One problem with stereotyping is that there are so many exceptions. It's a great job for straight guys," said Zach Hench, a straight dancer. You are working around beautiful women all day that are half naked. And I think it's quite silly because let's think about it. "People assume that if you're a male ballet dancer you're gay. While Rainey is gay, the ballet said most of its male dancers are straight. "So what if there are a lot of gay men in dance? I think it's a good thing." It's no big deal, and as a matter of fact, it's almost celebrated if you're gay," said dancer Meredith Rainey.
We visited the Pennsylvania Ballet to ask its male dancers what they thought of the stereotype. But why? "Because dancing is a feminine occupation," he said.
#How many types of gay men are there professional#
And it probably has to do with the causes of sexual orientation and early effects of hormones on the brain," Bailey said.īailey did a survey of professional dancers and found half the men were gay. "There's no obvious reason why sexual orientation should be associated with how masculine or feminine one is, but it is in our species. He says sexual orientation is something people are born with, and this orientation makes some gay men more feminine. Northwestern University psychology professor Michael Bailey has spent years studying human sexuality. The show's most famous character, Jack McFarland, is flamboyantly feminine. And the writers of the show "Will and Grace" made their main gay character, Will Truman, a high-powered attorney.īut the stereotypes do persist. Barney Frank is an openly gay congressman from Massachusetts. Rosie O'Donnell and Ellen DeGeneres are high-profile lesbians working in comedy and daytime television. Increasingly gay people are visible in every profession. "Whether you work, you know, as an artist or a singer or a dancer, those are all really creative places where gay people are embraced," Kressley said Researchers say it's because lesbians, on average, are attracted to more masculine occupations, and gay men tend to prefer more feminine occupations.īut it is true that hostility toward gay people drove many away from some other professions. There is research that suggests gay men do prefer certain professions, like fashion, interior design and hair coloring, and that lesbians are more likely to prefer sports and the military. Not all straight men are bad dressers," he said. But, says Allen, the stereotypes are not always true.
"It's that you're obsessed with fashion, and that you tan a lot and that you color your hair," they said. What, we asked, are the stereotypes about gay men? We talked to Carson Kressley and Ted Allen, two of the stars of the hit television show "Queer Eye" about the stereotypes.