The Gayest Football Locker Room Ever
Hump Day Motivation 09/22/21
Welcome to the Hump Day Motivation (HDM), a bi-weekly edition of Gangletown. Hump Day is all about the things that make me happy, hopeful, and horny. So buckle up, and enjoy a mid-week digital wiggle!
Books: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
Y’all. Stella finally got her fuckin’ groove back. Since our last HDM, I plowed through four audiobooks. For very very very different reasons, I’d be happy to recommend all of them (see notes below), but I desperately need to talk to someone about the last one: Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. Please read it and then call me? (Serious Content Warning: violence against animals. If you are very sensitive to that subject, please do NOT read this.)
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - gorgeous, heartbreaking, and beautifully told. Some complicated subject matter around losing a parent (to cancer). It will also make you hungry. Zauner’s use of food in this book almost made me book a flight straight to Korea so that I could get dinner.
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix - This is a slasher movie in book form. It’s campy, bloody, and fun. It’s not the most well-written thing in the world, but it has great momentum, and the “whodunnit” is a fun game to play. Great for fans of the slasher-movie genre.
Please Don’t Sit on my Bed in your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson - I want to be Phoebe Robinson when I grow up. Her voice is sharp, her mind is playful without being stupid, and she brings fabulous light to real-world issues in this book of essays. For something that is “light” without being frivolous, this is a beauty.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder - Ma’am. I need to talk about this. Reductively, this is the story of a woman who happens to be a new mother. Her experience as a mother and the expectations our (USAmerican) society puts on mothers is fully focused. It’s an exploration of anger and nature. The animalistic nature of mothering in the story causes this mother to believe that she is turning into an actual dog.
IRL: Only an Octave Apart
I was fortunate to see the first preview of Justin Vivian Bond and Anthony Roth Constanzo’s Only an Octave Apart. The new show is part cabaret, part opera, part theatrical, and much better experienced IRL than it ever could be explained. What I will say, though, is that you should certainly experience it live in person if you can. It was one of those shows that made me say, “ah! Yes! This is why I’m in New York! Where else could I do this on a Tuesday?” But be not afraid if you’re not NYC local; there are also a couple of live broadcasts.
For a taste of what you might experience there, you can listen to the first song from their album together here. BUT! If it doesn’t seem like “your vibe,” don’t use it as an excuse. See the show. It’s fabulous.**
**Speaking of the word “Fabulous” - I’ve started using it lately, and I love it. For years (my whole life), I’ve avoided it for fear of sounding gay (EYEROOLLLLLLL), and I realized that like…two weeks ago. Internalized homophobia? Understandable, but decidedly not fabulous.
Music: Mild High Club - Going Going Gone
The new album is a stunner. Jazzy, and vybey. It’s fantastic, and yesterday I listened to it three times while I worked.
Thirst: Lil Nas X
By now, it is a known fact that Lil Nas X (LNX) is a total freakin’ powerhouse. By some accounts, he’s also a powerbottom. And you know what? We celebrate that! Last week, LNX dropped his debut album Montero, and with it came a slew of tertiary content for us to feast upon.
Exhibit A: The music video for “That’s What I Want”
STOP. Did you watch it? Did you notice that this is the *thirst* section of Gangletown’s HDM? If you want to share in the thirst, watch it.
Thwarting the traditional stereotype of football players being homophobic nightmare people (many are, some aren’t), LNX turns the locker room into, perhaps, the horniest place on earth. Actually, I should not say that he is the one to turn it into the horniest place; objectively speaking, locker rooms are already rather horny places. Even the straight ones are weirdly charged with pants-tightening energy. So, LNX didn’t do the turning, but he did turn up the dial on the whole situation.
For real, though, can you imagine being a teenager and seeing this? Many of us here in Gangletown grew up with some version of MTV where we saw the ever-present sexuality of Hot musicians like Janet Jacksons, Madonnas, Britneys, and D’Angelo (omfg that video…), and that was totally fine. We saw sexuality in this format, and it was culture, and it was great. But we did not have two beautiful young Black men going to funky town in the gym locker room playing on TRL. Representation like this is game-changing and hugely influential. It is the kind of thing that helps to demystify queer sex, and I do not doubt that LNX’s brazen honesty is literally saving the lives of countless young people who would otherwise feel alone in their desires.
Woof.
What’s Next?: SURVIVOR
Season 41 is premiering tonight at 8 pm. So who is watching with me?
If you love what’s happening here, will you consider sharing this week’s gangletown (or another piece from the archives) directly with one person? It is the best way to help as gangletown grows. You can also follow & Tag me on social media @DKimps.
