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I follow dozens of Instagram hunks and still dream of rock-solid abs.īut here's the truth: I'm not really a "basic gay." I'm not hot in a conventional sense - I'm a handsome nerdy ginger with a belly, and at 34 years old, I'm being called "daddy" by twenty-somethings (I'm fine with it). I love commercial, generic pop music and, unsurprisingly, I'm part of the Britney Army. If this was still 2014, I would use "normcore" to describe my simple personal style and ironic passion for athleisure. I tell everyone how, as a tall energetic ginger, I'm the human form of a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte. Thomas LeblancĪs a comedian, I love to present myself as a basic gay. Calling myself a basic gay in my comedy is a way to comment on the lack of political and social responsibility I observe in people who look like me: white, cis-gendered, able-bodied homosexual men in their twenties and thirties. Even in these times of social and political uncertainty, they don't see a problem with fixating on superficial entertainment, trends, and brands. It's a half-derogatory, half-ironic term describing conventionally hot homosexual men content with the ordinariness of their lifestyle and taste. But it fits. Basic gays love Ariana Grande, cold brew coffee, and CrossFit. I'm not sure when I first heard the phrase "basic gay" referring to Speedo-clad gay men whose abs look like they were created by a 3D printer. They are a very visible tip of an iceberg I like to call the "basic gays." One mainstay of most Pride celebrations in North America is the flock of shirtless, abnormally fit men who dance for hours on corporate-sponsored floats.
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It's something I feel in my bones, but I sometimes wonder: am I queer enough? A 'Basic Gay' But being queer is the most important descriptor of my identity. I'm a comedian, I'm a francophone Québécois. In addition to co-hosting LGBTQ+ podcast Chosen Family here on CBC, I'm an out comic and a dilettante DJ, organizing campy dance parties around Montreal, catering mostly to squads of young women and their gays. Montréal is a global party hub, our Gay Village is the largest in North America, so it makes sense that our LGBTQ+ celebration is advertised as "the biggest Pride festival in Canada." The festivities culminate in an electric parade making its way on one of the main arteries in the city. Every August, Pride takes over Montréal for ten days of pure rainbow bliss (after Pride Month in June, we all need a sequel, right?).