A Higher Glyphic

Limp wrists, lisp speaking, tight jeans, make-up wearing, flaming and oversexed; these are just a few of the stereotypes attached to many people's perception of the average homosexual in America.

Iain Perdue is a 20 year-old homosexual man living in Chicago who does not fall into any of these categories; and he is only one of many of the homosexual men in the gay Chicago community who does not identify themselves with these archaic, preconceived ideas.
Perdue has lived in the Chicago area all his life. He was born in 1986 along with his twin sister Lexi; to Christine and Bruce Perdue. For most of his childhood his mother raised him in a single-family household.

Perdue wears tan pants and a black button-down shirt to Nookies Tree, a diner on Halstead. He said he often frequents this diner for the great food and atmosphere after work. It is a casual establishment in Boystown, a part of Chicago that is dominantly populated by homosexuals.

Perdue is involved in the community through his former job at the Chicago area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce; he worked here for a little over a year. He was involved in organizing the Gay Games and Pride Parade. Although most of the world views homosexuals as one group, the community in Boystown has very broad and diverse groups of homosexuals.

"We are all gay or lesbian with different backgrounds, class, gender and age," Perdue said, "therefore; it is difficult to speak of us as one group."

Perdue said because he is a white male he is more accepted by his race as a homosexual. A black gay man, however, is shunned by his race and given the name Oreo, because being homosexual is perceived as being a white male practice.

Perdue works two jobs; he is an Office Manager at Michael Richmond Interiors and a Bookkeeper at Alvino CPA. Both his bosses are homosexual as well, so Perdue's sexual orientation does not factor into his acceptance at his new jobs. Both these jobs were obtained through networking in the gay community.

Though Perdue prefers to work with people of his same sexual orientation he is not afraid to let heterosexual people know he is gay. Over the years his ideas and views of what it means to be homosexual have changed. He now has more specific views of what being gay means and is very comfortable with his lifestyle choice.

He is proud of who he is and when out at mixed social gatherings doesn't immediately tell people he is gay; it just becomes evident in his general conversation. Perdue is always aware of his surroundings, as he knows that being gay can lead to potentially dangerous situations. Hate crimes still exist and it keeps him alert.

"I am always cautious when I am out alone, as being gay has the ability to cause problems," Perdue said.
While there has been an increase of entertainment that involves the issue of homosexuality, the shows are still not always representing or portraying gay men accurately, he said.

"TV is not in the business of representing everyone," Perdue said.

Several years ago television shows had the token black man; in newer series the token black man has been replaced with the token gay man. Straight viewers accept gay humor as long as it is stereotypical.

"Gay humor is now acceptable by most audiences, similar to the sixties when black people were introduced to television in the roles of the butler, maid or mammy." said Perdue.

A show like Will and Grace depicts two main gay characters. Will is successful, yet is portrayed defective and somewhat dysfunctional. He cannot keep a boyfriend and has a dysfunctional relationship with Grace, his best, straight girlfriend. Jack, on the other hand, portrays almost every stereotype of homosexuality, as the producers show him as a flaming, sex crazed, ditzy and fun loving guy. Like the movie Brokeback Mountain, Perdue said he prefers movies depicting more realistic homosexual lifestyles, one where the men still represent masculinity and strength.

Perdue said, though comfortable with his sexuality, has only recently come out to his father. Iain Perdue and his father Bruce have had a strained relationship, as Perdue's father was not around most of his childhood. He and his father have maintained a friendship for the past three years, but with the recent death of his mother Perdue is trying to form a closer bond with his father. In order to do this it was imperative that his father be aware of his homosexuality.

"I came into the kitchen and told my father that my boyfriend was coming over for dinner, and that was that; we haven't talked about it since," Perdue said.

His father appeared to handle the announcement fine and their relationship is intact. Perdue is very close to his sister, Lexi. She comes up to visit him on the weekends and will even go to gay bars with her twin brother on occasion. He has made a lot of new friends living in the city, but still keeps in touch with friends he has back home.

Megan Bentel is a close friend of Perdue and was one of the first people he came out to. "Iain was the first gay guy I ever knew, but it didn't make me feel uncomfortable because I knew Iain; he was a great friend who just happened to be gay," Bentel said. Because Iain had been friends with his small, hometown group for a few years before they became aware of his homosexuality, it was not difficult for his friends to accept his lifestyle. By this time he had earned their respect and admiration as a fine human being and valued friend.

Perdue said, "The people who know me, love me for who I am; they don't judge me because of my sexual preference. I feel blessed to know so many great and accepting people."

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