Gay for pay guys

If you’ve made it this far, thank you. If you’ve found meaning in this work, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Since “Brokeback Mountain” in 2005, at least 35 Oscar nominations have been for queer roles, according to The Guardian. Str8 No Chaser is the culmination of decades of research, experience, observations, and many late nights piecing together history that’s too often overlooked.

I just close my eyes and pretend it’s her when I let the dude get me off. But if I had to pick one I’d fall into the straight category. Prior to his leading role as Beckett, Hanks was primarily known for his appearances in rom-coms such as “Splash” (1984) and “Big” (1988); this departure into serious, provocative material was a turning point in his career that led to Hanks’ appearance in countless critically acclaimed drama films in the years following. 

The year 2005 gave the world many things: Google Maps, “Brangelina” and gay cowboys.

I know for a fact I’m not the only taxi-driver doing this. Similarly to “Philadelphia,” the film’s taboo premise and the provocative script made space for two show-stopping performances from the leads, resulting in Oscar nominations for both Gyllenhaal and Ledger. 

Chalamet, Hanks, Gyllenhaal, Ledger. And, in Brendan Fraser’s case, a monumental career comeback. 

Due to the historical and ongoing oppression of LGBTQ+ people in society, these queer roles have much more opportunity to explore the effects of trauma, guilt, repression and obsession on the human psyche—all things that make for great cinema and prestige parts for ambitious actors.

You get to see me from the chest down. The crowd was mixed in every way: sexualities, genders, races, professions and, if I’m honest, criminal backgrounds.

My crew was mostly gay men, one or two straight guys, and a straight woman I’ll call Lissa. This fascination would later shape everything from beefcake photography to gay-for-pay fantasies of straight-identified men in camo, boots, or dog tags.

During the physique magazine era, beefcake magazines were early commercial avenues for gay-male desire and the exploitation of young, straight-identified men as fantasy objects.

They were risking police raids, jail time, family disavowal, eviction, and public ruin.

If you’ve read City of Night by John Rechy, you’ll have a picture of what “gay rights” looked like in the late 1950s and early 60s. He talks about his job and why he’s doing it.

A friend of mine told me about it so I figured why not? In parts of the Islamic world, male dancers, musicians, and bathhouse attendants discreetly offered sexual services.