Dionysus Redux:
From David Bowie to Harold's Dykes --
Gale Harold and the new Androgyny
My first awareness of Androgyny probably started
with the Beatles, but the first time I really tapped
into it, I was 10 years old. The Rolling Stones were
on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert doing tunes
from the Goats Head Soup album. I was already
completely in love with the Stones. I had a
biography of them that I practically memorized, and
which in fact was where I learned a lot about sex. (That and The Boston
Strangler... but I digress.) I just expected to see a cool band. What I saw was
God, with a capital G. Mick jagger was singing... "Silver Train", I think, and
he was wearing blue eye shadow, lipstick and a blue sequined jumpsuit. I
didn't know the word "Androgyny" yet but I "got" it. I could taste it. This
wasn't about "male" or "female" as society defined them. It was both, and in
this case one plus one equals infinity. It was sex in it's purest form, and it
didn't have rules. It did as it damn well pleased. And it was GOOD!
The label and the concept came together for me reading fan magazines, about
David Bowie in particular. He was the first true Androgyne to become a
popular icon, and the press ate it up. I was fascinated with his style, his sense
of aesthetics and his vision. His music was always less important to me than
the concept. I felt as if the tunes were just a way to move his art forward into
mainstream consciousness. He was the first person I ever heard called bisexual,
and I instinctively loved the idea of it. Either/or thinking always seemed a bit
fascist to me. He was all about "AND".
My ideas about androgyny crystalized when I was working on my Psych.
degree. For the purposes of our discussion here, I'm defining Androgyny as
the combination of the best of stereotypically masculine and feminine traits, as
defined in the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)<SUP>1</SUP>. The BSRI
has four components -Masculine, Feminine, Androgynous and
Undifferentiated. I want to be clear that I'm not talking about the last
category. "Undifferentiated" is more like saying one is genderless than
combining genders.To put it in pop-cultural terms, Steven Tyler is
Androgynous; Michael Jackson is Undifferentiated. Sexuality is the very
essence of Androgyny, and it works beyond mere gender identity.
I remember trying to explain a play that I wrote toward my creative writing
major. I had specified that the children in the play were supposed to be
Androgynous - long hair, non-gender specific names, dressed neutrally and
very pretty. Eventually, I just said it was part of my aesthetic. The class was
way too conservative to grok<SUP>2</SUP> that I was trying to advance a
concept that I considered to be a necessary step in our evolution as a culture.
When we get to the other side of our sexual adolescence, we will be
Androgynous. We will manifest the best traits within us, no matter who we
are. We won't be limited by "roles" we are expected to play. We will only be
limited by ourselves.
We've reached a point in pop culture where we expect our rock stars to swing
both ways.( And most of them do, bless their hearts.) The culture at large,
however, remains terribly homophobic, and it's working against us. Repression
of sexuality in adolescence and adulthood are the primary contributors to
violence in a society.<SUP>3</SUP> It's not just coincidence that musical
genres which glorify violence are also plagued with homophobia and
misogyny.Equality is going to remain a dream as long a the Patriarchy "Fears
the Fey" as it does. Women's rights, Gay rights, Civil rights are all dependent
on the freedom to be exactly who we are - to define ourselves, rather than
allowing the society to define us. We need to separate the concept of "Sex"
from the concept of "Gender". The former is an activity, the latter an incident
of birth, and neither is indicative of anything except reproductive potential. I
maintain that we are about more than the
drive to reproduce. Fucking is an end in
itself.
To re-define our gender roles, we need new
models. We need images of men that go
beyond 'strong and silent" or angry and
violent. We need to see men be sexual, and sensual. We need images that show
men loving men openly and naturally. We need icons that are secure enough in
their "masculinity" to know that playing a Gay character is an opportunity, not
a limitation. (Say it with me now) We need Gale Harold.
I say that with tongue firmly planted in cheek ( would 't'were that that were
so...) but I really do think Gale is the best pop icon<SUP>4</SUP> we have
that symbolizes the evolution of the American Male. He has given us an image
of a straight man with no homophobia, and no doubt as to his sexuality.
<BlockQuote>
"Gale's energy represents the next step in sexual evolution. He redefines sexual
identity and transcends the borders of gay, straight, bi, male, female. He is like
the Angelina Jolie among men." <SUP>5</SUP>
</BlockQuote>
That quote comes from a member of a yahoo group called QWGF a.k.a.
Harold's Dykes. It's a group of Lesbian and Bisexual women who are
enamored of Gale Harold. I don't get around the QAF fandom as much as I
used to, but I pay attention when no one is looking. The typical Gale fan is
around 35-45, female, and bisexual.( Don't write to me and tell me you differ
from that, it's just an average.) There's an odd dynamic as well - Gale's girls
are tough as nails and extremely intense. (Seriously, I used to work with Metal
bands, and I've never seen bitches the likes of these - myself included.) I don't
know of another fandom that has Lesbians swooning over a man, even to their
own consternation.
<Blockquote> I'd call myself a dyke if it weren't for Gale - there's just
something about that man..."<SUP>5</SUP> </Blockquote>
<Blockquote>
"Gale Harold's Eyes tell all you need to know.
Anyone lucky enough to gaze into those eyes will
know that your personal sexual orientations takes a
backseat and emotions take over. Gale is the classic
definition of desire! He pulls you in even against
your will."<SUP>5</SUP></Blockquote>
<Blockquote>
"I'm not attracted to men. That I know for sure. So
clearly this infatuation with Gale is not like
anything I have ever experienced. Sure I loved
George Michael, loved Johnny Depp, stared endlessly at any number of men
and marveled at their beauty. But never like Gale. Aside from being a married
lesbian, I am also an ADULT. I thought giddy adorations of celebrities was
something that went out with Teen Beat & YM Magazine. But I guess it
doesn't. I often wonder what this 28 year old married lesbian finds so
compelling about a Male actor whom I will clearly never really know.... And
then it hit me. Who Cares! Gale has an extraordinarily inviting quality, his
acting is like nothing I have ever seen & his obvious willingness to scoff at the
publicity machine are all a breath of fresh air. So I have stopped
questioning ... What it is about Gale that I treasure so much... And just decided
that watching Gale perform is too exciting, too electrifing, too fullfilling to
stop. And in the end.. too hard to explain."<SUP>5 </SUP></Blockquote>
Some of this adoration hearkens back to the Dionysian Archetype I described
in Part I. The Bacchantes, or Maenads, were a society of women, and their
rites were almost exclusive. They were essentially mothers and nurses, caring
for the infant Dionysus and later following him in revelry<SUP>6</SUP>.I
made a reference to this in which I speculated that Gale "relied upon the
kindness of women"<SUP>7</SUP>. Having met him, I can say
unequivocally that I don't believe he's a "user' in any way. Rather, this seems
to be a natural manifestation of the archetype, in which women just naturally
want to take care of him. He has a very open and gentle energy that brings out
a compulsion to put his needs first. His personal intensity in his interactions
with others only enhances this, as do his shyness and the fact that he is easily
embarrassed by the adoration. Thank Goddess for Suzanne, for Suzy Landau
Finch, for Jennifer Elster and anyone else who contributes to his care and
comfort. I infer that the women around him enable him to be who he is, and I
know we all agree that that is a good thing.
Gale has been declared an "honorary lesbian" by the members of Harold's
Dykes.
<Blockquote>
"Gale doesn't fit into the narrow confines of gender and sexuality."<SUP>5</
SUP></Blockquote>
I don't believe there is any confusion in this between Gale and his character,
Brian Kinney. Brian is most decidedly male oriented - although he does tend to
defer to women (Debbie, Lindsey, Jennifer). There is nothing truly
androgynous about Brian. The most evolutionary aspects of the character are
his lack of inhibition about nudity and showing affection to men. The
Androgyny belongs entirely to Gale. We've seen other straight actors on the
show exhibit some reticence and even disgust (a pox on Dr. Dave) in their
same-sex scenes. Gale has never expressed any embarrassment or even self-
consciousness about the scenes he does with men. His scenes with Randy are
so flawless that people actually speculate as to the nature of their relationship. I
don't think they're anything but friends and co-workers (which is a shame -
Morgaine-ism #26 "Pretty people should fuck - they should fuck each other
and everyone else that they can because that's what they're for."<SUP>8</
SUP>). I do think that there's a beautiful fearlessness in Gale's work with
Randy that comes from a lack of constraint by gender roles. He also seems
very comfortable in horsing around - he's been known to grab Peter Paige's
crotch for the cameras and there are shots of him trying to play kissy face with
a very uncomfortable Hal Sparks.
Hal is a good counter-point to illustrate what I am saying about Gale. Hal
Sparks is your standard issue American straight guy. He's able to play his part
- and quite well with the addition of the warm, talented Robert Gant. Hal has
become a bit notorious about declaring his heterosexuality, but honestly, I
think people over-react a bit. (Hal says lots of things I don't think are in his
best interest - like the no drugs thing - Hal, you're into Metal... Can you say
NELSON?!)<SUP>9</SUP> He's just a man of the 20th century. Gale is a
man for the new millenium - he's comfortable with himself and he doesn't
have anything to prove about himself.
He doesn't make it easy on his fans, though. He's perfectly sweet - nothing
short of an angel when I met him - but he eschews publicity for the most part.
Modesty is good in an icon, but he's a little too wary of the internet, especially
for a post-modern man. He's uncomfortable at public appearances, but he'll
literally do handstands before the cameras. His interviews are a trip - he makes
no secret of trying to avoid answering even the most mundane questions. The
impression it gives is that Gale is thinking on a higher plane, and he won't
come down just to please someone else.
<BlockQuote>
"It's not that Gale makes no sense in interviews - he probably makes perfect
sense; in fact, for all we know, he's telling us the answer to life, the universe
and everything. It's not his fault that the answer just happens to be 42."
<SUP>10 </SUP></Blockquote>
<BlockQuote>
"Gale has very strong opinions, and he's very political' says Queer as Folk
executive producer Ron Cowen, with no small measure of pride. "Sometimes I
think he's the smartest person I've ever met. I know a lot of smart, well-
educated, well-read people. But there's something about Gale where it takes a
leap from education or keen intelligence to some other place. Genius is a cheap
word, especially in Hollywood. But he's really smart."<sup>11</sup>
</BlockQuote>
He'd prefer nothing be written about him. He really just wants to act
<SUP>12</SUP>. Unfortunately, it's the 21st century and that isn't realistic.
He's too compelling to ignore, too special to be treated as just another actor.
So I apologize to Mr. H for any embarrassment he might have been caused by
anything I've written, but write I will. This is a global conversation, and I'm
just an oracle. I don't choose the cards - I read them as they fall. Gale's card
is "The Magician", and that says it all for me.
Let's close with another quote from someone who knows Gale "up close "
<BlockQuote>
"When we met him, Brian and
Gale just fused. Gale has
such sexuality as a person that
it's kind of daunting. How
many people could be as open
or fluid and bring that to a
character? It doesn't have
anything to do with being gay
or straight."
~ Daniel Lipman, Executive
Producer <SUP>13</SUP>
</BlockQuote>