Sander said:

I think you're gay.

most artist at some point in time will do GAY music , GAY Reggae, GAY Hip Hop and you have to ask why would they not do it..

Oh I see what you meant to emply Sander.You were judging by the style of dress of the funk artist of the '70s. Well sure men wore tight jeans, high platform boots, long hair, lots of jewelry. It was the style of the '70s. Hey remember years ago men wore robes that made them look like they were in dresses.

There were many artists in the funk era that were known to attract the gay community to their concerts; Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Donna Summer, Village People, David Bowie, The Weather Girls, Labelle, Grace Jones and not to mention the legendary Earth, Wind and Fire. Were these artist gay? Who knows who cares. Was their music promoting homosexuality? I don't think so, but I might has missed something.

LondonStyle said:

You have got expand our music listening selecion.

Cloudbuster said:

Yo momma!

I dunno if funk is gay, but I think M. Gaye is funky!

Sander said:

Just what bands do you term as "Funk" bands? Funk is a term highly misused.

jw1914 said:

Well, it's not just the whole 70's pimped out style. It's also the way they act, the whole identity. Look at Morris and Jerome. They're not gay, but they do have some of that vibe. Whether those acts are promoting anything is up for debate, of course.

Like disco is almost synonymous with the gay community, I'm thinking funk has a large overlap as well.

graecophilos said:

Morris and Jerome were two puppets and look at the queen who was pulling their strings. Those two are not a good example because if I put together a musical act, I'd have them as a reflection of me also.
.
.
.
[Edited 2/12/09 8:20am]

jw1914 said:

That's it! I'm writing a paper on the subject!

No, actually, that's a very good thing to say, since funk is often mentioned along with disco to mean the same thing.

Funk: “Thus, funk is a deliberate reaction to, and a rejection of the traditional Western world’s predilection for formality, pretense, and self-repression” (Vincent, 1996, pp.4-5).

Fred Wesley (trombone James Brown and George Clinton): “If you have a syncopated bass line, a strong, strong, heavy back beat from the drummer, a counter-line from the guitar or keyboard, and someone soul-singing on top of that, in a gospel style, then you have funk” (Vincent, 1996, p.13).

Oh lawd!

When I pledged Groovaleigance to the Funk, I never once thought about my sexuality....


I would however say since Disco was influenced by funk it has its tendencies.

Lets just say it's bisexual....if you want to pt sex on a genere on music


Whats happening here?

vainandy said:

So are you saying that Prince is Gay like Michael Jackson is Gay

A youngster who did not grow up in the funk era listening to classic funk cd's today would not and could not come away with the same feeling for the music as apposed to someone who experienced those days. Why because their palet for great music has already been contaminated by today's music. Can one drink a 40oz of Silver Thunder and now appreiate a 40 year old aged fine scotch? Dah?

"You gotta go thur it to get to it"

vainandy said:

It's just a macho thing, for appearance sake. Because some of those very same thugs are getting blow jobs from some of their homeboys.

Sander said:

Well, I do agree that both black and gay people tend to lean towards music that is very danceable and has a good beat. That's why Disco was more popular amongst both groups.

They're not exactly the same thing but very similar sounding. The main ear catcher of funk was the drums and the strong bassline which gave it rhythm moreso than any other form of music. Disco's ear catcher was the same thing, the drums and bassline except disco was a little more polished and the tempo was speeded up a little more. It was because of disco's "death" that I got into funk in the first place because it was the closest sounding thing after disco's death. During that time, I noticed that disco's prior existence had left an influence on funk because early 80s funk seemed a little more uptempo than 70s funk and more polished sounding with less horns and more modern instruments due to disco's earlier influence and also the new wave scene that was happening on the pop side of the radio also.

Disco was well loved in the gay clubs and is still well loved with gay people today. The love of disco by gay people was one of the contributors of it's death at the time. That's how they got the whole "disco sucks" slogan, "sucks" as in one of the main types of sex that gay people have, which is oral. The black and latino factor was another cause of it's death also. Disco had made the mainstream and most white kids and young adults were listening to it more than anything else at the time. Many of the white rockers were either making a disco record or losing sells to disco records and a lot of rock fans felt their genre was dying because of disco and wanted to do something about it. Add that to the fact that those times were very racist and homophobic, a lot of white people could not stand the fact that a lot of white people were listening to this genre that was dominated by black and latinos and also loved so much by gay people. Remember, this was the late 70s which was only a little over 10 years past integration. They definately wanted to put a stop to this music that was made by these minorities influencing their white children, not to mention the hate that they had seeing these white adults listen to this minority driven music also.

Yeah, disco and funk were similar but also very different. And after disco's death, the people went their separate ways and music became segregated again. Most white people listened to pop/rock and most black people listened to funk/R&B. Most gay people listened to the music that was made by their race also but they also had an underground music scene just like they always had.

Oh, you don't have to tell me about those trade motherfuckers because I know all about them and have slept with them in the past also. And the one thing I can't stand more than anything about them, is the fact that the bastards are hypocrits and doing the same thing except they are receiving rather than giving the oral sex. Then they have the nerve to spew hate for us. Oh hell naw, I don't put up with or tolerate it.
.
.
.
[Edited 2/12/09 8:53am]

Sander said:

As the basis for a dissertation, I think you'll be pushed to find examples and facts to back up your proposition.

Sander said:

It's just you, baby.

Well the term funk has been bastardised to the nth degree. I go to some supposed funk nights nowadays and the music is far from it - and dont get me started on the way people use it descriptively over inanimate obejcts / spaces - ie "look at this funky loft apartment".....aaaaargh.

I completely agree with the point that in general gay people are atttracted to beat driven rhythmic music - in fact there is something quite primal and sexual about funk and other forms of beat/ groove driven music - and i would say that appeals to gay people alot. Disco morphed funk - and Disco through to electro through to house and current forms of dance all have strong links with the gay community - but i dont think a lot of the young gay people now have much affiliation with funk music proper.

Obviously you cant describe a genre of music as being specifically gay, and in spite of my love for it, very few of my friends that are gay like funk music - unless its what is termed funky house, and that aint funk proper. That said very few of my straight friends like funk either.....they're an unfunky bunch.

So No funk aint gay, but it aint straight either - funk is funk.

CrozzaUK said:

Gawd, the image of a gay man sniffing out Madonna's pooper while wagging his tail just came up.

HamsterHuey said:

I'd like to think so, but I'm not funk!

Mong said:

But for the org it's pretty elaborate!

CrozzaUK said:

Let's not beat around the bush here! Gay people like Disco, they like Funky House they like Hip Hop or Shithop, they like Pop ...what ever...Gay people like Black music..fact
Alot of Black artist are gay we all know this ...male and female ... and yes its hard for them to come out why because alot of their fans are not gay and the Media which is run by White Males in the main control this...next..and most of them have a problem with 1. The fact they are Gay 2. The fact they have problems dealing with Black people .....
[Edited 2/12/09 9:22am]

vainandy said:

What gave you the impression that "funk" came after the disco era? Funk music was out way before the disco era! James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, Funkadelic, Mandrill, War all had recordings long before the Disco era. Check your history youngster.

I love this statement because it makes us seem much more cooler, stylish, and having better taste than most straight people. Much moreso than the days when we were known for liking much slower types of music such as classical, opera, or symphonies. That's why my favorite thing to do is compare today's music to those types of music because of it's tempo. When a lot of us were into those slower types of music, we were called nerds and dorks. Beginning with the disco era on up, we were freed from those stereotypes because our music was the total opposite of what straight people thought we were all into. The funny thing is, now we have straight people going back to early days with their slow tempoed music that never gets fast. The fact that it's a thug making that all-slow music makes it where they escape the "nerd" or "dork" label but I love to point out to them that we had those labels because people believed we liked nothing but slow tempoed music. I think it's only fair that they should get those labels also.

LondonStyle said:

I guess you're right that gay people are attracted to a lot of black music be it deep soul, motown or funk, but they're also attracted to electro music, which i wouldnt directly equate as black music - thats why i emphasised the beat aspect of it.

I never said that funk came after the disco era. I said that the funk that existed after the disco era had some of disco's as well as new wave's influence in it. Funk was definately before disco. Disco was influenced by funk.

I am a youngster though. I'm 41 years young.