 The Ten Network’s (TDT in Tasmania) Dexter is my new all-time favourite TV show. Seriously.
What’s not to like
about a hot guy in his thirties who, by day, works in blood-spatter analysis
for the Miami Metro Police Department and by night is a serial killer with a
strong moral code?
The double-life is a strong feature of most gay men’s lives,
so I will assume up-front that Dexter
will be a certified hit with gay men everywhere.
I remember Sydney’s legendary drag diva of the late 1980s,
Fanny Farquhar, waxing lyrical in one of her last stage performances about
something similar:
“We all live in drag, darling. My drag is all about sequins
and heels. What’s your drag, darling?”
In Dexter, the
title character at least has some extremely harsh childhood trauma that stunted
his emotional development. A sage-like adoptive father found a way to channel
his urge to kill into something a little less likely to take him to an electric
chair. But what do most of us have to offset our less dramatic double lives?
I live a double life where, by day, I am the confident
entertainer who is knowledgeable and wise to the ways of the world. Outside of
work I am quiet, shy and prefer the company of my laptop computer to a group of
semi-drunk “friends” at Salamanca’s Barcelona Bar. That’s my drag, darling.
One of my work colleagues is a booted and suited power-bitch
who can sell like few other women I know. I found out via the grapevine that
her corporate drag well and truly comes off at night when she hits the town and
drinks herself into a drunk-dialling stupor. That’s her drag, darling.
A friend of mine in Darwin is a well-respected advisor to
several senior Northern Territory politicians. He is seen to be a
straight-talking conservative who opposes gay civil unions and attends church.
I know for a fact that he trawls Gaydar in his spare time and is known to
frequent a certain beach up there that is famous for its nocturnal activities.
That’s his drag, darling.
Perhaps the least dragged-up gay man I know is my partner.
He is passionate and vocal at work. He is passionate and vocal at home. He
works hard and he’s not afraid to party hard. When he is happy, he is very
happy. When he is sad, he is very sad. He will send me seductive text messages
from work, home and on the road. He is perhaps the most consistent person I
know. He knows I am a drag-queen of sorts, and he’s cool with that. As long as
I don’t get into my “work-drag” at home.
Unlike Dexter, I
can’t stand the sight of blood. It makes my own double-life much easier to talk
to my man about.
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