riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (12/19/83)
Okay, "Felix", I'll bite (so to speak :-> ) -- here is a silly question off the
top of my head.
At every university I've ever seen, the men's room walls were covered with
scribbled sexual invitations. Some of them seemed so clearly ludicrous that
they they were obviously the tedious fantasies of the usual uninspired grafitti
artists. Others may have been for real.
So my silly question is this: at most universities, are the restroom walls
really an important channel of communication for gay men? Or is most of what
one reads nothing but the BSing of frustrated straights? (Some of whom may not
be quite as straight as they'd like to believe, but that's another story.)
My question is not as idle as it seems, for I suspect that the aura of the
seedy pick-up spot (whether mythical or real) surrounding such places has had
its harmful effect on the image of gays held by many straights. Such grafitti
usually draws replies in the form of violent anti-gay invective and inspires
at least a bit of apprehension in anyone suffering from the homophobia which
is prevalent in our society. There are many men who prefer to avoid public
restrooms altogether for precisely this reason.
Any comments? (And, please, no flames -- if you think there are more important
things to talk about on net.motss, then I agree wholeheartedly, and eagerly
await your contributions.)
----
Prentiss Riddle
{ihnp4,seismo,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddleciaraldi@rochester.UUCP (Mike Ciaraldi) (12/20/83)
When I was at Cornell (1968-1975) the only place there was a lot of gay solicitation graffiti in mens rooms was in Olin Library, the graduate research library. The othjer libraries, classrooms, and dorms were almost free of it, instead having either jokes, political observations, or off-color remarks about straight sex. Maybe things have changed since then, but I always wondered what it was about tht one rest room. Mike Ciaraldi ciaraldi@rochester