The Butch Factor
Last Saturday LOGO featured the US television premiere of The Butch Factor , a documentary which examines the meaning of masculinity in the gay world. The film was seen at several LGBT film festivals in 2009 and it was also released on DVD late last year but now it's available to a wider audience both at LOGO and its website logotv.com. Directed by Christopher Hines it's a very insightful film that "sets out to deconstruct the stereotypes that have divided the gay community between 'straight-acting' guys and 'femmes' for decades."
The subjects in The Butch Factor include the "butch" types you'd expect to see in a documentary like this--muscle men, cops, rodeo riders, and rugby--as well as the those who are on the opposite end of the gay spectrum. It's likely that you already have your own ideas about what it means to be "a man" but this film is just as likely to change your mind or at least make you think. At the same time The Butch Factor is also fascinating and entertaining.
Among some of the subjects interviewed are David Kopay, the former football player who became an author and gay rights advocate;and Steven Daigle, the gay rodeo star turned reality star turned porn star.
Director Christopher Hines is also an executive producer who is developing a reality series and has formed his own production company Rogue Culture Inc.. to "develop a wide range of programming for gay and straight audiences." More importantly Hines has directed a follow-up to The Butch Factor that will be released this summer. The Adonis Factor takes a look at the gay pursuit of physical perfection and "tackles another core issue for gay men: looks and body image."
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