05 July 2007: The Effeminate Poser

I hope you find today’s title intriguing. It comes from an observation I made today. From time to time I’ll see something that makes me scratch my head and wonder about the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Occasionally I’ll encounter someone who’s behavior or appearance (or both) seems to violate the “don’t tell” side of the policy. I’m not asking when I see someone like this. Yet, if their very presence is blaring homosexual like a neon sign then what are others supposed to think? I’m not delving into cliché or homophobic diatribe here. Policy is policy. That there is a policy means there are violations. Here’s my case in point. He’s the effeminate poser.

After work today I went to H6 recreation to work out. I go there on days I’m running because the AC works in the facility. I can run without the danger of passing out from dehydration. While I was working out a couple of AF personnel walked in and went straight to the treadmills. The man closest to me had the appearance of a serious distance runner. He was tall and string-bean lean. I immediately assumed he was a true athlete. He certainly acted the part – going through a whole sequence of professional-looking stretches. However I found out quickly he was a poser. Once he mounted the treadmill he started running at a very slow pace. For you treadmill aficionados, he was running at around a 6.5mph pace. His running form is what made me scratch my head. He ran with a very deliberate daintiness. His hands were swaying limp at the wrist. To put it bluntly, he was running like a girl. His posture, style, and methods were extremely effeminate. To top it off, he never increased the pace. Serious runner? Obviously not! A short time later I grabbed a treadmill and began my run. The effeminate poser was running to my right front. I noticed he was still at the same slow 6.5mph. His girly-man running style was even more pronounced. Within a few minutes he finished his run. His buddy walked up and they began talking. That’s when I heard the effeminate poser’s voice. It couldn’t have been scripted any better. It was an exact match to the running style. He spoke with that pronounced lisp that is frequently associated with gay men. It was definitely not a masculine voice. The entire spectacle made me wonder about the fiasco of “don’t ask, don’t tell”. Nobody in the gym was asking but effeminate poser’s entire persona was telling. Am I just falling for cliché? I don’t think so. I guess the debate will continue. One thing’s for certain – the guy was definitely not a runner and he was certainly effeminate.
Therefore it’s safe for me to call him the effeminate poser.

I don’t think he would be a good candidate for a recruiting poster.