Wednesday, May 12, 2004
What's with my butt?
Okay, so last night I get off the train and someone follows, kind of close as I walk toward home. I get kind of suspicious and move slightly to the right so I can see what this guy's up to. We near a corner and he turns to me an then says, with complete earnest, 'you have a nice ass.' I stop dead in my tracks, I must have looked like I don't speak English. He says again 'yeah,' and nods his head as if he'd just reassessed and reached the same conclusion, then continues walking around the corner. Now, I live in Harlem--and not an ethnically diverse section of Harlem, either. I'm one of probably 30 white people within an 8 block radius. People don't generally look at me unless it's with some kind of curiosity as to why the hell this white boy is in their largely black neighborhood. But, for some reason, this guy thought it was okay to remark about my ass in the open air and it has forced me to realize some things and question others.
First off: though I'm not surprised that my room mate and I are not the only homosexuals in that neighborhood, I'm certainly surprised that anyone would be so bold in that area. Why would he do that? Is he so desperate for attention that he's got to hit on me? I've seen how men eye up girls in my neighborhood and give them cat calls, was it the same kind of deal?
Second: I'm surprised that with the amount of other people in the area that MY butt would be so enticing to him. Not to sound racist, but again, my neighborhood has a lot more black people than white, and, not to be racist still, aren't black people known to have nicer butts than their white counterparts? That's at least what I've been told. Why look at my butt when there's all this...for lack of a better word 'ghetto booty' around? Perhaps this is what it feels to be racially fetishized.
Third: Do I really have a nice butt? I consulted several sources. First I asked my best friend, Evan. He said that he couldn't really say, given that he's my best friend and all. He did tell me, though, that a friend of mine, José had said to him that I had a nice butt, which is unlike white people. (Interesting!) I looked in the mirror, wearing the same pants that I was when the man called attention to it and didn't really see anything to write home about. So I asked my friend and co-worker Ryan who said that I didn't have a butt really at all. I disagree, having known a couple buttless people in my life and knowing that I at least have more than they do. (More interesting still!) And then I remembered that recently an industry person asked me if I was a dancer because he noticed that the pants I was wearing were showing off my 'dancer butt'. Now, perhaps this was a come-on from a kind of smarmy industry guy who wanted to see how far he could get with the dumb blond. But why my butt? I've got nice eyes, too!
Still, though, can all of this attention really all just be coincidence? Do I really have a notable butt?
If I had a picture, I'd let you see and you could tell me what you think, but oh well...I'm not that kinda guy.
We'll get down to the bottom of this some how, though...Mark my words!
Okay, so last night I get off the train and someone follows, kind of close as I walk toward home. I get kind of suspicious and move slightly to the right so I can see what this guy's up to. We near a corner and he turns to me an then says, with complete earnest, 'you have a nice ass.' I stop dead in my tracks, I must have looked like I don't speak English. He says again 'yeah,' and nods his head as if he'd just reassessed and reached the same conclusion, then continues walking around the corner. Now, I live in Harlem--and not an ethnically diverse section of Harlem, either. I'm one of probably 30 white people within an 8 block radius. People don't generally look at me unless it's with some kind of curiosity as to why the hell this white boy is in their largely black neighborhood. But, for some reason, this guy thought it was okay to remark about my ass in the open air and it has forced me to realize some things and question others.
First off: though I'm not surprised that my room mate and I are not the only homosexuals in that neighborhood, I'm certainly surprised that anyone would be so bold in that area. Why would he do that? Is he so desperate for attention that he's got to hit on me? I've seen how men eye up girls in my neighborhood and give them cat calls, was it the same kind of deal?
Second: I'm surprised that with the amount of other people in the area that MY butt would be so enticing to him. Not to sound racist, but again, my neighborhood has a lot more black people than white, and, not to be racist still, aren't black people known to have nicer butts than their white counterparts? That's at least what I've been told. Why look at my butt when there's all this...for lack of a better word 'ghetto booty' around? Perhaps this is what it feels to be racially fetishized.
Third: Do I really have a nice butt? I consulted several sources. First I asked my best friend, Evan. He said that he couldn't really say, given that he's my best friend and all. He did tell me, though, that a friend of mine, José had said to him that I had a nice butt, which is unlike white people. (Interesting!) I looked in the mirror, wearing the same pants that I was when the man called attention to it and didn't really see anything to write home about. So I asked my friend and co-worker Ryan who said that I didn't have a butt really at all. I disagree, having known a couple buttless people in my life and knowing that I at least have more than they do. (More interesting still!) And then I remembered that recently an industry person asked me if I was a dancer because he noticed that the pants I was wearing were showing off my 'dancer butt'. Now, perhaps this was a come-on from a kind of smarmy industry guy who wanted to see how far he could get with the dumb blond. But why my butt? I've got nice eyes, too!
Still, though, can all of this attention really all just be coincidence? Do I really have a notable butt?
If I had a picture, I'd let you see and you could tell me what you think, but oh well...I'm not that kinda guy.
We'll get down to the bottom of this some how, though...Mark my words!
