QUEERING THE GAME OF LIFE

"Gay men are both perpetrators of misogyny and victims of it. In all-male societies where women are neither necessary nor desired, gay men can create a misogynistic culture without the existence of any women to object.
Gay men’s use of drag, as well as campy humor imitating or making fun of women, can be seen as misogynist behavior. Drag exaggerates and flaunts over-the-top femininity in a way that few women would or could. While many drag artists and connoisseurs respect and appreciate women, others engage in drag with the conscious understanding that they are making fun of women, or at least of certain aspects of female behavior and existence.
Gay male misogyny may also be seen in the gay liberation movement. Early organizations were explicitly focused on gay male rights, and while they welcomed the presence of lesbians as helpers in the struggle, such organizations did little to press for lesbian issues and concerns.
In smaller communities where there are few gay spaces, those community centers, support groups, and bars that do exist may be focused on the needs of gay men rather than of lesbians. While over time these conditions have improved, they have not yet disappeared. For instance, lesbians have been active in the struggle against HIV/AIDS, but gay men’s groups have rarely responded by focusing their attention on issues of importance to lesbians.
As victims of misogyny, gay men are seen by the heterosexist male-dominated society as feminine and thus lumped in with women as targets for disdain. In fact, many misogynist men make gay men even more a target of their misogynist beliefs than women—either because gay men are seen as choosing to act in this “inferior” manner and are thus traitors to masculinity or because heterosexual men can perpetrate violence and discrimination against gay men without endangering their own position in the heterosexual relationships they desire.
Much homophobic activity, including gay-bashing, stems from misogynistic beliefs that disparage traits seen as feminine by dominant society and exhibited by certain gay men, such as concern with personal appearance, heightened emotionality, artistic skill, and lack of prowess at some physically demanding activities."

The Lesbian Mafia: Misogyny