After all – it involves two men, so is that more masculine that having a man and a woman?
In an interview with The Evening Standard featuring McKellen and his BFF Patrick Stewart, Ian says, “I’ve probably played even more military men than Patrick. Gandalf is a soldier, Magneto is a soldier, Richard III, Coriolanus, Macbeth. And I think the reason is because I want my revenge on them all…The people who start wars, perpetuate them and glory in them. ‘God save our gracious Queen, send her victorious?’ I’m sorry. What does that mean?… If that’s what masculinity is then I don’t want any part of it at all.”
McKellen then adds, “I think gay men are more masculine than straight men. Because, guess what? They love other men!…So when bully boys say: ‘Faggot!’ you say, ‘That’s right, I’m with the boys.’”
It’s not a comment that academics will be using in years to come as a profound statement on gender theory, but he’s sort of got a point, even if it ignores a lot of the issues.
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