In the past the ‘sissy’ was virtually the only representation of queer male sexuality that ever made it to the screen, and even then from the 1910s to 1950s the idea that they preferred boys to girls had to be hidden. The result was a complex stereotype, that in some movies was a comic character audiences loved to laugh at (and in some cases laugh with), and in others was a dangerous, destructive force out to destroy the ‘normal’ people.
However the rise of gay rights saw the sissy shunned, seen as a derogatory strereotype that de-humanised and de-sexualised gay people. However in the last few years there’s been a bit of a re-evaluation of these characters (which has come in tandem with a re-evaluation of the place of camp in gay culture), with some starting to see them as pioneers and a part of our past we should appreciate rather than denigrate, as well as something that should have a future in film and TV.
One of those with a soft spot for sissies in Matt Baume, who’s produced the great video below that looks at the history of this long-standing stereotype, covering everything from the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard Of Oz and Dr. Smith in Lost In Space, through to the more modern takes on the archetype, such as Jack in Will & Grace.
It’s an interesting video with a bit of history, a bit of sociology, as well as an appreciation that the British do the sissies better than anyone else! Take a look below, it’s well worth it, and may make you think again about what these camp characters did for us, both the good and the bad.
Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation)