The Haunting Melody of Homosexuality

Brokeback Mountain is the film portrayal of the lives of two homosexual men (Ennis Del Mar, portrayed by Heath Ledger and Jack Twist, by Jake Gyllenhaal). The story begins with the men as teenage ranchers herding sheep in 1963 Wyoming. Driven by the bitter night cold to share a tent they decide to follow the old Indian adage, "One woman is better than two blankets on a cold night". Except that in this case, you will view two gays engaging in vigorous anal intercourse. Suddenly and without reason.

The next morning the incident is treated almost as if it never happened, the men finish the job and part ways. Both men marry their pre-sodomy sweethearts and have children. Fast track to four years later. Jack suddenly pops up into the movie again and Ennis rushes to embrace and kiss him. Sadly, Ennis wife Alma, manages to witness the whole thing a few yards away through a screen door.

Thus invigorated to pursue each other, over the next twenty years they take "fishing trips" to engage in adulterous homosexual behavior abandoning the warmth of the bed of their respective women. Jack is happy to abandon his wife, but Ennis has a bit of a hang-up. In a vignette replayed from his childhood, his father shows him the battered and castrated body of a gay rancher to impress his young mind. He is a bit reticent, not about the behavior, but about being found out. His wife Alma takes care of it for him and divorces him. Jack keeps the shell of his marriage as his wife distances herself from him. Duh! Go figure. In the end, Jack succumbs to a rather suspicious "accident" and poor Ennis is left living in substandard housing, hanging onto Jack's old shirt and the remnants of what looks like a shattered life. (Not to mention all the lives he shattered along the way.)

Now I hate to sound mean, but it sounds like the empathy Hollywood wants us to feel is a bit misplaced. Don't you think that these men took the deck of life and dealt the hand poorly? If you come to the end of your own days and it looks like a big fat "ZERO" as to the attendance number at your own funeral, who is to blame? We need to stop and think about homosexuality and what it brings to the table of life. Instead of allowing gays to cry "Foul" every single time this issue is discussed we need to not let them to wave the yellow flag at us. Who are these people to sideline every opinion but their own? Who designated them the official referee in the game of life? So here are some of my thoughts as to how the choice of homosexuality can effect men.

Gender Fragmentation: Yep, Hollywood can use the mantra "Gender is just a concept" all they want. It is rather like saying the sun is just a concept and does not exist. Gender does exist with the chromosomal combo of conception. And as many neonates look genderless initially just peek into the diaper to confirm your suspicion. It you see a public water works, ya have a boy. So spare me the deception on that one.

Abandonment: Naturally, the film does not address the issue of the abandonment of the wives and children in this film. What?! Is this not an important issue? I mean can we just discuss for a moment how Alma must have felt and her own suffering? You know, if my husband boot scoots off to the bed of another woman at least I can size up the competition. Prettier, more fun-loving, nicer than "moi"? I can work with that if I want. But I cannot compete with a man. So where is the sympathy for the women that bore children to Ennis and Jack? And where is the sympathy for the welfare of the young when they figure out that Daddy is running off with another man? If there is no pre-existing marriage, what about abandonment of parental values? And conversely, the abandonment the gay may feel when his own family ostracizes him? Why are we afraid to talk about these things?

Loneliness: This is a big one in my book. Have you noticed that there is almost a palpable loneliness in this crowd? Sure, they are the life of the party. But laughter can be pseudo-happiness. Deep and abiding joy is harder to fake. The loneliness of this lifestyle can almost be touched at times. I have had long discussions with gay men regarding their partners, sexual desire, home life, you name it. The ache, is there.

Progeny: Oops! Dare I say it? There can be a procreation problem with this lifestyle. Barrenness is guaranteed 100 percent. No need to delve further as we are all adults here. But we now see the huge push for gays to adopt children.

So in looking at the emotions which ripple across the homosexual landscape of society I have to ask a blunt question: Is there a better way for the sons of men to live? Should this be promoted as a healthy lifestyle or discouraged as a poor choice? Can we talk honestly to our young men in strong terms regarding the life long repurcussions where cost will ultimately and grossly outweigh "benefit"? In the end, we pretty much make our own misery. That goes for heterosexuals too. But overall I have seen that homosexuality is not a happy song. It is a haunting melody.

Tammy Swofford
tammyswofford@yahoo.com