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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kevin Rose who wrote (263176)	6/11/2002 11:25:30 PM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 769667

What took you so long? <gg> I've had him on ignore for months now. Life is good. :) And there's no percentage in trying to communicate with a lunatic. -Ray

To: Kevin Rose who wrote (263176)	6/12/2002 12:07:16 AM
From: gao seng	Respond to of 769667

Is the Fashion World Ready for Openly Heterosexual Designers? By Nathan Porter BSNN.net Ahhh...High Fashion. click here to caption this pic. Could an openly heterosexual man survive in the world of big-time fashion design? That's the question on the lips of many after famed German designer Abutt Pfister revealed to New York gossip columnist Liz Pith that the fashion world is "probably ready for an openly heterosexual designer." Many wonder whether Pfister was attempting to prepare the fashion world for one of his designer friend’s outing as a heterosexual. That rumor led Berlin designer Melick Hymen (the subject of many rumors in the fashion community) to declare, "I'm not straight." Hymen’s comments made headlines in New York, Milan, Paris, and all the world’s fashion hot spots. Does the sexuality of a clothes designer matter? Not in a perfect world, but in the world of fashion design sexual orientation certainly does matter. So what will happen when the first openly heterosexual man sticks his nose in high fashion? Pfister believes that a straight fashion designer would be more readily accepted if he was “really good” like Versace, for example. “When a designer does come out, and one will,” Pfister said, “it would be best if he is brilliantly talented and a real hetero, not some fake jerk like that schmuck Calvin Klein. At some point, though, someone will have the courage to stand up to a roomful of fashion designers and say, ‘I'm straight.’ And while many in the fashion world do not agree—the consensus is that most professional fashion designers aren't open-minded enough to respect a heterosexual peer—I’m not so pessimistic. I believe the fashion world is ready for its ‘breeder’ Versace.” Would some in the fashion community shun that designer? Certainly. But Pfister argues that others would invite him for dinner and a log back rub. They would only be disappointed by a different sort of designer—someone like Retahrd Pflaume, whose bad judgment led to the fashion nightmare that is leg huggers. Contrary to the stereotype, fashion designers aren't all prissy heterophobes. Pfister points out that almost every member of the Fashion Association of Germany had at least one heterosexual parent, and that is a broadening experience. “FAG members, like all fashion designers, deal with diversity every day because of the industry’s huge presence of bisexual and asexual models,” Pfister explains. It may be stating the obvious to say that Melick Hymen’s sexual preference is irrelevant to his ability to design clothes, but I must disagree with Pfister’s optimistic assessment of tolerance in the fashion world. The fact that most experts believe heterosexuals comprise no less than 88% of the population leads one to the reasonable conclusion that there already are some heterosexuals in fashion design. But so far not one of them has dared admit his sexuality, which makes me believe that despite Abutt Pfister’s assertions to the contrary, there remains little if any tolerance for straight sexuality in the world of high fashion. A powerful figure in the fashion establishment told me the reason no male designer is willing to admit his heterosexuality is because doing so would be commercial suicide. The fact of the matter is most people simply are not willing to accept the fact that a heterosexual designer is blessed with the necessary skills to create top-notch clothes. The common stereotype about heterosexual men is that they are not sensitive enough about how they look and they refuse to spend time looking good and watching their weight and they don’t care about clothes. This perception may not stop a heterosexual designer from developing a following but they will have fewer opportunities. The top stores won’t sign on for that designer’s line fearing they may be stuck with nothing but 2 shirts (one white one blue), a pair of khakis and a pair of jeans. It could be that Abutt Pfister is correct, that the fashion world is indeed ready for a heterosexual designer, and I’d be thrilled if a straight guy could be included in the fashion family. But I don’t believe it will happen in my lifetime. Fashion design has not proved itself a bastion of diversity. I’d equate the social norm in today’s fashion world with your average Roman bath house circa 69 AD. As much as I’d like to think otherwise, any heterosexual designer thinking about announcing his sexuality publicly would be wise to remember the words of Melick Hymen—“I’m not straight.” In the world of fashion, that’s the only safe sex. bsnn.net