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Pro Wrestling's Closet

 Gay Characters Are Still Just the Butt of Jokes

By John McClelland
For Outsports.com

The World Wrestling Federation has made its reputation by developing characters based on an exaggeration of everyday life. The WWF likes to push the envelope as far as it can without overstepping its boundaries. And homosexuality is no different.

We are reminded once more, with the introduction of the newest gay stereotypes in the WWF in 2002, Billy & Chuck, that homosexuality in the squared circle is treated as nothing but a big taboo joke.

Characters have always abounded in pro wrestling. The badass biker, the cute-looking rock star, evil clowns and 1930s-style bullies are some examples. The one character that has been a constant is the "flamboyant" wrestler. Wrestlers dating back to the invention of television in the 1950s have used this gimmick either to gain popularity as being outlandish or to get a negative response from the crowd. However, the wrestler's character is never identified as gay. He is always flamboyant, colorful, "good friends" with his tag team partner, or "brothers" with his tag team partner, but never gay.

In the 1950s, Gorgeous George hit the wrestling circuit with a long-flowing robe and bleached blond curls. He was also accompanied by a male valet, who would spray the ring with perfume before George would enter. The American public had never seen anything quite like this and George was summarily booed everywhere (even though he is credited for starting pro wrestling's television popularity). He was considered to be flamboyant for his era, and never once was mentioned that his character could be homosexual. Public reaction to such a character was no more than the mere booing of the bad guy. Whether it was the promoters' intent at the time or not, Gorgeous George was a flaming queen, along the lines of Liberace, but with muscles.

In the late `60s and `70s, a gorgeous body builder from England transformed himself into "Exotic" Adrian Street. His blond locks were almost always kept in Pippi Longstocking-like pigtails and his wardrobe usually consisted of a leather harness and bright tights. Street also took to wearing makeup on his face, which is something wrestlers before this time would have never done. Kissing the lips and patting the asses of his male opponents made for somewhat of an odd scene; however it was never mentioned that his character could be gay. Street was a cross between a drag queen and a street fighter, as he acknowledges on his Web site. The self-proclaimed "queen bitch of pro wrestling" is a married man, however his character may have begged to differ. Crowd reaction to Adrian was somewhat mixed and most people were almost too shocked to have a negative reaction.

In recent years , the now defunct AOL Time Warner-owned WCW touted a tag team referred to as the ``West Hollywood Blonds,'' Lenny and Lodi. They even went so far as to wear tights that were purple in color with pink triangles. The boys were put into situations that served up heavy gay innuendo, such as talking to each other about things the audience wasn't clued in on and having them debate whether or not they should come out and say what they were thinking. During this conversation, the camera panned to a door that read "closet." However, WCW never made a statement that the duo was gay.

They were planning to end their storyline by saying that they were actually blood brothers and that was really their big secret. However, the ending of their story was derailed by the public protest of GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation). GLAAD became aware of the team, and claimed their portrayal and storylines amounted to gay bashing. However, WCW stuck to its contention that they were not gay characters and cut their reign as a team short.

Simulated Sexual Positions

In 2002, the WWF presents Billy & Chuck, the current world tag team champions. They strut side-by-side and compliment each other's muscular body, while coming to the ring with music in tune to a boy band song. The official WWF biography of Billy says this: ``For some reason, there's a spring in his step--and a glimmer in his eye- when he strolls out to the ring with his latest partner, Chuck. Like Billy, Chuck is another phenomenal athlete who is undeniably handsome.''

One skit had them warming up in the locker room by doing groin stretches that had them in a position that simulated they could be "entered" from behind. On a recent episode of ``Smackdown,'' Billy consoled his bruised and battered Chuck, as Chuck rested with his face in Billy's crotch, hugging him around the ass. To top it off, they now have enlisted the service of a "stylist" as their ring manager.

While it is true Billy and Chuck are not the silly poofs that old characters have been, they are still examples of what gay men are portrayed as in American society. It's a step in the right direction to move closer to regular-looking guys, but it is still way too homophobic.

These flamboyant characters stem from the homophobia that exists in the real life of pro wrestlers. Wrestlers have always had a close-knit society, dating back to the times when wrestling was a sideshow at the circus. Keeping their secrets was what was once known as ``kayfaybe,'' which in this day and time almost no longer exists. To kayfaybe was to tell the story of the good and bad guys and to actually prove to the audience you were the character you were portraying. As time went on, the machismo of the men behind the scenes naturally thought it would be entertaining to have the sissy queer you could all make fun of and hate while he battled the good-looking good guy in the ring. Thus was born this idea of wrestlers becoming more and more over the top and flamboyant, sometimes almost to the point of androgyny.

The down side to the kayfaybe was that outside the ring, you were and will always be "one of the boys." Being one of the boys doesn't include being a gay man. Wrestling is as much a professional sports atmosphere as any, and the grunting he-men have as many homophobic attitudes as anyone in the sports world. I mean, who wants a queer grabbing you on the ass and pulling your tights?

Waiting for a Real-Life Character

What the wrestling world fails to grasp is that there are gay men among them. Lots of gay men, who are forced to live in the closet for fear of being ridiculed by their colleagues and being held back in their careers for being something that goes against everything being "one of the boys" is all about. Homosexuals have not been portrayed in a positive manner in the ring, and thus the fans never stop to think whether gays are good people or not.

To come out in wrestling even today may mean career suicide. I should know. One friend of mine is gay and probably will never get to come out while working in the wrestling business. I would have had to go through the same thing, had I kept pursuing my own wrestling training as well.

I am still waiting on the day that a character comes out to the world and to himself. Not every gay man is closeted, so why should every gay character be? Maybe one day one of the real life gay wrestlers will have the courage to become a characterization of his true self. He could become a gay version of ``Stone Cold'' Steve Austin. Austin is merely an extension of his real self. So maybe we need the beer drinkin' guy who watches football on the weekends, but has a boyfriend at home. Or a good-looking All-American boy who has dimples in his chin but doesn't prance around the ring like Jack from Will & Grace.

Maybe one day it won't be career suicide to come out in the pro wrestling business. I am sure WWF Chairman Vince McMahon and his wife and CEO Linda McMahon are smart enough to realize that by having a gay character who isn't a stereotypical "flaming queen," they might be opening up to a whole new market. Is the WWF ready for that in 2002? That remains to be seen. But it isn't going to happen based on the trend for the last 50 years. It is going to take guts, just like anyone coming out for the first time. It is going to take the innovation that has been the WWF's namesake for decades. For now, we'll have to settle for Billy & Chuck.

John McClelland lives in Dallas, the former independent wrestling home of Billy & Chuck's current stylist, Rico Constantino.

May 1, 2002