The Single-Color Rainbow

[Update, 1/6/2007: An anonymous person commented that one of Fleshbot's "Top 10" is actually latino rather than white. However, I think you will see that my argument still holds true throughout this post.]




Yesterday, MOC Blog (one of my favorite blogs and a daily visit) pointed out Gay Fleshbot's list of Top Ten Crush Objects of 2006. As is so typical of such lists, it was heavily weighted toward the 18% of the world's population that is white. In fact, eight of the ten models chosen were white, with just a token Asian guy and Black guy. Now, don't get me wrong, I think Fleshbot is a great site, and they have said kind words about OYGA in the past. In fact, they have had 2 posts already in 2007 focused on Asian men, so they are already more balanced than the vast majority of sites out there.

Too many gay men see the world through Abercrombie- colored glasses and never realize the beauty that walks past them each day shaded in beautiful browns, yellows, reds, and blacks.But, the gay internet in general is a reflection of an infection that extends throughout the gay community around the world. It is the thinking that, if you climbed to the peak of Beauty Mountain, you would find a 22-year-old, 6-foot 2-inch, slim, toned, blond-hair, blue-eyed white guy with a 9-inch dick reigning as king, surrounded by near-clones of himself. This idea, originating in the prejudices of the past and propagated throughout the world by the studios of Hollywood, California, has so infiltrated contemporary thinking that most gay guys view the world in this manner without any suspicion that other perspectives even exist. They see the world through Abercrombie-colored glasses and never realize the beauty that walks past them each day shaded in beautiful browns, yellows, reds, and blacks.

What makes this narrow view of the world even more unbelievable is that nature practically screams out every moment of every day the message of the beauty of variety. The most dazzling star of the solar system, our sun, joins forces with the water that brings us life to broadcast from the highest points in the sky that multi-colored emblem of beauty, a symbol that we claim represents the highest ideals of the gay community. But would a rainbow inspire awe if it was solid orange? Perhaps we would note its presence, but do you think people would pull over in their cars and get out quickly to take pictures of a solid orange band? No, it is the diversity of colors that draws our eyes upward.

And which color of the rainbow is the one that makes it beautiful? Which one is the most important? Or conversely, which one can be removed without the rainbow losing any of its effect? At the Gay Games in Chicago last summer, one of the most memorable moments of the week was when all the participants stood together in Soldier Field during the opening ceremonies and the lights were shut off, revealing an illuminated gay pride flag created by thousands of tiny colored pen lights.



It was a breathtaking effect, and yet, it was mitigated slightly by our realization that there was no yellow band in the flag. To this day I do not know why there was no yellow band (perhaps the manufacturer didn't make yellow pen lights?). And although it did not ruin the effect completely, it was obvious to all that something was missing that should be there.

This basic understanding does not stop with the rainbow. It continues throughout nature, in nearly every conceivable corner of the planet and beyond. And humans understand it almost instinctively. Can you imagine:

• A "Top 10 Most Beautiful Flowers" list consisting of a daffodil, a lily, and 8 roses?
• A "Top 10 Most Beautiful Animals" list with a giraffe, a peacock, and 8 leopards?
  
• A "Top 10 Most Beautiful Places on Earth" list with one location in China, one in Kenya, and 8 in the United States or Europe?
  

Each of these lists would be instantly recognized by anyone as being imbalanced and incomplete. And yet, many of the same people who would mock the absurdity of these lists go through life applying just such a standard in their estimation of human beauty.

So, to Fleshbot, I love you guys and think your blog is great, but I'm just afraid your list is a reflection of a cultural myopia that ought to be addressed patiently but firmly. I hope you will use the excellent platform you have built both to entertain and inform (which you do every day in a superior way) but also to educate and contribute to an essentially-needed shift in cultural views of beauty throughout the gay communities around the world.

That is why this blog exists. It is not to promote Asian men as somehow more beautiful than others, but rather to contribute in a small way to the understanding that beauty comes in many forms, and Asian men are but one example of that fact.

So, in tribute to the 6 out of 10 people in the world who are Asian, here is the "OYGA Top 10 Asian Crushes" for your enjoyment. I think any of these guys could hold their own against the monochromatic competition!

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9.


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1. Jerome Ortiz - still the most beautiful man in the world (and one crush where Fleshbot and I are in complete agreement!)


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