This is the issue I spoke of on Thursday - the one that you may not receive, since I will be touching on a subject that I have been pondering and ruminating on for over a week now. To write about it, it is necessary to use some words that your spam/porn filter (or your internet server's setup) might reject. I will be putting it up on the website as soon as possible after it goes out. I will also be publishing the pertinent section on the blog - http://cabarethotlineonline.blogspot.com/ . Note that you may add your own comments right on the blog and, if appropriate, I will allow their display.
If comments are received and interest shown, I will also be expanding my thoughts and comments found here to a more detailed report on the website and blog, incorporating any of the comments I might receive as a result of this short "dissertation" today.
I'm sort of "sticking my neck out" on this one - there is a chance I may lose some subscribers, memberships and/or advertisers. I actually sort of doubt that. CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE subscribers/advertisers/members are pretty open minded and realize that, as usual, I write what I feel in my heart - and if what I feel in my heart turns our to be entirely wrong, my mind is changed accordingly.
The whole issue I will write about below came to mind on hearing some comments attributed to the current nominee for Supreme Court Justice, having to do with the different sensitivities that are often not addressed in today's society. I'm not going to get into the politics/racism thing, but want to address the issue only as it pertains to cabaret/nightlife.
Let's start with a note about my friend Daniel, who accompanies me to many cabaret shows and events. Daniel is from Ecuador, he is Latino, and (in the same way the Supreme Court nominee has said she looks at the law) definitely sees cabaret from a different perspective - something many cabaret performers do not seem to be sensitive to. Jokes and snide remarks about folks from "south of the border" are rampant in cabaret and comedy, seemingly more so since political correctness forbids the denigration of other groups in today's society. I see him wince when this happens, and I myself have become quite sensitive to this as well.
Personally, I prefer the good old days, before the PC police began to crack down on Irish jokes, Polish jokes, etc. Seems today you can only tell ethnic jokes if your are of the same ethnicity of the subject of the joke. (Strange that no one seems to mind Mexican jokes or Mormon and Catholic Priest jokes, for that matter.) I feel everyone should loosen up a bit - after all, its meant to be funny - but that's a whole different topic for another day.
OK, back to perspectives. Several weeks ago I received a request from a journalist friend for me to include a statement about gay marriage in the newsletter. I demurred, and responded to the writer that CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE was about cabaret and entertainment, sent to 2700 people, each of whom probably have a different viewpoint on this topic, a topic which had no real relationship to cabaret. His response - a paraphrased quote - was that 90 percent of the male performers in cabaret were gay, as was 90 percent of the audience.
My response was that perhaps he was not seeing the same performers and attending the same shows as I. While I agree that one finds more gay folks in the entertainment field than, say, in the construction industry or at a hockey game, his generalization was far from accurate. But his comment planted a seed. After all, this was his perspective.
Then, step two. I attend the MAC awards, and noticed something that truly was mind bending - the amazing open-minded MAC voters! The results in some of the categories were astounding. It seems that the MAC voters were making choices this year on the basis of the quality and entertainment values of the shows rather than simply the popularity of the performers (as has been the rule so often in the past). I am writing, of course, about presence of several lesbian performers in the winner's circle - openly lesbian performers, I add. Of course, that's my perspective of the event.
Next comes that comment attributed to the Supreme Court nominee, which leads the question I pose today. Let's face it: just as so many gays have found a place to be themselves in the entertainment field, other gays have found a place in the field of writing about cabaret. And I have had numerous e-mails from non-gay and lesbian performers who feel that they are at an unfair advantage when it comes to getting reviewers to come to their shows - and to even get fair treatment in the reviews that result when they do come. That's not necessarily my perspective, but I can surely understand their concern. Just remember, not all cabaret reviewers/writers are gay, just as not all hockey players and construction workers are straight.
But from the perspective of those who have complained, its sort of a reverse kind of gay prejudice on the part of reviewers. (By the way, I think that performers of color might also feel they are overlooked by the "entertainment press" - except perhaps in the jazz/blues area.) You see, if my journalist friend feels that male cabaret performers and cabaret audience members are 90% gay, could it be that he is being selective in his coverage and insensitive/neglectful when it comes to openly lesbian and straight performers?
I originally was going to interview two lesbian cabaret performer/friends on this topic, and spoke briefly with them last week. But I decided to open this discussion to everyone - gay/lesbian/straight, writers/readers, etc. I would like your thoughts and comments - your perspective. Do you feel that sexual orientation has help/hindered performers in their quest for recognition in the field of cabaret? As a performer, have you had to "closet" yourself as either straight or gay to get that record contract, that cruise line job, that booking, that good review? Or, maybe, conversely, have you been forced to "out" yourself? Please don't name names - that's not what this is about. I want to hear about experiences - and not just in NYC or the USA. Please be tasteful but honest in your comments. Just e-mail them to me - or post them on the blog in the comments area below this item when it appears there, if you feel so inclined.
I often ask for readers to comment on various things I write about - and folks rarely do (I am lucky to get 2 or 3 reactions, at best). But here is something that I really need folks to write in about. Of course your name will be held completely confidential (unless you wish to be directly quoted). Confidentiality is easy to promise here, because CABARET HOTLINE ONLINE is strictly a one-person operation: I'm the only one who reads my mail.
And, even if you prefer not to comment on the issue at hand, let me know your thoughts about the inclusion of these kinds of articles in the newsletter and on the website - not quite editorials, not quite exposes - just things I feel we should not keep bunched up inside. That's my perspective.
YOUR COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED - either e-mail me at stuhamstra@svhamstra.com or click on the line just below marked COMMENTS and post your thoughts right here - comments are moderated for appropriateness and good manners.
Special note: if I only receive a few responses, I will drop the subject. It seems important to me, but may be of little or no interest to most of you.
