If You Don’t Get Why Men Cringe At Flamboyant Gays, You Don’t Understand The Sexes

Hans Fiene

Recently, a video of a male cheerleader dancing with the ladies from the Minnesota Vikings cheer squad made the rounds on social media, receiving a rather hostile welcome. Perhaps because the Corporate Wokeness Epidemic has lost much steam in the last year or so, a gaggle of social media users began criticizing the rather flamboyant gentleman, pointing to him as a gross example of the NFL’s insistence on pushing its pro-LGBT agenda on fans who just want to watch their team in peace.

As is the way of social media, the reaction to the reaction came swiftly. Emily Leibert of The Cut referred to critics as “the most fragile members of the NFL’s fanbase.” Joe Nelson of Sports Illustrated lamented the “hate and disrespect” the two men on the Vikings cheerleader squad have received. Likewise, countless X users have insisted that the revulsion people have expressed over the viral clip is a nonsensical manifestation of bigotry towards gay men.

While I don’t think hardened progressives who would rejoice over drag queens gyrating on a football field are operating in good faith, I imagine that many who questioned the initial backlash are genuinely confused by it, in particular the many females who have spoken up. As any man who came of age while attitudes towards homosexuality and gay marriage began to change can tell you, women often struggle to understand the straight man’s response to rather flamboyant displays of performative homosexuality. The disgust strikes them as juvenile and mindless. But perhaps the Case of the Dancing Viking Cheerboy can offer such women some clarity.

“I don’t get it,” women will often think. “It wouldn’t bother me if a butch woman decided to play rugby with some guys. Why does it bother men so much if a gay guy wants to do girly stuff with the girls? Why do straight men respond to gay men this way when I don’t have that kind of reaction to gay women?”

full story at https://thefederalist.com/2025/08/22/heres-why-men-cringe-when-flamboyant-gays-embrace-feminine-roles/