title: Possible videogame link to homosexuality?
domain: nytimes.com
text: Possible videogame link to homosexuality?
summary: Possible videogame link to homosexuality?
authors:
publish_date: 03-14-2019
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“Tetris is a viral hook for gay men to watch my videos,” 37-year-old clown performer Fage Aghan told
Digital Trends. “Sometimes the guys tell me it makes them feel good to see a gay guy with beautiful
eyes. It makes them feel so happy to receive a compliment.” The New Zealand-based Fage, who performs
as a clown/accordionist/entertainer, shared his delight about the reaction his videos receive in the
queer community with Digital Trends, but it has led some to speculate whether he may have an agenda
with the clips, which take the form of Vines. “I say this over and over when I explain the
difference between a clip and a Vine: I perform an act,” he wrote. “Everything else you see is just
how people look in that moment.” The speculation is growing online after LGBTQ YouTube personalities
shared stories about encountering gay straight men. “One story that drew quite a lot of attention
was about a guy who had just gotten out of a relationship after watching a video I posted,” video
producer and LGBTQ advocate Amar Bakshi wrote. “He asked if I needed to turn the stream off because
he was gay.” Bakshi, whose main YouTube channel features comedy with a feminist bent, added that of
all the LGBTQ YouTube personalities he knows, “none really get YouTube straight male fans and have
good comedic points.” And they should get the message: LGBTQ YouTube influencers have been sharing
their stories and videos for years now. And whether it’s about comedic genius or popular performance
and performance art, it’s always natural to pay attention to the people being watched. After all,
they are being watched by thousands of people and sharing their joy about what they’re watching,
whether it’s straight people, or straight people being shown images of queer life. “In every group
there are people who are straight, and they might want to watch LGBTQ people do stuff, and that
might make them feel better or just make them feel generally happy,” Matt Beaumont, who blogs about
drag and is openly queer, told The Advocate, a gay-themed news website. “This is why I think it’s
great that straight men are watching vlogs about queer people, because it normalizes it. It makes us
comfortable, and makes that part of what we do feel OK. It’s also a way of poking at straight guys’
insecurities about what they might expect from queer men, or stereotypes that they might think they
might see when they watch.” “It was great to see straight dudes going nuts after watching these
vlogs,” Gabriel Tudisco, a Vlogger who hosts a YouTube series called More Black Gay Men said, “but I
also hope that guys tuning in don’t become afraid to watch queer people, or think there’s some sort
of negative connotation behind it. No one is trying to make you feel anything but absolutely amazing
and loved.” This is perfectly sensible advice — but maybe it also suggests that video creators share
videos depicting LGBTQ life with audiences in hopes of edifying people who’ve been more respectful
of queer actors and video makers. Particularly given how many LGBTQ YouTube content creators are
women. Read the full story at Digital Trends. Related A stunning NASA image shows how solar flare
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my peace’? Artist draws a powerful portrait of discrimination among transgender people