The

MARGIN

of MASCULINITY

James

by

Douglas Margin

Over a quiet bottle of beer the other day I was struck by a moment of whimsey. Some months ago a strange thought had come briefly to mind, then disappeared. Now it had returned, and this time I mused on it fully. Yes, I decided, perhaps I have stumbled on a great truth.

The bartender answered the tap of my empty bottle while I dwelled with growing excitement on the Big Idea. As a theory of importance it would hardly rate with Einstein's relativity, but lesser discoveries had found their place in history-why not mine?

I could call it Margin's Theory of Masculine Deportment.

The title blazed bravely in my mind. It looked nice and substantial and there was an authentic ring to it. In fact, it sounded damn fine. So I decided to adopt it formally and, lest someone come along to claim the same idea as his own, someday to have it published if I could.

The Margin Theory, like any respectable theory, would be revolutionary; unlike other, more scientific findings, it would be understandable to the layman: namely, that in some future decade homosexual males will appear to be more masculine than heterosexual males.

I made a critical survey of the bar. Of the six other male customers, I knew two to be gay. Since the remaining four were unknown to me and presented no cause for speculation, I assumed they were not. The point was that nothing in the behavior of the lot of them made anyone seem different from the rest, or from hundreds of males you would pass on the street.

The six exchanged banter with the bartender. They talked with each other. They lit cigarettes. They moved about-to and from the peanut machines, the juke box, the phone booths. And every voice, every movement and manner, was properly masculine. The scene in itself was not remarkable, yet it suggested a fascinating paradox.

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