The Butch Factor #VQFF @queerfilmfest

I left the Tinseltown theatre last night enraged with The Butch Factor (showing at the Vancouver Queer Film Fest). When I entered the theatre, I was expecting a documentary exploring the question of masculinity. I was hoping that the eternal myth of “gay men are all effeminate” would be dispelled (in keeping in line with the theme of the film, the ‘butch’ factor). And as the movie went on, I got more and more confused. Sure, there is a series of (somewhat un-threaded and at times, convoluted) conversations with men who could be identified (again, through the lenses of stereotypes) as “butch”. But there is no actual encompassing analytical thread. I wasn’t really sure what the message of the movie was.

A rugby player who plays in both straight and gay leagues, an African-American baseball player, a rodeo man, a couple of cowboys who have their ranch, you name it. They all appear in the movie, and they all talk about their experiences. But in the end, there is no real in-depth examination – while trying to interweave expert subject interviews with scholars who study masculinity with the physical demonstrations of “macho” attitude by the “butch” interviewees leaves us with an un-stitched, loosely threaded film. Did it hit all the stereotypes? Yes. Did it explain WHY we continue to hold those stereotypes? Um, no. Definitely not.

In the end, as I walked out of the theatre, I noted to my friends David, Mark and Nicolas, that I thought that whatever the message of that movie was, it was all contained in the last 60 seconds of the film, and that those were 1.5 hours of my life that I would appreciate having back. And then I learned on Twitter that VQFF was planning on having an extra screening of The Butch Factor. Seeing as I missed Pornography: The Thriller and The People I’ve Slept With, I would definitely want to make a case to VQFF to show an extra screening of these two movies instead of The Butch Factor.

All due respect to the film director, crew and interviewees, but I really didn’t like this movie. At all. It didn’t answer any questions and it showcased the stereotype of “being butch” without actually debunking the myths around what masculinity means.

The VQFF official description for The Butch Factor is below:

Is there a gay man out there who hasn’t pondered the meaning of masculinity?

Director Christopher Hines asks this poignant question. The result: eighty-seven minutes of hard bodies and hard answers. Heralded as a must-see movie for all gay men, this documentary gets up-close and personal with a strapping slate of interviewees. Bears, jocks, sissy boys and muscle queens tackle loaded topics from internalized homophobia to metrosexuality—each revealing what it means to be a gay man today in their own personal, unique way. Hines’ ambitious and broadly comprehensive documentary also introduces us to the men who are rarely seen at the forefront of gay masculine culture, including a newly out rodeo rider, a rugged female-to-male transsexual and a self-identified sissy who embraces effeminacy. The forthright commentary is aptly mixed with humour, sex appeal and undeniable heart—making it an audience favourite at queer film festivals around the world.