Patrik-Ian Polk in "Genre"

Director and screenwriter Patrik-Ian Polk is one of seven prominent gays featured in a round table discussion in the latest issue of Genre. "15 Years of Queerness" coincides with the magazine's anniversary and is a retrospective on the changes in our society and gay culture. Polk's reality is a far cry from that expressed by much of the panel, such as when he takes issue with the mythology of tolerance within the "community":

I remember moving to L.A. in the late ’90s and going to clubs in West Hollywood, and just feeling completely invisible and weird and out of place. Last year even, at The Abbey, Sundays became the de facto black hangout place, and I heard that the owners were very resistant to that. So, last year, they instituted a dress code that banned hip hop gear, and I thought, “This is 2005, you’re kidding me!” And it lasted about a week and a half, because it was about to explode into the biggest PR scandal, but this is the kind of stuff that’s going on. It’s still a problem; we’re so fragmented.

We're actually reading Genre more often. There's been no radical departure from the sometimes bland and homogenized version of gay culture that often passes for the "community." However, every month there are least one or two items that break from the mold. It is what it is.

The anniversary panel boasts impressive star-wattage: Writer Edmund White, activist Candace Gingrich, photographer Anthony Goicolea, editor Richard Pérez-Feria, performance artist Mike Albo and actor Alan Cumming. Personally, we might have branched out a little bit more to include one or two other names, but, it's a good start and decent cross-section.

Genre Looks at 15 Years of Queerness (Genre)

Previously:

• The Arc Sails (Rod 2.0)
• Patrik-Ian Polk: My Favorite Things (Keith Boykin)
• Noah's Arc Index (Rod 2.0)

Comments

[Derrick from Philly]

It's funny, I just wrote a comment on Keith's website concerning the issue of race within the gay world (tells how much work time I give to my employer). I always hoped that being a minority and experiences persecution/discrimination would make white gays more tolerant, more sophisticated, more honest, more humane. But when it comes to their contact with black gays they are as bigoted as any white man, or atleast as hypocritical as any white liberal.

We have a club here in Philly that over the last few years has taken on more of a black clientele. The management of Key West decided that the only way to compete with the white clubs was to become black--I guess. So, now they not only employ black bartenders, they have black DJs (a sure sign of wanting black customers). Two white gay co-workers have said to me, "oh, it's a shame at how Key West has really gone down. I wouldn't feel safe there anymore." I told them, "y'all just don't want to be around black folks." They told me that they felt safe around me.
Yeah, but I'm a 48 year old high yella'queen who could do a Judy Garland impersonation better than y'all ofays-- you would feel safe around me. It's the young Hip Hop, black oriented, Thug looking "chil'ren" y'all white bitches are scared of...well, I didn't say it exactly like that. But they're gay white men, I mean, males.

[david]

I knew "Out" was on it's way out the first time I saw Genre. It's still white-washed but it's edgier and a much more interesting read.

I could write an entire novel on racism in the gay community. Those white queens are so delusional - i am not sure whether to cry or to laugh.

[Doug Cooper-Spencer]

Cheers for Patrik-Ian Polk! I'm glad he didn't hold back in the discussion. I don't know why white gays still talk that tolerance stuff. Look, I'm 52 years old and can tell u all kinds of stories of being double carded from as long ago as 1974 to as recent as 1999 (hell I was 45 and was still carded). Also, I can vouch for Patrik-Ian Polk's L.A. adventure (I lived there for 10 years)- - it's a city severely dissected by race and class. And as far as Edmund White, well, as a native Cincinnatian, just like Mr. White, who I happen to know has spent 'time' in Cincinnati gay bars, many of them are racist as hell. And anyway, who wants to be tolerated? I demand acceptance!

[Ben in Oakland]

As the white half of an interracial couple, I acknowledge the existence of racism in the gay white community. However, it doesn't just flow in one direction. Here is the bottom line folks: when you see racism, it is the same as looking at ignorance. The big difference is that other's ignorance doesn't usually bother us, but racism we all take personally. Next time you witness racism use it as an opportunity to educate. I don't want tolerance, I want acceptance. Guess what? Sometimes you have to earn it - reach out and make an effort. Ignorance can be overcome. Just so you know where I am coming from, my partner has a huge family and I am the only white person. When I came into the picture, the racist attitudes and behavior was very much in my face. It didn't take long for them to understand that I was a nice person, and soon with a bit of patience, the prejudice disappeared.