Interesting thread. As a 21 year old folkie guy in England I get very frustrated by the lack of gay presence in the folk scene. I have never related to the gay scene which really is the fulfillment of all the stereotypes that exist about gay men, being full of desperate, sleazy, shallow guys being bomabarded by godawful chessy music (this is especially the case in small towns which can't offer the variety of somewhere like London, which at least has a few gay rock nights).

Ironic as it sounds, the gay scene has become so ingrained in its current form that it is actually very difficult to be an individual and be into anything but high camp and one night stands!
Every year I go to Sidmouth Folk Festival and stare dreamily at the sexy, hippy dreadlocked guys. Yeah I know, logic dictates there must be other gay guys into folk, but they're bloody hard to find!

I guess the problem is identifying myself as gay. Whilst violence can be a problem, a greater issue is the little differences in how people treat me. I have a lot of male blokey friends there, and whilst I doubt they would stop talking to me if they knew I was gay, I know from experience that it tends to change the way I'm treated. There's always a bit more distance and iciness, like they're constantly watching what they say! There's few enough young folkies, and I don't have any living near me as regular friends, so when I go to festivals the last thing I want to do is tell a bunch of near strangers I'm gay. But if I don't tell anyone, how can I meet anyone?

This year I even posted a question on outintheuk.com several months in advance asking if any other gay guys were going to Sidmouth, and only one (considerably older) guy replied.

I guess the fact that folk music has a lot of the older generation still actively involved means that homosexuality is still more taboo. There's certainly a white, middle class beardy element to it all, one that isn't very open to alternate sexualities in the same way as a young music culture like electronica and dance music, or pop is. I'd certainly feel more comfortable kissing a guy in a straight club (as in a DJ club) than I would in a folk club!

I think the lesbian singer-songwriters are connected to the feminist movement. There is a strong connection between lesbainism and feminism, and hence the desire to sing and fight for the issues that matter.
At its best, the gay male scene has a lot more of a 'fuck you, I'm going to be as outrageous as i want and you have to put up with it' rebellion to it, more like the vitriol of punk than the elegance of folk! The trouble is that now I think the scene has failed to progress beyond that initial impact and has got into a self-contained rut, and its going nowhere in terms of supporting gay men who don't fit the very narrow criteria that is catered for. So here's hoping for some clever and wise folk singers to rectify this imbalance. Or at the very least a sexy hippy boyfriend for me!

Murk