What a fascinating documentary! The perspectives were fairly diverse even within as narrowly-defined a group as "gay skinheads". Thank you for making this, thank you for sharing it.
I admit. I had drawn up my own conclusions before this.after watching it, it dispelled my blanket judgement of all skinheads being racists our supremacists. I apologize for it and now hv a little beret understanding about others who are just a little didn't from mainstream society.
i had a friend that years ago said he was talking to a group of skinheads and he was trying to figure out what one had tattooed on his neck. after talking to them for a while, he found out they were all gay and the tattoo was actually of a dick! funny stuff.
thanks for making/posting this doc, it's interesting to see how complex and maleable the gay skinhead identity is. I find it confusing how some of these guys seem more immersed into skinhead culture (going to shows, etc) whereas others have just adopted the imagery and are purely involved in the gay social scene yet still call themselves 'skinheads' - for me the latter is kinda missing the point.
@younglimbs Hey thanks for that... you do get the point. After so many comments like "gays can't be skinheads" and "Gays are sick", it is so refreshing to get someone who is able to see some of the real contradictions. I hope more people will look at the content and forget the stupid point of weather or not gay men can be skinheads. Thank you for reminding me that not all the people on the internet are stupid :-)
@KarlHayden No problem...well I think that's probably due to ignorance - I personally know no gay skins aside from those I've seen in the gay quarter in Paris (I live in France), and I've always wondered if this is because they aren't interested in being part of the skin scene or if they're afraid of being persecuted. But I'd love to see more integration, such as in the punk scene - hopefully someday!
Thank-you Karl for a very insightful documentary, has it shown at any Doc festivals? I do have contacts for Sheffield Doc fest. Do you have plans to ever interview straight skins about their views on gay skins? If so, give me a shout. Thanks again.
@wordscontrolminds It was screened in Dublin at the LGBT Film Festival in 2003, at the Zagreb Film Festival in 2004 and on Australian cable TV in 2005. Zagreb was an interesting experience. They invited me to introduce it and take questions after. It was attacked by two lesbians from India who thought it was about promoting racial hatred towards non-whites and gays. I was threatened by a White Power skin who said if I showed it in the USA I would be killed and anyone who helped show it would be.
@Blackhatewolf6 I think the joke here is the guy who uses the channel name Blackhatewolf6, titles his channel "Holocaust and Blasphemy", styles himself as a satanist with his upside down crosses, posts videos of tormenting a dog, plays really bad music badly and paints himself in white makeup with black lips and eyeliner. Do they not have mirrors where you live?
Thanks for posting this doc. Very interesting and useful. As an academic doing research into subcultures, I can say that this is one of the most interesting things I have seen on skinheads so far. Would love to ask you a few questions about your work, if you wouldn't mind chatting a bit? If you have a moment, send me a message via youtube!
@buttsock Do you mean your comment or the documentary? The point of the documentary is the fact there are gay men who are skinheads or are into the skinhead look as a fetish. For some people the idea of gay skinheads appears to be a contradiction. But that has more to do with their perception of what skinhead is. You could ask your question of any video uploaded to YouTube. Some people will find it interesting and some won't... If you don't then don't look at it, no one is forcing you.
What makes non-racist, apolitical, middle-class skinheads skinhead at all? What is the ideology behind it?
I'm really trying to understand. Simply shaving the head, wearing the clothes and listening to ska/reggae doesn't make someone a skinhead, does it? I find everywhere the SHARP movement, but what do they do apart from not being racist?
@yagsisuicul That is the problem, what is it that makes someone a skinhead? It has become something different to different people. My felling is it was never about politics, not helped by media reporting on right-wing politics. Sadly there isn't enough space here for me to discuss the different arguments about what does and doesn't make someone a skin. Is it one thing or many things together, does it evolve over time or is it fixed. Is it a look, an attitude, music, politics, social class?
@KarlHayden I found your documentary fascinating, but it seemed to me all of your interviewees were avoiding the main thing, the "what makes you a skinhead" question. I'm honesty curious about the answer, if there is one, but maybe the truth lies somewhere in the mixture of those things.
@yagsisuicul To answer that question I can only give you my opinion. I am sure others will disagree with me. But I am no more or less correct than them. It is about the music and the look. Each have a particular origin and are rooted in the social climate of the late 1960s inner city youth culture in the UK. Over time that has evolved into different sub-groups, something like a family tree. Today their are different sub-groups claiming to be "real" skinheads. I wish I had more space to expalain.
@yagsisuicul Fuck sharp fuck racists and fuck wankers who keep putting pish about gay Skinheads. I'm not homophobic but I reckon these cunts who keep posting this shit must be. A real Skiinhead is a working class geezer who loves his Reggae, Football, Smart clothes & knocking the cunt out of a few greasers bank holiday oh & getting his leg over (WITH A BIRD) now & then. Fuck your politics & gay pish, I'M A SKINHEAD TILL THE DAY I DIE AND FUCKING PROUD OF IT. P.S. I never watched the video above
okay so i've seen them all and still am of the opinion that these guys simply do it for the attraction... perhaps with the exception of the scottish gentlemen. it's cool to see this tropic covered.. i guess these guys just seem rather disinterested in the roots of their style
@dharmapunkchick Thank You for taking the time to look at them and making a considered opinion. From getting to know the guys over a period of time I can say that four of the guys are genuine. The others were into it as a fetish attraction. But I felt it was important to include them. I had interviewed more, but decided for different reasons these guys were the most representative group to include. Which of the two Scottish guys did you think was genuine?
Today all skiheads are gay. The very way they look and what they stand for is homoerotic and probably always has been. So these dumb morons that say that skinheads are not gay and proper skins hate/fight homosexuals is just ignorant. there is nothing worse tha a pig ignorant moron thinking he is a skinhead but he is not gay! Its almost a laugh if it wasnt so sad!!!
@PanDa46fluffpot Well obviously not all skinheads are gay... and I know many gay men who would disagree with you about it being homoerotic. Not all straight skinheads are anti-gay either. Not all skinheads think the same way about music, politics, etc. The media often portray skinheads as right-wing neo-Nazi types. They almost never show the other side, like SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) or non-political skinheads. We can't generalise, if only it were that simple.
@SURFACEACE When I read comments like this I really wonder how morans like this manage to get themselves dressed everyday. What a stupid mindless comment. No wonder people think skinheads are dumb assholes. Every so often an asshole like this pops up his head to make a comment and gives people a reason to this all skinheads are idiots. "gay skins arent skins becuase skins fight with homos" what a stupid comment.
@SURFACEACE Come on now. "skins fight with homos"? I´ve been a skinhead for many years and I never picked a fight with any "homos"! Your just a retarded redneck.
@SURFACEACE Well you only have to read this guy's comments and it says it all... ignorant, stupid and no idea what he is talking about. Every time he writes something he shows the world a little more of his ignorance. His kind of bonehead view of skinheads is limited to a very small and not original notion of skinhead culture.
@SURFACEACE Well there you go... your reply speaks for itself. I am very happy to leave others to make their own mind up. Based on what you wrote. The person who make a blanket statement that gay men can't be skinheads or a group of gay men talking about being gay and skinheads. Your view being an absolute statement or their discussion about being is.
What a fascinating documentary! The perspectives were fairly diverse even within as narrowly-defined a group as "gay skinheads". Thank you for making this, thank you for sharing it.
lossmail 2 months ago
I admit. I had drawn up my own conclusions before this.after watching it, it dispelled my blanket judgement of all skinheads being racists our supremacists. I apologize for it and now hv a little beret understanding about others who are just a little didn't from mainstream society.
tubewerkz 4 months ago
i had a friend that years ago said he was talking to a group of skinheads and he was trying to figure out what one had tattooed on his neck. after talking to them for a while, he found out they were all gay and the tattoo was actually of a dick! funny stuff.
chaos97 4 months ago
thanks for making/posting this doc, it's interesting to see how complex and maleable the gay skinhead identity is. I find it confusing how some of these guys seem more immersed into skinhead culture (going to shows, etc) whereas others have just adopted the imagery and are purely involved in the gay social scene yet still call themselves 'skinheads' - for me the latter is kinda missing the point.
younglimbs 4 months ago
@younglimbs Hey thanks for that... you do get the point. After so many comments like "gays can't be skinheads" and "Gays are sick", it is so refreshing to get someone who is able to see some of the real contradictions. I hope more people will look at the content and forget the stupid point of weather or not gay men can be skinheads. Thank you for reminding me that not all the people on the internet are stupid :-)
KarlHayden 4 months ago
@KarlHayden No problem...well I think that's probably due to ignorance - I personally know no gay skins aside from those I've seen in the gay quarter in Paris (I live in France), and I've always wondered if this is because they aren't interested in being part of the skin scene or if they're afraid of being persecuted. But I'd love to see more integration, such as in the punk scene - hopefully someday!
younglimbs 4 months ago
Sharps Son Of Bitchs
camposmopar1973 4 months ago
Thank-you Karl for a very insightful documentary, has it shown at any Doc festivals? I do have contacts for Sheffield Doc fest. Do you have plans to ever interview straight skins about their views on gay skins? If so, give me a shout. Thanks again.
wordscontrolminds 6 months ago
@wordscontrolminds It was screened in Dublin at the LGBT Film Festival in 2003, at the Zagreb Film Festival in 2004 and on Australian cable TV in 2005. Zagreb was an interesting experience. They invited me to introduce it and take questions after. It was attacked by two lesbians from India who thought it was about promoting racial hatred towards non-whites and gays. I was threatened by a White Power skin who said if I showed it in the USA I would be killed and anyone who helped show it would be.
KarlHayden 6 months ago
what the fuck !? this is a joke right? O_____o
Blackhatewolf6 8 months ago
@Blackhatewolf6 I think the joke here is the guy who uses the channel name Blackhatewolf6, titles his channel "Holocaust and Blasphemy", styles himself as a satanist with his upside down crosses, posts videos of tormenting a dog, plays really bad music badly and paints himself in white makeup with black lips and eyeliner. Do they not have mirrors where you live?
KarlHayden 8 months ago 3
Thanks for posting this doc. Very interesting and useful. As an academic doing research into subcultures, I can say that this is one of the most interesting things I have seen on skinheads so far. Would love to ask you a few questions about your work, if you wouldn't mind chatting a bit? If you have a moment, send me a message via youtube!
strykereric 8 months ago
Waste of (h)airtime.....they are only connected by fashion and sex.........
macbrack04 8 months ago
Excellent documentary.All the guys were articulate and insightful.Learned alot especially about not making instant judgements.
2332southside 9 months ago
Afffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff.
naagdf 9 months ago
what is the point of posting this
buttsock 9 months ago
@buttsock Do you mean your comment or the documentary? The point of the documentary is the fact there are gay men who are skinheads or are into the skinhead look as a fetish. For some people the idea of gay skinheads appears to be a contradiction. But that has more to do with their perception of what skinhead is. You could ask your question of any video uploaded to YouTube. Some people will find it interesting and some won't... If you don't then don't look at it, no one is forcing you.
KarlHayden 9 months ago 2
What makes non-racist, apolitical, middle-class skinheads skinhead at all? What is the ideology behind it?
I'm really trying to understand. Simply shaving the head, wearing the clothes and listening to ska/reggae doesn't make someone a skinhead, does it? I find everywhere the SHARP movement, but what do they do apart from not being racist?
yagsisuicul 11 months ago
@yagsisuicul That is the problem, what is it that makes someone a skinhead? It has become something different to different people. My felling is it was never about politics, not helped by media reporting on right-wing politics. Sadly there isn't enough space here for me to discuss the different arguments about what does and doesn't make someone a skin. Is it one thing or many things together, does it evolve over time or is it fixed. Is it a look, an attitude, music, politics, social class?
KarlHayden 11 months ago
@KarlHayden I found your documentary fascinating, but it seemed to me all of your interviewees were avoiding the main thing, the "what makes you a skinhead" question. I'm honesty curious about the answer, if there is one, but maybe the truth lies somewhere in the mixture of those things.
yagsisuicul 11 months ago
@yagsisuicul To answer that question I can only give you my opinion. I am sure others will disagree with me. But I am no more or less correct than them. It is about the music and the look. Each have a particular origin and are rooted in the social climate of the late 1960s inner city youth culture in the UK. Over time that has evolved into different sub-groups, something like a family tree. Today their are different sub-groups claiming to be "real" skinheads. I wish I had more space to expalain.
KarlHayden 11 months ago
@yagsisuicul Fuck sharp fuck racists and fuck wankers who keep putting pish about gay Skinheads. I'm not homophobic but I reckon these cunts who keep posting this shit must be. A real Skiinhead is a working class geezer who loves his Reggae, Football, Smart clothes & knocking the cunt out of a few greasers bank holiday oh & getting his leg over (WITH A BIRD) now & then. Fuck your politics & gay pish, I'M A SKINHEAD TILL THE DAY I DIE AND FUCKING PROUD OF IT. P.S. I never watched the video above
goggles763 11 months ago
okay so i've seen them all and still am of the opinion that these guys simply do it for the attraction... perhaps with the exception of the scottish gentlemen. it's cool to see this tropic covered.. i guess these guys just seem rather disinterested in the roots of their style
dharmapunkchick 1 year ago
@dharmapunkchick Thank You for taking the time to look at them and making a considered opinion. From getting to know the guys over a period of time I can say that four of the guys are genuine. The others were into it as a fetish attraction. But I felt it was important to include them. I had interviewed more, but decided for different reasons these guys were the most representative group to include. Which of the two Scottish guys did you think was genuine?
KarlHayden 1 year ago
Today all skiheads are gay. The very way they look and what they stand for is homoerotic and probably always has been. So these dumb morons that say that skinheads are not gay and proper skins hate/fight homosexuals is just ignorant. there is nothing worse tha a pig ignorant moron thinking he is a skinhead but he is not gay! Its almost a laugh if it wasnt so sad!!!
PanDa46fluffpot 1 year ago
@PanDa46fluffpot Well obviously not all skinheads are gay... and I know many gay men who would disagree with you about it being homoerotic. Not all straight skinheads are anti-gay either. Not all skinheads think the same way about music, politics, etc. The media often portray skinheads as right-wing neo-Nazi types. They almost never show the other side, like SkinHeads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) or non-political skinheads. We can't generalise, if only it were that simple.
KarlHayden 11 months ago
fuck gay skins,gay skins arent skins becuase skins fight with homos
SURFACEACE 1 year ago
@SURFACEACE When I read comments like this I really wonder how morans like this manage to get themselves dressed everyday. What a stupid mindless comment. No wonder people think skinheads are dumb assholes. Every so often an asshole like this pops up his head to make a comment and gives people a reason to this all skinheads are idiots. "gay skins arent skins becuase skins fight with homos" what a stupid comment.
KarlHayden 1 year ago 8
@KarlHayden okay so your probably gay ...
SURFACEACE 1 year ago
@SURFACEACE youre really are stupid but i don't like gays neither
murdertoy 1 year ago
@murdertoy okay maybe my comment sounds stupid doesnt mean im stupid i hate gay ppl thats all.
SURFACEACE 1 year ago
@SURFACEACE Come on now. "skins fight with homos"? I´ve been a skinhead for many years and I never picked a fight with any "homos"! Your just a retarded redneck.
tobbawiberg 1 year ago 7
@tobbawiberg then you aint no fucking skinhead bitch how the fuck can you not fight homos when you are a skin....
SURFACEACE 1 year ago
@SURFACEACE Well you only have to read this guy's comments and it says it all... ignorant, stupid and no idea what he is talking about. Every time he writes something he shows the world a little more of his ignorance. His kind of bonehead view of skinheads is limited to a very small and not original notion of skinhead culture.
KarlHayden 1 year ago
@KarlHayden Your Fucking stupid i may be ignorant but not stupid dumfuck.I hate homos for what they are the fucking animals...
SURFACEACE 1 year ago
@SURFACEACE Well there you go... your reply speaks for itself. I am very happy to leave others to make their own mind up. Based on what you wrote. The person who make a blanket statement that gay men can't be skinheads or a group of gay men talking about being gay and skinheads. Your view being an absolute statement or their discussion about being is.
KarlHayden 1 year ago
Еvri antifa is gays.
88bgskin 1 year ago