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'Fag Hag' No Longer Hip Label

Gay men slowly becoming less of an 'accessory' for women

By Evann Gastaldo, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 18, 2009 4:25 PM CDT

(Newser) – Thanks to Will & Grace, the young gay men of a decade ago were turned “into something unexpected: a must-have item,” writes Thomas Rogers for Salon. Though he was “jockish, pop-culturally illiterate, and dressed in mom jeans,” Rogers “remained a strangely alluring target for a large number of straight women”—and he didn’t find it entirely enjoyable. Thankfully, though, “the fag hag is becoming a relic of another era.”

Now that Hollywood has brought “nuanced and red-blooded gay characters” to the big and small screens, “fag hag” is like “a designer label that's faded from fashion.” Gay kids are coming out at younger ages to greater social acceptance—“in many cases, they'll be taking their boyfriend, not their female BFF, to the prom.” Which means the “fag hags” will, hopefully start “calling themselves something more accurate. Like ‘friend.’”

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (2)]

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker, right, and actor Willie Garson are seen at the MTV Movie Awards on Sunday June 1, 2008 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Debra Messing poses with her old co-star from the television series "Will and Grace," Eric McCormack. (AP Photo/USA Network -Trae Patton)

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If part of the glue that holds together the fag hag relationship is the gay man's need for refuge from the mean jocks and the judgmental parents, what happens when the jocks and the parents stop caring? - Thomas Rogers

Nowadays, when a grown woman describes herself as a 'fag hag,' it feels like she's throwing around a designer label or telling me she knows a celebrity—a kind of social conspicuous consumption. - Thomas Rogers

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

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'Fag Hag' No Longer Hip Label