8 Sex Tribes Most People Don’t Know About
Few people like being stereotyped, but what if they do
it to themselves? Ask any gay guy about common stereotypes, and he’ll scoff at
the ignorance of those who think that all gay men are flamboyant, sassy, and
meet up for brunch every Sunday. But guess what? They’ll turn around and
stereotype themselves more thoroughly than any straight person ever could.
Meet the gay tribes. There are dozens of them, from
gay jocks to art fags. You might run into a bear at the local hardware store,
or see a circuit boy in action while watching ebony cams
on a site like NudeLive. The point is, most people are totally unaware that
these tribes exist, but that doesn’t mean that the gay men themselves are a
secret. In fact, you may actually recognize a few of the names you’ll see below
– even if you had no idea that they were a gay tribe!
While it sounds cool and sexy to describe these groups
as “tribes”, they’re really just a bunch of guys grouped together according to
reductive stereotypes. Here’s the thing about stereotypes, though – sometimes
they’re scarily accurate.
Art Fags
You know the consciously cool gay men who can usually
be found at gallery openings or model parties? Those are the art fags. They’ll
spend hours on a look that says “I woke up like this”, but their hair is always
fastidiously coiffed. They’re also known for their fantastic facial hair and
multiple tattoos, even if it does make them look very idiosyncratic at times. Art
fags wouldn’t be caught dead working a 9 to 5 job; they usually choose
vocations like fashion design, being a band member, or professional
photography.
Gay-Listers
This is the type of guy who uses “summering” as a
verb, and says it without irony. If his apartment hasn’t been featured in
several magazines by now, it probably deserves to be, and he knows it. His
living situation, his job, his wardrobe, and even his hair stylist are way too
cool for average people to comprehend or appreciate. If you hear him claim to
know Madonna, it might actually be true. Their preferred jobs are about what
you’d expect: PR, marketing, advertising, or the entertainment industry. After
all, the designer shoes and personal trainers won’t pay for themselves.
Gay Jocks
The main hallmark of this particular gay tribe is that
they can often pass as straight. In fact, they take pride in it. While they’re
genuinely interested in their sport of choice, their enthusiasm for other
stereotypically manly things can ring a little hollow. Once you know what to
look for, it’s easier to see the manufactured enthusiasm for T-shirts, ball
caps, and fantasy football – although having some post-game beers with the bros
is probably right up their alley. Gay jocks are usually athletic and fairly muscular;
the older jocks, however, may be going to seed.
Twinks
The name has made it into pop culture, but the
stereotype has a lot more to it than that. Twinks tend to have a lot of wild
energy that stems from a messy coming-out experience; while this makes them
immensely attractive to older guys, it also means that they’re risk-takers who
love going against the flow. The average twink is never older than 30, is quite
trim, has little to no facial hair, and probably flips his medium-long blond
fringe every minute or so. Twinks are the life of the party, they love fashion,
and they’re often at the center of all kinds of drama.
Drag Queens
This gay tribe may not be as obscure as some of the
others, but you can’t make a list of gay tribes without including drag queens.
After all, even though they’re just a small minority of the gay population,
they’re one of the most widely known and embraced. And that notoriety is
well-deserved: between the wigs, the makeup looks, the dresses, and the shade
being thrown every which way, drag queens are hard to overlook.
Show Queens
While most gay tribes adhere to a distinct look, show
queens come in every shape and size. They could be a balding middle-aged
theater critic, or a spry young dancer. Their unifying characteristic is a love
of the performing arts, which developed from an early age. Since they couldn’t
find their niche in high school until they ended up in the drama department,
they basically spent their formative years being theater nerds, and it just
never wore off. If you ever need someone to remind you of a song lyric, find a
show queen – he’ll probably know exactly what you’re thinking of, and then sing
you a few extra songs as a bonus.
Circuit Boys
Here’s a really obscure tribe, not least because it
peaked in the 90s and has been dwindling in numbers ever since. Even so, if you
can find a party with cheap cocaine, tribal house music, and lots of muscley
dudes with intricate tattoos, you’ve found the circuit boys. If they aren’t at
an all-night party, they’ll probably be off somewhere waxing their chests or
shaping their eyebrows. It doesn’t even matter that there aren’t many of them
left; they’ll keep doing their thing until they drop.
Bears
It’s all in the name – bears are hairy, solidly built,
and very butch. A few years ago most bears were older guys, but the tribe has
experienced a comeback among the younger generation. There’s actually an entire
social calendar for all things “bear”, including multiple events where they can
gather and enjoy their shared love for beards, beer bellies, and flannel. There
are several subcategories too, including Wolfs, Cubs, Gorillas, and Otters.
How many gay tribes have you bumped into?
Even if you didn’t know the names, you could probably
spot the types. Maybe you know a bear, a twink, or an art fag – and maybe you
should ask them about their gay tribe! And remember, nobody actually takes this
seriously; it’s basically just a huge inside joke that somehow made it into pop
culture.