Gay myth?
 

I'm in a course on Mythology, and we're headed towards a large-ish research paper, and I'm curious about the concept of a gay mythology. (If there's a gay culture, which I believe there is, then shouldn't that culture have it's own mythology?)

So, I guess I'm asking about ideas. I know that there's much, MUCH material to be found and a major case to be made for gay readings of old myths, but I was wondering if there were any uniquely gay stories. Which is to say, do people in our community tell stories about ourselves that aren't taken from the greater community? (Using Christian mythology as an example, I know there's "queer readings" of Ruth, or Jonathan and Danial, but do we have meaningful stories that are actually NEW?)

A friend posited and wrote about Velvet Goldmine as queer myth, and while I don't remember it to well, I guess that's the kind of thing I'm looking for. Bonus points if it doesn't start out as just a movie / book / deliberately written story, but I'll take what I can get.
I'm especially lookin' at you Scotty with the faeries.

If the material just isn't there, I'll find something else to write about but I've been curious about the topic for a bit now.

Try
 

looking at Greek mythology as it pertains to homosexuality. I believe you will find a few stories there.

Bill

Not really, unless you want to cross it with a reading of queer history, which I'm not too sure works with 'mythology.'

The Greek stories, from a culture that accepted male-male sexuality (within certain social constraints) have almost endless spinoffs. I personally wept and wept the first time I read of how Apollo tragically lost Hyacinth.

A couple years ago I did a research paper about a song based on the Ganymede myth, and could have gone on for hours on the homoerotic spinoffs and potential 'hidden meanings' of references throughout centuries of European history. Had a blast researching and writing it. Let me know if you'd like me to PM you my bibliography.

Could you maybe use something like Ganymede as a starting point and go into all the influence the Ganymede (or your other chosen) myth had on European culture throughout the centuries? Ganymede was a major theme in painting, sculpture, received continued references in literature. It even affected language, for goodness sake! They say the word "catamite" was a bastardization of the word "Ganymede." And in 17th (or was it 18th?) century France, "Ganymede" was the word for a male prostitute.

If you're interested in running with the Ganymede theme, check out this:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ganymede-Ren.../dp/0300041993

And this:
Michael Preston Worley, “The Image of Ganymede in France, 1730-1820: The Survival of a Homoerotic Myth,” The Art Bulletin, vol 76, no. 4 (Dec 1994) 630-643; available from http://www.jstor.org; (accessed 6 April 2007.)

I don't think you're going to run into any new myth that is uniquely 'gay,' and not sourced from another, primary ethnic/religious/language-based culture. The gay community is too non-homogenous, I believe, to have produced independent myth.

Wait...
 

Does not human history's first major epic contain a bit of male-male bonding between Gilgamesh and Enkidu if I'm not mistaken? :confused:

I'm pretty sure some interpret their relationship as an older-young styled one, very classic.

I could probably write a paper about how the gay lovin' does show up in pretty much every culture's myths (and I might), but I was wondering if we actually had any of our own.

We're supposed to write one huge paper for this class, but then later also give a presentation so I'm thinking worst case I find SOME topic for the paper, and show a Sister Unity youtube as part of the presentation later (Fierce Bitch, perhaps, or more likely the parable of the town and the witch).

If you use a Sister Unity video in your class presentation, I want a copy of your paper! :D I'd love to see that worked in! :D

Thank you for bringing her to our attention. I sometimes wonder if she's my long-lost twin? Just love her. :love:

One problem with this is that your idea may be under the bias of your current cultural place in time. For many other civilizations and cultures, identities and individualism were not as strong factors as they are today (and Asia and Africa still do not experience them to the extent that Western societies do), so many cultures may view what we would consider the homosexual experience in the light of just part of what most people experience in general, in other words, not a specific identity. In ancient times, necessities to survive and create more babies/people may have helped established the societal male/female family structure but homosexual experience certainly still existed (and in some cases may not even be viewed as a breach of the family relationship's expectations). To get more specific information, though, you'll have to focus on the specific experiences of people in a specific place and time. Good luck with that!