Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?
This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.
Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Pulled out of the air: because historically the arts allowed for a degree of flamboyance/non-conventionality and so were attractive to people who didn't fit in with conventional society, like gay people. Add in things like the disreputable characterisation of the arts, and disreputable people would fit in there. Add in the roots in the sacred (like theatre) and representing the gods, and the liminal nature of such matters meaning that men-women or those who straddled boundaries could be both sacred and profane in those contexts.
Then if arts and theatre are perceived as 'safe spaces' to be gay, and gayness is tolerated/celebrated, you'll naturally get more gay people gravitating there than the chess club. (Not that I know about chess clubs, maybe they're hives of scum and villainy). Over time, it gets established for both gay and straight people that the arts are 'for' gays in a particular way that they're not for straights.
More options
Context Copy link