A Cunard Booklet about two
of my favorite subjects!
Why do so many male ocean liner fanatics tend to be gay -- and not in the 1950s sense of the word? Not to generalize, of course, but in my experience, while there are many notable exceptions, most of the men I encounter at ship functions and through this website and the Yahoo Collectibles Group share more in common than just liner love. I have posed this to some of my gay friends, most of whom simply shrug and laugh it off, but I've seriously wondered about this rather odd connection. In pondering this, I've come up with the following admittedly weak theory, but one I'll post here nonetheless. Forgive me if I'm embracing stereotypes, but at least in my case, many of them are true! First, gay men tend to embrace romance -- they are romantics at heart. And what is more romantic than crossing the Atlantic aboard a gorgeous vessel? Second, many gay men have a propensity for glamour, and the magnificent ships of yesterday were nothing if not glamorous. Third, there's the whole tragedy and faded beauty thing -- witness the worship of such icons as Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe, both faded beauties and icons of tragedy. Liner history has its share of tragedies, from the Titanic and Lusitania to the Andrea Doria, and, I would argue, the tragedy that they have faded into the twilight of history. And finally, gay men just seem to have cornered the market on good taste. Even the theme song written for the maiden voyage of the France contains the lyric: "France, France, gayer than champagne!" And that's my take on men and ships! I welcome your theories and reactions, so please email me here!
All hands on deck!
Having a gay old time aboard ship.
Boys will be boys.
A couple of seamen buddies.
Two fellas just before going down
on the Andrea Doria!
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