No, Really . . .

I have to say that watching the pope watch a troupe of beautiful, half-naked male acrobats perform yesterday at the Vatican (see video below) brought to mind the following insights from Ramsay Burt’s book The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities (2007).

Male appearance signifies power and success. . . . [A] man’s appearance tells you what he can do to you or for you. If, however, his appearance is also desirable, he is, from the point of view of a male spectator, drawing attention to the always-already crossed line between homosocial bonding and homosexual sexuality. His appearance, therefore, carries with it, for the male spectator, the threat of revealing the suppressed homosexual component within the links he has with other men and through which he maintains his power and status in patriarchal society.

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
Officially Homophobic, Intensely Homoerotic
Let’s Face It: The Catholic Church is a Gay Institution
A Fact That Should Be Neither Surprising Nor Derogatory
Benedict and Georg
Keeping All the Queens Under the One Roof
Oh, Give It a Rest, Papa!
The Inherent Sensuality of Catholicism
Homosexuality and the Priesthood
The Allure of St. Sebastian
“From Byzantine Daddy to Baroque Twink”: Charles Darwent on the Journey of St. Sebastian
The Archangel Michael as Gay Icon
Weakland, the Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal and Homophobia
A Humorous Look at Internalized Homophobia
A Catholic’s Prayer for His Fellow Pilgrim, Benedict XVI
And a Merry Christmas to You Too, Papa
Catholic Church Can Overcome Fear of Homosexuality