Am I the Antigay?

On Saturday I'm in the mood for shopping. I'm not usually in the mood for clothes shopping so I take advantage of it and head to Oxford Street Paddington with The Frenchman to explore my options. And for this shopping expedition I'm looking and feeling kinda straight. I don't have anything that much coordinates and my hair is kinda unkempt, but I feel comfortable and relaxed and confident. It's a sunny winter day and the street is sparkling. So we enter a shop and there are some okay things, but they're not selling what I'm in the mood for buying, that's okay, and we move along to the second shop where the Frenchman looks for shoes I'm bored and by the third shop I'm desperate to get out. There's dance party music pumping everywhere, I'm not even remotely connecting with any of the not-so-straight-acting guys selling me stuff, and the scents I'm inhaling are über-gay to the point of nausea (are  they pumped through the airconditioning?). How are they über-gay exactly? I don't know but it's an autonomic evoked response so I'm not going to question it. 

I've become the Antigay. 

I'm supposed to feel at home in this gay-friendly strip, but I'm starting to think I need to start buying Bonds clothing or, better still, wearing whatever my husband buys for me. Then I can avoid shopping altogether. 

We leave without buying anything and head out of the GAY ZONE to catch up with a friend. I don't want to go back in there so we eat locally and entertain ourselves outside the Zone. Though it turns out that outside the Zone is becoming more popular with gay men too. But I'm okay with that, in fact I like it. A lot.

Bonds Ad.  45sec

Thing is - I'm still attracted to the guy in the ad. 

I can't truly be the Antigay - maybe it's just a phase.

Fag Tag at the Argyl...

I'm not sure I really like the name - Fag Tag - where a gathering of gay men hits a hitherto straight bar en masse... but I guess Gay Bash wouldn't quite work either... Nevertheless we headed to the Argyl Hotel - brand new in The Rocks, Sydney and my GOD it is spectacular, not just the true mass of gorgeous men who crowded it Sunday evening, but the hotel itself knocked my socks off! Extremely well done, with a combination of old world warmth and charm, and modern style it had me at 'come on in'. Of course it was the filled to the very lofty rafters with cute men, looking decidedly suave and sophisticated - maybe it was the lighting? - but the Frenchman and I were taken aback and risked a hefty parking fine by staying well beyond our planned departure time.

Nice.
We got back to the car and there was no fine!

There was however, a little yellow smiley sticker with 'you've been coolhunted' in it's place - a fun and welcome alternative - so did they like our car? did they see us leaving it looking handsome and stylish on our way to fagtag(I wish) or was it just a clever marketing campaign? (more likely) Yes there was a website attached - but I won't link it here as, well, it seemed to stall my pc - (but if you're feeling daring thecoolhunter.com.au is it).

There was a lot more to like this Weekend than I could possibly write here without boring you all into the next weekend - but alas - I'm ready for the week. There is much to be done!

The art of coolness?

'Are you cool enough?' It's the tag line for my blog and the title of one of my first posts, but am I cool enough? What makes someone cool and someone else not?

The coolest people I know don't know they're cool. They make me want to be with them, they challenge me, they make me laugh. They don't always wear the lastest fashion or drive the poshest car, although some of them will, but they're cool because they like what they're doing and they do it well. They can laugh at themselves, but they make time to look out for others. And while they don't expect anything from anyone - they are the most generous people. Their confidence increases their appeal, as they say it's not what you wear, it's how you wear it.

So what does it take to be cool? I think it's a matter of perspective. Looking for the things that make you happy - not just the things that make you feel good, but the richly rewarding things that make you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. You will know what they are for you - for me they're usually involving interacting with people on a personal level, helping make their world better and happier, and for me I'm lucky as I get to do this with both my personal and professional lives. Then there's swimming and being creative - ie photography and design - which are my Zen spaces... they just make me feel healthy and well. Everyone is different, but that just makes us so much cooler. Trying to be the same as anyone else is pointless, being individual and excelling in what you love is part of being cool, not worrying about what anyone else thinks.

Being cool is not about how you look, it's about how you feel.
Are you cool enough?...
The question might really be, are you happy?

Rules of Attraction

In one of my opening posts, with a pic of Brad Pitt as my example, I pondered the cult of celebrity, and being 'cool'. Today I'm throwing Angelina into the mix, more specifically in her role as Lara Croft - Tomb Raider, because she is quite consistently one of the characters that many gay men find incredibly sexy - in a way they frequently don't with most women. Now I know not everyone will agree with this, but sitting here in my no. 6 on the Kinsey Scale, I know there is truth in it. It might be her masculinity (interestingly coupled with quite some femininity), the fact that she's playing a typically male role (and some will find triggers to memories of Raiders of the Lost Ark...) or maybe she's just universally sexy. Perhaps its just the accent she does for the role, I do love accents... Maybe the straight or not-so-gay men and women reading this might like to shed some light on the matter. I also personally find Cameron Diaz quite sexy in a similar way - but I'm not quite sure how I can explain it - I'm certainly not falling off the gay wagon, but if either of them were in the next wagon passing by - I know I'd be tempted...

Are YOU cool enough?

Why do we strive for conformity? - We buy the brands that 'celebrities' buy, watch the tv shows everyone watches, go on holidays to the places that are popular... I guess if people look good in what they're wearing or driving or holidaying... then we think we might also look good - and become as popular or glamorous... I find increasingly the most attractive people are the ones who find their own way - defy the crowds - wear things a little different - do things that aren't exactly commonly done, but it works for them - and they are more interesting and appealing.

Are you cool enough?

Chances are if you don't really know or don't really care - then you probably are.