Jack Malebranche is not gay. He is not effeminate. He is not a feminist. He is not the Gay Movement. He is not lesbian/bisexual/gay/transgender/transexual (LBGTT).
He loves men. He is masculine. He accomplishes things. He admires real men. He takes charge of his own life. He is honest, respectful, and honorable. (So he says.) He gets along with other men --gay, bi, and straight. (We hope.) He is an androphile --a masculine man who loves masculine men.
This is a quick summary of Androphilia: A Manifesto --Rejecting the Gay Identity, Reclaiming Masculinity by Jack Malebranche (Baltimore, MD: Scapegoat, 2006, ISBN 0-9764035-8-7). He says androphiles are ill-served by a gay movement that favors feminism, effeminacy, and leftist politics. He even rejects the term gay as too feminine, decadent, and superficial.
Jack Malebranche --whose pen name is a running sexual joke-- believes the present gay community is gossipy, divided, valueless, and sexually irresponsible. He calls on androphiles to live more honorable lives within the larger world of men. (Confucius would be proud.) He also asks them to distance themselves from groups they have little in common with: lesbians, drag queens, transgenders, transsexuals, and flaming faggots. Fraternity yes, LBGTT no.
Androphilia is a great read. It's no surprise that the book's becoming something of a fucking bible among androphiles. I do have a problem with the andro terms, though. Androphilia sounds like a disease, and androphile reminds people of sick, sleazoid, perverted pedophiles. No, man, gay is here to stay. It's better to jack with existing terms, such as butch fag, gym queer, masculine gay, and hypermasculine gay.
Malebranche's Androphilia also repeats history's mistakes. The book comes dangerously close to the homophile groups of the 50s and 60s. Homophiles said we were normal, we were like everyone else, and we should keep all expressions of homosexuality private, but damned if this self-imposed invisibility didn't desexualize a sexual movement! The desire for acceptance and assimilation actually expanded the closet.
We masculine gays should embrace the larger world of men, but we can only go so far. We're not like everyone else. When we leave our straight friends, we chat up men, we date men, and we get laid with men. We don't have to hang out with LBGTT organizations, but we shouldn't abandon all their political goals, either.
Gay marriage may not be our thing. (Hell! Even straight men get fucking bored with their marriages.) On the other hand, fighting discrimination is a manly thing to do. After all, the Gay Movement may be somewhat hostile toward traditional masculinity, but a political weapon is a political weapon. We can deal with the dandies when we have to. We can win the war. We can build a better world for manly gay motherfuckers.
(Editor's Note: The third edition is now available through a different publisher, Dissonant Hum.)
Photo Credits:
Jack Malebranche 1 -- Publicity shot;
Androphilia 2 -- Jack Malebranche, Baltimore, MD: Scapegoat, 2006;
Military Trim 3 -- Unknown origin;
Triathlete 4 -- Marine Lance Corporal Anthony M. Madonia at the
2005 Catoctin Mountain Triathlon in Thurmont, Maryland;
Public domain photo by Corporal Earnest J. Barnes;
Hot Tanktop Dude 5 -- Model Leighton Stultz.
Text © 2008 Masculine Gay Guys
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