This past weekend, Bruka theater premiered their latest theatrical hit with "Angry Housewives". When I first heard the title of the musical, I assumed it would a little bit of Betty Friedan mixed in with "Diary of a Mad Housewife" ... only in musical form. I thought brilliant; make women's studies more accessible by converting its messages into musical lyrics.

Angry Housewives follows the story of four eccentric housewives as they each start their own journey of personal transformation. The musical establishes the trials and tribulations of each woman. Bev, who is broke after her husband died, must deal with the immature and self-centered antics of her son Tim. Next we have Wendi who quits a project as soon as she begins it, Jetta who must maintain her incompetent husband's pampered lifestyle, and finally Carol who fills the voids in her life with food - which explains her rather pronounced derriere. All are dealing with financial and relationship woes at the onset of the musical. Wendi soon convinces the girls to start a punk rock group - under the name Angry Housewives - and enter a battle-of-the-bands like competition where the winner gets $2,000.

Of all the places I thought that a musical entitled "Angry Housewives" could have gone, punk rock band was one of the last places I thought of - which is odd given the poster for the production. I thought an alien abduction would happen before a punk rock band - that being said, I appreciated the twists and turns the musical took throughout the show. The campiness of the musical was probably what I enjoyed most; given the nature of the plot line, the musical in some ways makes fun of itself and let's audiences know, that yes, this musical is about four middle-aged women starting a punk rock band.

Once again, the Bruka community delivers a masterful and thoroughly enjoyable production. I remember sitting in the seats watching Adam and Bradford don their tap shows before breaking out in an incredible tap duet thinking to myself "is this really happening?" I was peeing my pants throughout the entire show, and though I am not a fan of punk rock, I learned that I AM a fan of musicals about punk rock. I certainly recommend this show to anyone who likes hearing the hilarious plights of four disgruntled women on their path toward self-discovery and independence. Make sure to check out Bruka's website or facebook page for a complete listing of show dates.

Or does Bro-Mo sound better? Now, I’m sure we are all familiar with the phrase “fag-hag” made popular by the inspirational ginger Miss Debra Messing on the iconic show “Will and Grace”. The term refers to a straight woman that is completely enamored with gay man/men in her life; so much so that she falls in love with them. The fag-hag in question then secretly prays and wishes that their gay best friend will forgo their homosexual-like tendencies and marry her and provide her with beautifully hygienic and artistically creative children. I actually had a number of self-identified fag-hag friends in high school, which was fabulous, except when they personally held you responsible for every smart, attractive, well-dressed man being gay. I always responded with “honey they might be gay, but their not gay for me, so in the end what sucks more?” The phrase fag-hag caused such a stir that straight men began to appropriate aspects of gay culture and incorporated it into their daily routine including stylizing their hair, wearing tight fitting jeans and graphic tees, and showering on a semi-regular basis. Thus a generation of metrosexuals was born into the world.

As of late, I have noticed a great deal of shifting social perspectives, especially when it comes to sexuality and gender. People are now becoming more comfortable with the sexuality and gender expressions of their friends and family, but also with themselves as well – specifically the straight men in my life. I noticed that the many of the straight men in my life do not feel the need to assert nor defend their heterosexuality when it is questioned or threatened. I now routinely hear about the “man crushes” that my straight male friends will have for such dashing and debonair individuals as Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. Suddenly the face of the typical straight male is a very different one than I experienced ten, even five, years ago. It’s really incredible and awe-inspiring to see.

However, most recently, I realized that I am gay male equivalent of a “fag hag” – I tried to come up with a clever title and all I got so far is a “Mo Bro” or a “Bro Mo”. Now I understand the plight and aggravation of the heterosexual women. These straight men in my life, whom I all adore so much, can make life so frustrating sometimes. They tell you they love, tell you that in an alternate universe the two of you would be together, drunkenly make out with you in public and sing epic duets together and then at the end of night go have sex with women. Though they profess they are straight, they are just gay enough to keep the hope burning alive that perhaps someday they will decide they like men and women – and luckily being a drag queen, I can fulfill both sets of needs. The best part is when I’m having “girl talk” with the boys and talking about the ridiculous things girl do sometimes – admit it ladies, sometimes it’s a little obnoxious – and I nonchalantly mention that if I was their girlfriend I would blow them every single day and then would grill them a steak. That usually gives them a moment’s pause and makes them think about changing their lifestyle.

Random tangent; I have a fun new show idea, “Bill and Jace.” Best friends from college, who at one time attempted to drunkenly hook up and Bill decided that he was straight and Jace has never really gotten over it. They live in San Francisco in a beautiful little flat. The landlord is this boozehound of a woman named Sharon. Bill has a best friend named Mac, who has an eccentric hippie personality, and repeatedly gets the more stable and boring Bill into trouble. I think we have a hit series on our hands.  

This morning, I was doing some research on a blog entry that I am currently working on. The blog will focus on queer peoples’ fervent love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While on Google search, I started my search phrase with;

“Why do gay people …”. Before I could finish the sentence, Google pre-populated the following popular search queries:

(1)   Why do gay people have lisps?

(2)   Why do gay people get AIDS?

(3)   Why do gay people talk funny?

(4)   Why do gay people want to get married?

It’s not really shocking that this came up – although I am surprised that nobody asked why gay people have an agenda. So on a lark, I thought fair is fair and decided to see what the magnificent Google pre-populated with the search phrase “Why do straight people …?”. Disappointingly thought, nothing came up! However when I broke it down between men and women I got some very interesting results.

When I searched “Why do straight men ….” These are the responses I got:

(1)   Why do straight men like men?

(2)   Why do straight men act gay?

(3)   Why do straight men cross dress?

(4)   Why do straight men flirt with gay men?

Last, but certainly not least, when I searched “Why do straight women” I got these responses:

(1)   Why do straight women like gay men?

(2)   Why do straight women fall for gay men?

(3)   Why do straight women marry gay men?

(4)   Why do straight women love gay men?

What possible conclusions could we draw from Google? Just from this little drag queen’s perspective it seems as though there is an apparent fascination with gay people and our fabulous culture. Although gay people are still sometimes the focus of bullshit and some straight-up hateration,  straight men are attempting to appropriate our culture and transform themselves into fabulous gay creatures. Straight women wish to marry us - seeing us as a more desirable mate than straight men - and procreate gay babies – also known as gaybies – whom they would dress in little sailor suits. I’m just saying …