Caption This Picture ...

I'm Not into Sissies!!!!

SISSIES ... By Hayes & Summers 2006

Sissy as a term for an effeminate male developed from its use as an affectionate variant of "sister"; it then came to be used as a disparaging term for boys who behaved like girls

 Am I cute or Am I a Sissy? 

The term is pejorative, and its use as such has powerful effects on male behavior generally. It serves as a kind of social control to enforce "gender appropriate" behavior.

Which one is Top and Bottom? 

Indeed, so strong is its power that, in order to avoid being labeled a sissy, many boys--both those who grow up to be homosexual and those who grow up to be heterosexual--consciously attempt to redirect their interests and inclinations from suspect areas such as, for example, hair styling or the arts toward stereotypically masculine interests such as sports or engineering. In addition, they frequently repress--sometimes at great cost--aspects of their personalities that might be associated with the feminine.

I'm seeking Gays who are "Straight" !!!!

[ pictures sourced from HeartPatrick ]

The stigmatizing power of the term has had particularly strong repercussions on gay male behavior, as well as on the way that gay men are perceived, both by heterosexuals and by each other. Some gay men respond to this stigma by self-consciously adopting stereotypically masculine attributes; others, however, defiantly identify as sissies (or their adult cousins, "queens") and exaggerate their feminine traits, at least while they are in the company of other gay men.

Guys who act manly in front of cameras but behave differently when in a company of people like them! 

The negative attitudes toward sissies in mainstream culture is also carried over to some extent into gay male culture. In a widely broadcast 1996 episode of Public Radio International's This American Life, syndicated sex columnist Dan Savage noted the prevalence in gay male personal ads of self-descriptions and descriptions of desired sexual partners that reject effeminacy in favor of "straight-acting/straight-appearing" or "masculine" men.

... Don't Ask, Don't Tell ...

These terms that explicitly deny the effeminate not only suggest that in the gay male world masculine or butch men are considered more sexually desirable than sissies (at least by gay men who place personal ads), but they also indicate a distaste for effeminacy itself.

We are not into Sissies, okay?! 

Within the contemporary gay male community, then, a masculine persona is often more highly valued than an effeminate one.

The Masculine One  is often more highly valued than the effeminate one ... TRUE? 

At the same time, however, there is also a powerful counter tradition within the gay male community that privileges effeminacy and celebrates sissies. Moreover, there are many men who find sissies very desirable sexually.

However, many men find the sissy ones desirable as well... TRUE? 

Often the effeminate male is the most obvious homosexual, one who is unable to "pass" as straight in a homophobic society. This inability to hide frequently inculcates admirable characteristics of disarming honesty, hard-won pride, and conspicuous bravery. Although the sissy is sometimes depicted as weak and cowardly, he actually evinces enormous courage simply by defying society's pervasive demands for gender conformity and by enduring the hostility of others. As Savage points out, sissies are often braver and more confident than those who are butch or struggle to appear so.

We are proud to be OUT ... unlike you closeted straight-acting gays! !

Heterosexual concepts of masculinity and femininity are often present in gay male culture, leading to anxiety about sissies and their relation to gender and behavior. Not only are they sometimes viewed as unattractive by some gay men, but sissies are also often perceived as presenting unflattering images of the gay community by other gay males, especially those who have developed a conspicuously masculine persona.

I'm a sissy by heart .. Hence  I need to look manlier to overcome my shortcomings! 

Gay male body culture is also a realm in which gay men, through bodybuilding, attempt to remove traces of effeminate or sissy appearance as they present themselves publicly. Often such attempts to achieve "masculinity" are reactions against having been sissies in childhood.

Gymming and getting a rock hard body is a form of escaping from the reality that they are one of the sissy ones!

Moreover, many of the stereotypes associated with the sissy, from an interest in fashion and old movies to an obsession with opera and show tunes, are important aspects of what it means to be gay to many homosexuals regardless of whether they identify or are perceived as sissies.

I like shopping, buy I'm not a Sissy! -- Very difficult to fathom, right?!

Indeed, many gay men adopt effeminate mannerisms when they come out as a means of identifying and belonging to a particular subculture, and as a way of signaling their homosexuality to others.

We are straight-acting but well-mannered ....!

Gender is performative. Hence, an individual's instances of overtly sissy behavior tends to vary depending on setting and social group. Even the most effeminate individual is usually able to "butch it up" for specific occasions or in particular circumstances. Some gay men present a conventionally masculine appearance in professional situations or in family gatherings, but assume a sissy persona when socializing in gay bars or other places where gender nonconformity is welcomed or at least tolerated.

These are the kinda guys that can behave manly when needed as well as releasing their feminine side immediately after turning their back! 

The sissy is an important constituent of the gay male community. Although sometimes reviled by both heterosexuals and other homosexuals, the sissy has historically helped define gay culture, and has often used his own sexual and gender nonconformity as a means of questioning the dominant constructions of sex and gender.

Most homosexuals are not sissies (and not all sissies are homosexuals), and many "masculine" gay men resent being thought of as effeminate simply by virtue of their homosexuality.

"Ngo Jip Sau Mm Dou - lor"!!!

[ In cantonese: I can't accept it - lor ... ]

Nevertheless, the sissy has in the popular imagination been seen as the quintessential homosexual. It may also reflect the fact that effeminate homosexuals were for many years almost the only visible gay men. They remain the most easily identifiable.

Seriously .... How can we call ourselves GAY but not having a single trait of sissiness in our behaviour?!!!

Even wearing colourful, tight, skimpy low waist underwear is SISSY enough!!!!

Please!!! All GAYS have a certain kind of SISSY-NESS in their HEART!!! 

EMBRACE IT instead of  FIGHTING IT !!!! 

Cheers from Simon Lover!