There Aren't Enough Openly Gay or Jewish Actors in Hollywood So Bradley Cooper Plays Gayface and Jewface in Leonard Bernstein Movie

There Aren't Enough Openly Gay or Jewish Actors in Hollywood So Bradley Cooper Plays Gayface and Jewface in Leonard Bernstein Movie

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First, this is not a rant and it's not a complaint. I'm just sharing facts with readers. 

When I was a teen in the 7th grade in a small Catholic School in New Jersey, we had a music teacher who was absolutely freaked out over Leonard Bernstein. And rightly so. Even though I didn't appreciate it at the time Bernstein was a genius. 

On the third Tuesday of every month, this music teacher would take the entire 7th grade class to this dank little basement room in the Catholic School and we would watch films of Bernstein and his music. By that time I knew I was gay, my hormones were raging, and every guy I looked at gave me a thrill. I was not interested in music.

However, I had no idea that Bernstein was gay. I think if I had known I would have paid more attention to those movies. 

With that said, the public for the most part didn't know Bernstein was gay either. In fact, there's a new movie about his life and I've seen it being promoted on social media as a fearless love story with his wife, Felicia Montealegre.

And once again no mention of Bernstein being gay. For that matter, no mention of Cooper playing gayface again. But I did learn something even more interesting that I didn't know. Bernstein was Jewish, so that means that Cooper is playing Jewface, too. He also allegedly wore a prosthetic nose.  

This is from the Canadian Jewish News:

There’s no reason to believe that the decision to wear a fake nose is a deliberately antisemitic act. 

Here's more. 

I have no idea how they will handle the gay angle of the Bernstein story, but it's well known that he was gay and that after his wife died he had many gay lovers. There was even a long term relationship with a man. 

The West Side Story composer met and fell in love with a young Japanese fan on tour and their romance lasted until his death

Here's the rest of that.  There is even a photo of the young fan with Bernstein. 

So, to sum this up just based on the facts that are out there. Bradley Cooper acquired the rights to a story about a gay Jewish man. Cooper is playing the lead role...Bernstein...and while he plays Jewface he's wearing a prosthetic nose. He's also playing gayface, again, which he's done before. 

I have a feeling we'll be hearing a lot more about this one. 

Here is another interesting article. The focus is completely on Cooper playing Jewface. No mention of gayface. 

Amazon Link 

 Uncertainty on Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

 How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

 Amazon

Even though I Love to Read Fiction by Black Authors I would NEVER Attempt to Write Black Fiction, Ryan Field Books

 Even though I Love to Read Fiction by Black Authors I would NEVER Attempt to Write Black Fiction

I think my love for reading fiction by black authors started with James Baldwin, a gay black author who wrote Giovanni's Room. Giovanni's Room is about a confused ex-pat living in Paris in 1956, and the men in his life. It's probably one of the first books to bring "homosexuality" into the public during a time when anything "homosexual" was considered off limits.  

I have also read every single book that was ever written by black author, Toni Morrison. Some I've even read more than once. 

I've read all Maya Angelou books as well. Plus, there is a long list of other black authors that aren't as famous but write just as well. 

Even though I love all contemporary fiction, I've always been interested in black culture and the challenges and bigotry that black people have faced over the years. But I know my place. My job is to read, and just read. It's not my job to comment and it certainly is NOT my job to ever, EVER write black fiction. 

My point here is that it's fine to read books and stories about other cultures that were written by those who are part of these cultures. In other words, I would never read a book about the black experience that was written by some pushy, dumb white author with privilege. That would make me a supporter of cultural appropriation. When a white author does this it is the equivalent of wearing blackface. 

And I feel the same way about gay fiction. Gay men are a marginalized group. We are still very criminalized in many parts of the world. Matt Healy of the 1975 band was just banned from Malaysia for speaking out against the way gay men are discriminated against in Malaysia. And countries in Africa continue to discriminate and criminalize gay men. 

It's okay to read gay fiction if you're not gay. It's okay to love gay fiction even if you're not gay. But it is NOT okay to appropriate gay culture and write gay fiction for monetary gain if you are not a gay man. That doesn't mean that non-gay writers can't write gay fiction. It means that they should NOT be writing gay fiction. Leave that up to the gay male authors. 

The days of Annie Proulx and all the flaws in Brokeback Mountain are over and we have all entered into a new era.  If you don't like it, that's just too bad. 

Amazon Link 

 Uncertainty on Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

 How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

 Amazon

Red, White, and Royal Blue the Almost Gay Movie, Gay Veterans Sue Defense Department, Ryan Field Books

 Red, White, and Royal Blue the Almost Gay Movie

I think it has already been established that there is nothing more that mainstream straight viewers and readers love than a book or movie with gay content that was created by a non-gay author. In fact, they seem to cherish this kind of inauthentic movie or book. Many don't even know it is happening. 

With that said, a new almost gay film was released and it is titled, Red, White, and Royal Blue. And it is gay content written by a non-gay male author. 

This advertorial promotes it like this: 

It’s notable because the book was a blockbuster hit, among the “I’ll read this in a weekend while on vacation” set. 

Here's more. So far this year I have had to endure Harry Styles gay bait for his God awful movie, the one where he played gayface, and that was enough for me. 

I won't be watching this one.

 Gay Veterans Sue Defense Department

On a more serious note that has nothing to do with books or movies that appropriate gay culture, this one discusses how gay veterans will sue the defense department for reasons dating back to the days of 'Don't Ask Don't Tell.' 

In the not so distant past, people who served in the armed forces were told to keep their sexuality a secret. And if they didn't keep it a secret, they were not honorably discharged and their sexuality was listed for public knowledge. They also had no veterans benefits like medical insurance and education assistance.

Veteran Steven Egland has this to say: 

"Because of the circumstances and language of my discharge, which served as a painful reminder of the trauma I experienced, I was never able to proudly say that I served my country."

Here's more.  

Amazon Link 

 Uncertainty on Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

 How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

 Amazon

"My Policeman" the Movie and Cultural Appropriation, Ryan Field Books

 "My Policeman" the Movie and Cultural Appropriation

First of all, for those who don't know, here's a good definition of Cultural Appropriation. It's short and it's sweet. 

Cultural appropriation takes place when members of a majority group adopt cultural elements of a minority group.

This could include any small marginalized group of people. Years ago those with straight white privilege did this to Native Americans, and even Asian people. And NO ONE is more guilty of cultural appropriation than the movie industry. They continue to do it to gay men time and again. It's also very prevalent in the book industry. As an openly gay author I've faced it all my life, on a firsthand basis. 

Not everyone does it. Some are too smart now. Recently, the wonderful Tom Hanks made a statement saying he'd never play gayface again.  

With that said, once you know what it means, it doesn't take much to spot cultural appropriation. In this case it's a movie geared toward a mainstream audience, with straight actors playing gayface. 

This particular article asks the question "is gay sex still taboo?" And I'm not even getting into that. I'm more concerned that is doesn't question anything about the appropriation happening. The author completely ignores it. They even compare The Policeman to Billy Eichner's Bros and that's so blatantly unfair. Billy Eichner's Bros was authentic gay content written and acted by gay men. It was not a majority group stealing gay culture, once again. 

I know many of you think "it's only acting." But the world has changed, openly gay men have voices now, and this goes much deeper. For one thing, thousands of openly gay actors missed getting the part for The Policeman. 

Here's more. The article doesn't talk about cultural appropriation, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. 

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

 How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

"Bros" Admits the Annoying Truth About Gay Men, Ryan Field Books

 "Bro's" Admits the Annoying Truth About Gay Men

Before I get into this article fully, yesterday Billy Eichner and "Bros" were both trending on Twitter and I was amazed at the way so many straight people come out of the woodwork to either slam Bros, or comment on a gay film as if they know all there is about gay men. These straights were even comparing Bustedback Mountain to Bros, as if they have anything at all in common. Bros is an authentic gay film written and performed by openly gay artists. Bustedback Mountain was contrived content written by a straight white woman during a time when few gay men could even break into publishing. So I had fun blocking people on Twitter yesterday. No straight is going to tell me what it's like to be gay. That's my story. 

With that said, I'm now linking to an article about Bros that goes into more detail than most. It's mostly a review, but with a few insights with which I agree. It's actually kind of tongue and cheek at some points, especially where he admits that we as gay people can be annoying at times. But I think that's because we've always had to fight so hard for everything. Nothing has ever come easy to an openly gay man, to the point were I sometimes think these closeted cowards in Hollywood who fake being straight and everyone believes them might have a point. Maybe they are right.  Maybe being liars is working for them. 

In any event, the reviewer speaks about how we usually see gay men portrayed in films, and how different Bros is. I really can't argue with anything he wrote. I just want to add that no matter what Bros does or says about gay men, I'm thrilled to finally see a film like this come out. I'm so tired of straights playing gayface and straight writers appropriating my culture that I could gag. And sadly, good old Bradley Cooper is in a new film where he plays gayface, again. And the straights will run to the box office to see this garbage because it's Bradley Cooper appropriating a gay man. That's what I'm sick of. 

So, for anyone who hasn't seen or heard anything about Billy Eichner's all gay film, this review will help. You can find it here. And for any gay man that doesn't support Bros, maybe you should read a little more about cultural appropriation and what it really means and why you shouldn't support it anymore. 

                                  

                               How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade

Reviews For Harry Styles Playing Gayface in The Policeman, Ryan Field Books

 Reviews For Harry Styles Playing Gayface in The Policeman

I have been talking about cultural appropriation with gay men for a few years. Prior to that, most of us didn't even know what cultural appropriation meant. But now we do, and it's catching on. 

I came across an interesting new account on Twitter, @stopgayface, the other day and I'd like to share this with all the gay people I know, and all the allies I know, so that maybe we can all put a stop to gay cultural appropriation. It's not going to be easy. Most straight people are so deeply rooted in their straight privilege they see nothing wrong with actors playing gayface, or straight white writers writing gay content. But this will, indeed, change one day. And these people taking advantage of gay men and gay culture will not go down on the right side of history. 

With that said, I'm linking to a few reviews of the new Harry Styles movie, The Policeman. For those who don't know, Styles is playing gayface in the film, and he's been queer-baiting all month. They are calling it a gay romance, but it's not. It's a hetero interpretation of what it was like to be gay in the 1950s and they always get it wrong. Even more interesting, this film is based on a book written by a woman, not a gay man. So there's that brand of appropriation, too. I haven't seen the movie so I'm not offering any comments or opinions. And I do not plan to see it. 

This is from Vanity Fair:

“When [Harry Styles] has to hold a scene’s emotional tenor for longer than a line reading, he’s flat. He projects a glow of decency throughout the film, which means he’s not unwelcome in any given scene, but you ache for him every time a bit of dialogue thuds.

Here's more. There are more quotes at this link. It's interesting to note that not one single reviewer mentioned gayface. Just interesting. They would have mentioned Yellowface if Styles had been portraying an Asian character. 

In any event, here's another review for The Policeman. 

Navigating the world as a queer person, especially in a time when it was still punishable by law, requires too much complexity for someone still testing out his sea legs, it’s essentially two roles at a time when he struggles to play one. He’s drowning in the deep end and it sinks the movie around him.

 Then why not give that role to an openly gay actor? If you recall, James Franco and Nick Jonas tried gay-baiting and it didn't work for them either. 

 How to Be a Good Gay Bottom 

A Different Kind of Southern Love Story

What readers are saying about “Uncertainty”

Amazon

“A wonderful story that I loved. The characters were well developed and strong. Gus: A sweet young man. Doing something for all the wrong reasons. Craig: his boyfriend, he’ll go along with anything Gus say. Henry: Gus father a no-nonsense man, who’s husband died last year. I enjoyed this story.”



What readers said about “Altered Parts”
“Best Gay Novel In Years. This story will stay with you and you will feel you know every character and the beauty of their home in the mountains of North Carolina.”
In paperback or e-book. #gayromance #Wednesday

Altered Parts

The Wizard of Pride

The Straight Pride Parade