While we in Cartel are not gay or bi-sexual, we do 100% support any of our fans despite what sexual orientation they have. I don’t personally know if we have any “queerpunks” as fans but if we do they are more than welcome in our scene. it doesn’t even really matter what orientation you have. as long as you are true to yourself, that’s all that really counts. thank you for your interest and i think that you have something good going on here.
Will Pugh - Cartel
All of the quirks and mannerisms that our society flags as “kinda queer” are abundant in our music scene. There are boys with long hair wearing makeup, and girls with short hair that aren’t wearing makeup. We’ve got pants that don’t fit right according to sitcom standards, our shoelaces are bright, and we just don’t give a shit.
This is our time to be comfortable, because tomorrow, we’ll be back in some institution of sorts, where in spite of ourselves, we will give a shit that we’re the minority, and we’ll either sit with our spines curved inward, and our eyes low, or we’ll overcorrect, and throw our shoulders back, staring down anyone with a GAP denim jacket who might accidentally cast an offhand glance at our lip ring for a little too long.
I have to interject now, after reading back on my first couple of paragraphs, I realize that I’m making an over-generalization of our scene. (and I also haven’t indicated that I am at some point planning on making a point) A good half of the crowd at the shows don’t visibly deviate from your average target consumer in the 15-26 age group. There is, however, an assumption made about them due simply to their presence at the show alongside the aforementioned “kinda queer” lookin people, and that is that they are open-minded.
This is not to say that our little “rock”? “punk”? (do we still use these terms?) shows are a utopia of any sort. We can tend to be hypocritical, and closed-minded toward large coffee chains and certain belly-button exposing pop idols in the same way that many of their patrons/fans may be condescending of our little whoop-de-doo. To finally make a point, gay people don’t stand out amongst the crowd at our shows. Since we’re not all on the floor making out, it’s hard to tell who would prefer kissing who, and even if we did know, I’m not sure we’d really care.
I know that each one of Even In Blackouts has grown up with close gay friends. They are so ingrained in our lives that I don’t usually even acknowledge the difference. Statements and actions against queerness as a sexual preference is dehumanizing. Homophobia is not just ignorance, that would be simplifying. It is a manifestation of self loathing, and insecurity. To ask if queers should be involved in the punk scene is like asking the sky if it’s all right to breathe.
Now with that said, I am and have always been slightly uncomfortable when propositioned by a gay man, it causes me to question the heterosexual world I walk in. Hooray for them! I am usually very confident that I am about as heterosexual as they come, and yet I am proud and tickled pink when a man finds me attractive. Sex, validation, and compassion, we all want it . We all deserve it.
I was trying to think of a way to express my opinions on how I feel about ” having gay fans, homophobia in the scene, coming out, etc”. I think the only way to do it properly would be to go back to my freshman year in college. No, this isn’t going to be a story about experimentation or anything like that. It’s about how I felt when I found out that a close friend of mine was gay.
I was running an online punk zine at the time and every few weeks we would put up a new poll. They were usually just goofy things I felt like asking, but on this particular occasion, I could not come up with anything I felt was worthwhile, so I asked my friend what I should put up. His response was ” What is your sexual orientation? Straight? Gay? Or Bisexual? After posting the poll, I immediately sent a link for it to several of my friends, including the one who had suggested it. When I looked at the results shortly there after, everyone had replied straight except for one. I put two and two together and asked my friend the question “Name Withheld, are you gay?” The answer, which I knew was coming, was “yes”.
Upon hearing this response I was hit by a flood of emotions, most of which were quite naïve. Can I still be friends with him? Will I become gay too? Does he find me attractive? Then it occurred to me. This is the same guy I’ve known for years. Just because he came out of the closet to his friends didn’t make him a different person. I realized that his sexuality (or anyone’s) didn’t matter and I put all my moronic pig headed worries behind me. A week later we left on a previously planned vacation together, sharing a bed for two weeks with the thought of his sexuality never crossing my mind.
That was six years ago, and in the time since then I have met many more people whose sexual orientation differs from mine. I don’t see anyone as a gay, or a lesbian, I just see people. I don’t differentiate amongst my friends, or our fans. Everyone is equally as important to me. I think that this website and these responses are very important. It shows compassion and understanding in a scene that at times can be rather close-minded.
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