Diamonds, dance, glitter and glam decorated the 50 Faggots screening at Center on Halsted as audiences were granted a passport into the world of five effeminate gay men and their lives.
50 Faggots is a new web documentary series that aims to educate, toast and explore the personal and professional lives of effeminate gay men through individual on-the-spot interviews, anecdotes and counterperspectives. Director and founder Randll Jenson welcomed audiences for a special test screening of webisode two of season one, "I Was Just a Poor Lost Boy Myself." Webisode two follows five gay men from varying careers and cities including famous New York City drag queen Callen Tomaszewski also known as Epiphany; professor Roger Goodman of Chicago; David Sotomayor of Chicago, also known as Jade from Ru Paul's Drag Race; publicist and promoter Timur Tugberk of Washington D.C.; and dancer and choreographer Darrell Jones of Chicago. According to Jenson, 50 Faggots was a great way to embrace and showcase a sub-culture of the gay men community—effeminate gay men.
"I think one of the great things about this webisode is that it shows more of the vulnerable moments of being effeminate and gay. However, it also shows how you can be amazing, proud of yourself, and really do great work," said director Jenson.
After the screening, a panel discussion encouraged guests to offer their comments and questions about the film as well as other topics associated with the film's genre and mission. Moderated by Dr. Melissa Bradsaw, the panel included nightlife personality Cyon Flare, director Randell Jenson, the film's executive editor Meredith Zielke, and cast member Roger Goodman. During the discussion, Bradshaw challenged guests to think about the benefits of being too gay and how those benefits translate into the larger society. Audience member James Sims believes that there are both advantages and disadvantages for effeminate gay men.
"I think it's both. A benefit would be that outside people would see you as being confident and assertive. Naturally, people just tend to latch on to others who are like that—the advantage that they [ effeminate gay men ] can exude that confidence. The negative aspect is that some people are homophobic and effeminate gay men can feed into that stereotype that some people have about gay men," said Sims.
Even with the huge support behind the film, there are still viewers who are critical of the title for the film—50 Faggots. Reclaiming, recreating, restructuring, no matter the way director Jenson modifies and explains the meaning behind the title for the film, some still view the title as highly offensive. Guest Jahwaan Bingham strongly felt that the word faggot is highly insulting.
"You can't take a word that is very hurtful and insulting and make it empowering. The word faggot will never be empowering—it's belittling," said Bingham.
Director Jenson believed that even though such viewers—in particular, gay men—may not agree with the film's title, but added that the reality is that gay men are referred to as "faggots" in society. Jenson remembered while filming the documentary that he and his cast were called faggots. Jenson would even joke with his cast and crew that once they were called a faggot, that they were now officially a part of the film. On a serious note, Jenson recalled his mother referring to him as a "faggot" on a regular basis after he came out to his family. According to Jenson, he had to let the power of that word go in order to move on from the hurt.
"Being called a faggot is almost like a rite of passage for gay men," said Jensen. "The word is not offensive to me anymore. However, I do not deny that the word faggot has a real hurt and history with people. I had to move pass the hurt behind the word faggot because once I allowed that to go away, I was able to truly start being who I am. I am so intentional about calling the film 50 Faggots. I will never apologize for it. I will never change the name."
Since its inception in May 2010, 50 Faggots has launched tours in seven different cities as well as participated in over thirty educational and entertainment workshops, seminars, and events. The series has recently been recognized by the Society for Lesbian and Gay Anthropologists, a subcommittee of the American Anthropological Association, for the outstanding ethnographic queer and feminist research according to director Jenson. Currently, 50 Faggots is a non-profit through SocialScrope Productions, the film's production company and is now accepting donations. For more information about 50 Faggots, visit www.50faggots.com .
