Jessica Dweck picks up a study we covered awhile back:
One issue that goes unmentioned in all of this analysis is the rapidly changing face of the fag hag. Cultural observers like Tablet’s Alana Newhouse and Salon’s Thomas Rogers have argued that while the “classic fag hags were theatrical, brassy, unconventional … the Liza Minnellis, Bette Midlers and Liz Taylors of the world,” influential shows like Sex and the City and Real Housewives have corrupted and commodified the once-sacred and singular bond between quirky women and their gay male confidantes. With the success of feminism and increasing inclusion of LGBTs in mainstream culture, women and gay men relinquished the sense of marginalization and otherness that had long united them.
The growth of the gay community to embrace both its masculine and feminine sides has also contributed to the decline, I'd suggest. I have yet to see many fag-hags at Bear week or at the gay rugby tournaments. And then there's the real cultural catalyst behind gay culture's accelerating diversity: the Internet. There's less socializing in person, fewer bars and clubs, and thereby fewer opportunities for social fag-haggery. And no one wants a female friend to kibbitz with while scanning Manhunt.
(And, now, of course, I await the emails from the countless readers who do.)
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