The mysterious Duralex sends me an interesting comment to a posting below deserving of a wider audience ...
"Such "outings" as Lord Browne's or Peter Mandelson's wouldn't be possible in the French influenced area, for example, where homosexuality is not an issue. Do you know that the mayor of Paris is openly gay, and constantly re-elected? I might be wrong, but my bet is that no French tabloid would be interested in publishing the kind of "revelations" Jeff Chevalier sold to the Mail on Sunday. Homophobia is a big taboo in the French media. A positive taboo, for once. :-) The situation is not so good in Québec (probably the American influence) but André Boisclair, the handsome gay leader of the PQ, is a well-respected man, and that's encouraging.
I don't think the problem in the UK is only a social class problem. If the popular press considers a "gay scandal" is a valuable selling topic, that implies massive approval from the British population. IMHO, of course... "
4 comments:
Mysterious, moi ? ;-)
Hum, hum, Arcati and Duralex – ma che belli, questi fidanzati! ;-) – it's not that I want to disturb you, but interesting though your conversation is, I’m afraid it’s based on a slightly false idea of Lord Browne’s "drama".
From what I read here and there, this is not at all a gay outing case. For a good reason: Browne is not a closeted gay man by far. His relationship with Chevalier was anything but clandestine and shameful. On the contrary: the young man had an obligation to attend the dinners, parties and operas with his powerful employer, they officially travelled together and the nature of their partnership was no secret. Apparently, the only thing Browne wished to hide was the way he had met his gorgeous assistant and lover, because he couldn’t honorably confess that Jeff actually was a prostitute he hired illegally on a specialized website. When he brought that lawsuit against the press group which was about to publish Chevalier’s indiscretions, he came to court as an openly gay man ; but he lied about the most pathetic and less romantic part of the story for legal, social, moral and psychological reasons, without realizing that lying to the court would be more harmful than telling the truth plainly. All this has nothing to do with him being gay or not. The straightest man using the “personal services” of a female prostitute would probably have done the same, in his place.
Now, I agree that the press tends to make a “gay scandal” out of a case that is basically nothing else but a trivial and sordid blackmail story. What makes it fascinating is the fact it happened in the highest circles of power and wealth, between a glass of champagne and a bowl of caviar. Splendor and misery, as Duralex said. Also, greatness and decline for Jeff Chevalier, who certainly didn’t think ahead about the trouble he would get himself into by ruining the reputation of his “profession”. They say he suddenly disappeared from Toronto. I’m suspecting there’s a mob contract on his head, poor foolish guy… As for Lord Browne, don't worry about him, he'll be quite safe, thank God. :-)
Having read some articles in the canadian press, and a digest of Mr. Chevalier's so-called revelations, I'm quite convinced Lorenzo's analysis is a masterpiece of journalistic objectivity.
It's a bit hard to admit having been manipulated by the low press. Nonetheless, I don't take back my critic about that gay outing obsession in the anglo-saxon tabloids... and their prejudiced readers.
Well, if my analysis is a masterpiece of objectivity, this is a masterpiece of hypocrisy:
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2070836,00.html
Are all the english tabloïds that vicious, really?
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