Old-Timey Gay Love, Chocolate, and the Lure of the Forbidden

Old-Timey Gay Love, Chocolate, and the Lure of the Forbidden

Earlier this month, my daughter Lydia and I went to see “The Nance” at New York’s Lyceum Theater. This Nathan Lane vehicle is an exceptionally well-written and -acted portrayal of an actor, Chauncey Miles, who plays a stock “nancy” character in a 1930s burlesque troupe. This flamboyant and high-camp homosexual character-type was usually, presumably, played by a straight man who was, you know, acting.

Ironically, with Lane and in reality, we have a gay guy playing a gay playing a straight playing a gay. It’s complicated. At one point (and to my point) near the end of the play, Chauncey admits that he doesn’t want a regular gay “marriage” (though, unimaginably, such would have been legally impossible in those oh-so-ancient times) because he prefers “illegal” assignations in, for instance, automats and gay bars.

I thought about that lure of the forbidden last week at Pralus, a chocolate manufacturer in Roanne, France [http://www.chocolats-pralus.com/en/our-chocolate.html]. Pralus sources chocolate from a number of countries, especially South America and Indonesia. I was on a tour of the factory, eating as I went, when I spotted a bunch of chocolate bars from Cuba.



I mentioned to a British man that for Americans, such chocolate would be forbidden fruit, as we are not allowed to buy Cuban chocolate, rum, cigars or anything else. He initially didn’t know what I meant, and I find Europeans are regularly surprised to be reminded of this prohibition…perhaps because it seems so odd for Americans to make policy like this which seems so petty and pointless. Many think we should be bigger than that.

Anyway, this Cuban candy bar started me thinking about how it is that some things that are out of our reach seem so much more appealing for their unavailability (I’m not claiming that this is a brilliant insight – I was just thinking about it). I brought home a Cuban chocolate bar from Pralus (it was a gift, so I’m not in violation of State Department rules and regs). I plan to eat it side-by-side with Pralus chocolate from other parts of the world, just to see if there’s any measurable quality difference among them.

I’ve smoked a few Cohibas and Montecristos, and though I’m particularly fond of the latter, I’m not sure that Cuban cigars are actually better than high-quality stogies from any other part of the world. But they are “illegal,” and that, of course, is a big part of their attractiveness.

My guess is that when weed is legalized across the country, it may actually lose some users who were attracted to its erstwhile outlaw allure.

David Hammond wrote:Anyway, this Cuban candy bar started me thinking about how it is that some things that are out of our reach seem so much more appealing for their unavailability (I’m not claiming that this is a brilliant insight – I was just thinking about it).

Like Coor's Beer in the 60's. It was in high demand back then because it wasn't distributed here. Now that it's readily available, I probably couldn't pay any of my friends to drink it.

stevez wrote:

David Hammond wrote:Anyway, this Cuban candy bar started me thinking about how it is that some things that are out of our reach seem so much more appealing for their unavailability (I’m not claiming that this is a brilliant insight – I was just thinking about it).

Like Coor's Beer in the 60's. It was in high demand back then because it wasn't distributed here. Now that it's readily available, I probably couldn't pay any of my friends to drink it.

Coor's Beer had a further psychological benefit: people drank it when on vacation in Colorado and environs. Coming home, they had fond memories of the beverage which I have to believe were conditioned by the fact that they were on vacation.

I had a business trip to London for some time and was very excited to have some Havana Club. I thought it was fine, but wasn't nearly as impressive as I had built it up to be in my head.

bjackson wrote:I had a business trip to London for some time and was very excited to have some Havana Club. I thought it was fine, but wasn't nearly as impressive as I had built it up to be in my head.

I've had all the iterations -- even finished every bottle of HC on the back bar at my hotel in Koln not too long ago (over several days, with my partners). It's the barrel proof that really sings. The rest are very nice but oh, that barrel proof . . .

=R=