Were they gay? (Jack & Ennis)

[CANSTANDIT]

  What does that mean?

Your post from Topic of the week made Post of the Day in the daily sheet!!! Click on it in the upper right corner, and scroll down.

[Tony5]

  Thanks - I found it.  Must have been a slow day.

[Dal]

~AP forgot:  teen-aged boys jerk off, and in doing so, have sexual pictures in their minds. ~

?!  Why would you think she forgot that?  It's not a secret, and   she's not an innocent young thing 

To have been picturing males would have produced a far different Ennis and Jack outside Aguirre's trailor.  And probably a far better move, on Jack's part in FNIT.

If they had fantasies but no experience, I think their behavior could have been as described outside the trailer, and in the tent.  Neither of the the boys knew what he was doing, at that stage in his life.

~ the story reads well with both the majority and minority version, but the latter expands the boundaries of exploration~
 

Do you think so?  Did you find that the rural setting of the story didn't make it much different from the 'typical' urban gay love story?   To me, the backgrounds of all the characters, as well as the flavor of the society in which they swim, is very different, yet the same.  Do you think the story would be boring or commonplace, if Ennis were gay?

[Desecra]

Sexual pictures during masturbation are referred to in the book - when Ennis talks about wringing it out while thinking of Jack.    He claims that he hasn't had those thoughts about other men - that could be because he's orientated towards women, or it could be that he's avoided those thoughts.  I think it's the latter - when he ticks off the evidence for why he's straight he doesn't mention thoughts about women.   

[royandronnie]

Tony, RE: them being straight going up the mountain, thinking about women when they wanked--the followingwas not my insight--it was CSI's or MinAngel's, I think, but it was pointed out that in the list of things they talked about, girls/women was not mentioned… That is, I think, a very significant omission.

[suelyblu]

Yes,  I belive Ennis and Jack were gay.  They just did what society expected of them, which was to get married and have a family.  Those days a man living on his own was regarded with suspicion. Lets face it even these  days some people believe it is 'odd' for aguy to live alone.Never had the conversation with some one what goes like this  'Thats 'Bob' over there,he lives alone,he's not married.  Other persons responce ' is he gay?'

[Goby]

I'm sure that Jack was gay because he needed a man (Mexico!) when he had to miss Ennis for a long time. He was with Lureen, but still he had a 'hunger' for men. Ennis, on the other hand, wasnt really gay, I think...  He just 'accidentaly' fel in love with a man. When Jack isn't around he doesnt search 'contact' with other men to compensate the absence of Jack. He also starts dating women again after the break up with Alma.

Thats roughly what I think, but my theory is not '100% waterproof'. Ennis maybee is afraid of seeing other men because of the trauma in his childhood?

[daliah]

i think that jack is not as strict as being bisexual as Ennis before they met.I guess Jack has a closer thought of being with a man.
But Ennis was always afraid of being gay during his whole life.