… figure skate, sing in front of other people even if they’re not in a rock band, and enjoy opera and ballet, among other things that make the average straight American man fear he’ll be seen as effeminate.
Which is not to say that straight men don’t do these things in the US, but doing them can call an individual’s sexuality into question. And boys who do these things are likely to get their ass kicked at school. Which is sad.
The flip side is that Russia is super homophobic. But this is supposed to be one of the things I LIKE about Russia, so I’ll just say that I think it’s great that men are allowed to enjoy a wider range of interests than just sports.
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3 comments
28 November 2005 at 10:59 pm
Anonymous
why do you think those commies lost? Instead of loading up on pcp and beer they were to busy singing and daydreaming about dancing.
-Anthony
so bored at work. i hate the environment.
11 December 2005 at 3:09 pm
Anonymous
Hi Megan–Some of the teachers here in Vladimir went ice skating a few weeks ago with some of our Russian friends. It was my friend Andrei’s first time skating, so we took turns holding him up. One of my other friends, Alexei, skated hand in hand with him for almost twenty minutes. They’re both straight guys in their early twenties. It was so cute. That would never ever happen in the states. Of course, they’re both fairly homophobic. It’s an interesting paradox.
~Brooke
12 October 2007 at 6:15 pm
Sure, fur is murder. But what is its sexual orientation? « Megan Case 2.0
[…] gay to you, you’re going to have a rough time adapting to Russian culture. For there are many things in Russia which might appear “gay” to the homophobic Brit or American (especially […]