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Letter to Councilman LaBonge
Real People as Fictional Characters
Female Actors, Part Two
One Culture Hero Award
Adelante Gay Pride Gala
Best Work of Fiction?
Tom of Finland: Sexual Liberator or Enslaver
Lying Writers
Review of The Man Who Invented Rock Hudson
Promiscuous Thoughts
A Crime of the Heart
A Letter to Michael Silverblatt
"Have you no decency, sir?"
Political Incorrectness: Female Actors and Trojans
He Hugged Moms and Dads
What is a Girly Man?
Review of Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
From Sunset Boulevard to Mulholland Drive
The Gay Mammies
A Writer Protests
Review of Beyond Paradise: The Life of Ramon Novarro
A Spirit Preserved in 'Amber'
The Supreme Court Case
Review of "Live from Golgotha: The Gospel According to Gore Vidal"
Review of "Lost Years: A Memoir 1945-1951" by Christopher Isherwood
Review of "Out For Good"
Review of "Hoyt Street: an Autobiography"
Review of "Sergei Eisenstein: A Life in Conflict"
Review of "Places Left Unfinished at the Time of Creation"
Review of "Whores for Gloria"
Muscles and Mascara
Review of "Blonde"
Brother Paul, Sister Jan, Brother Hinn, God and the Folks
Advice to the Next Generation
Sins of the Fathers
Beatin' Around the Bush

Cruise Not Gay! The Judge Has Spoken

The Horror, The Horror
LA--a Cliché?
Dominick, Mark & Orenthal
Holy Drag!
Ms. Hill & Mr. Tom
George, Jr.
Mrs. guy Ritchie 
Supreme Court 
Tom Cruise 
Eminem 
New Times Article 


What is a Girly Man?

Ever since Arnold Schwarzenneger made news all over the country when he called dissenting politicians in the State Capitol girly men, there has been much discussion about what constitutes, and who is, a "girly man." Definitions, of course, vary, and there are many variations. But among the possible identities of a "girly man," the following, I believe, clearly emerges:

     What is a girly man?

     A big macho guy who on occasion wears a corset to disguise he's running to fat.

     A big macho guy who colors his hair to gleam bronzy under camera lights.

     A big macho guy who calls male beauty shows physique contests.

     A big macho guy who has his own makeup folks to make sure his makeup doesn't show but it does.

     A big macho guy who calls others girly men in order not to feel, himself, like a girly man.

     A big macho guy who can become obnoxious among women in an attempt to prove he's not a girly man.

     A big guy macho guy who doesn't know he's a girly man.

John Rechy
Los Angeles, California
October 2004


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