to the local
world-class opera house and art museum.) The downside is that unusually
dense concentrations of like people can have a tendency to exacerbate
stereotypes, (easily mass-producible), such as the drag queen, and for
our purposes, the opera queen; these are the few glimpses of gay life
that trickle down into the popular consciousness and collide with standard
perceptions of what is appropriate and valuable.

Plus, when you marry a lovely girl and have children, can you take them to
the art gallery? The symphony? Will you even have the strength to go even
by yourself? With children, would you risk an artistic career? These are
issues that might draw some of those "on the beaten track" away from the
arts, causing more visibility among the "suspect" ones.

Another thing that makes the enjoyment of Classical music suspect is its
celebration of the past.  Young people are an off-shoot of a former
generation and a former culture.  It is only natural that the later would
want to replace the former, and nowhere is this need felt more than when
growing up.  For you to choose the stagnant, alien, and reflective world
of CM is surely unusual, (and applaudible), but it is going to be hard for
your high-schooler friends to articulate their bewilderment and suspicion
of your interests in any other way than to compare it to the only other
alien world they know that *does* have a one-word definition--that of the
"gay."

To make things more difficult, young American males define their
masculinity not as an internal value, but by external values--proven
feats and *association*--who they hang around, what they do, how they act*.
Masculinity is associated with worth and strength--any association with an
activity perceived of as less than masculine, might drain them of their own
strength.  Because there is an association with gayness, (weakness?), and
CM in America, you are right, people will stereotype.  (Even some of our
own listers seem a little unsettled by such associations, but more on that
in a moment.) In Europe, classifications seem to be much looser regarding
what is perceived as masculine.  (*Manhood in America:  A Cultural
History/Michael Kimmel)

(An amusing anecdote:  In Shilt's book, "Conduct Unbecoming," two American
military men found themselves being treated in a hospital for cuts and
scrapes after being beaten up by two European men.  What happened? The
American men saw the Europeans walking with arms around each other's
shoulders, and thought that they would "correct" such un-manly behavior by
assaulting them.  The two European men happened to be straight Italian
professional soccer players.)

>I already met a girl like that and it's good to know there is someone else
>out there that is well rounded at my age (17).  I have become very fond of
>her because of that and the good part is-- she is very attractive!!

Good for you!  But this statement rings so familiar to my ears.  Many
men on this list twice your age and (presumably) married feel the need
to qualify their love of CM with awkward segues into reminders that they
really really do find women attractive.  And these men are beyond the
rigid conformities of high school.  At least yours is positive.  Reviewing
some of the posts on Women and CD covers, a distillation of some of the
commentary turns out to be *not* very positive:  "I'll listen to her but I
won't look at her," or, conversely, "I'll look at her but I won't listen to
her." I hope you are not going there.

Hang on, and you will find that in college, diversity of interest is
prized, (for the most part), as much it can be despised in high school.

John Smyth