My husband and I are hooked on Robert Wone.
Do you know this story?
A powerful, successful, married man goes to spend the night at the home of a friend. The friend is gay, and part of a thrupple. Within a couple of hours, Wone--the guest, the married man--is murdered. He is dead, stabbed.
It seems clear that at least a fraction of the thrupple is responsible for the murder. There's no evidence of an intruder. At least one-third of the thrupple--Joseph Price, a well-known lawyer--makes statements that seem (possibly) self-incriminating. Also, each part of the thrupple appears freshly-showered; the murder scene seems "staged," or finessed; there's evidence to suggest that Wone has (had) been drugged, and this suggests a fairly elaborate set-up, and not a set-up that a knife-wielding intruder, operating in haste, could have been a part of.
Some people feel that the Wone story is as bizarre and mysterious as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann or the death of Jonbenet Ramsey. It's not that people feel baffled by the identity of the murderer; there's a strong consensus that at least some portion of the thrupple did the deed. The questions are: Did *all three* men participate? Was the murder planned, or did it result from panic? There is evidence of some BDSM activity pre-murder, and so did Wone consent to be "violated," or was he simply violated? Was Wone secretly gay? Secretly bisexual?
People say that this case does not generate Jonbenet-esque attention in part because the protagonists are homosexual.
My husband argued with this bit of speculation: He said the lack of interest didn't have anything to do with gayness. He said people are murdered all the time; the main murders that generate public attention are murders of children.
But I disagree. I think if this were a hetero thrupple--affluent, prominent in the DC world--there would be headline after headline after headline.
I don't think the lack of interest is a result of homophobia, or at least conscious homophobia. In other words, I don't think hetero reporters are saying: "Eww! Those icky gay men and their crimes! I'm not going anywhere near that stuff!"
But I do think something sex-related is at work here. I think straight people enjoy hearing stories about straight people. Look at the multiplex: How often do you encounter a gay character? When you *do* see a gay protagonist, it's as if hell has frozen over. Major self-congratulatory stories pop up. (Witness "Love, Simon.")
I think the hetero response to the Wone story was: "Well, I don't RELATE." And that was the end of that.
But I do want to shine light on Mr. Wone's death. I want that because--first--it would be nice to have justice for Mr. Wone, and for his family. And second: Gay stories deserve more attention, period. The Wone story would be juicy material for--e.g.--a Laura Lippman novel. But I suspect she won't go near it. We can hope that Ryan Murphy might try his hand at a Wone-inspired scenario, but I've not heard anything along those lines. At least not yet.
There are some touching sidenotes in the Wone story: If you listen to the 911 call, the dispatcher repeatedly refers to the gay male caller as "ma'am." Hetero podcasters really scratch their head over this. Can I tell you how many times I'm called "ma'am" on the phone? And how many times--like Zaborsky--I don't bother to correct the person on the other end, because the whole thing is embarrassing, and probably because of some weird internalized homophobia? Also, Zaborsky never makes clear that the "partner" he alludes to on the call is male. And then I wonder if Zaborsky--an older guy, trying to hang onto a younger partner--consented to some stuff he didn't want to consent to, mainly to hang on to the family he had built for himself. Was Zaborsky more vulnerable than Price? To some extent, these are specifically *gay* questions. Who cares if hetero audiences would take an interest? I, for one, would really like to read a lengthy true-crime account of what happened with Zaborsky, Price, et al.
There was a buzz of activity surrounding "Into the Spider-verse," recently. Some people said: "How nice to see a protagonist who looks like me!" And others said: "Why is that so important? Can't you use your imagination and identify with protagonists who don't share your exact background?"
I say: The easier it is to relate, the better. The world needs more stories with gay protagonists (even if some of the stories are sordid). It absolutely makes a difference for a young gay reader to pick up a good book that has a gay lead character. Reading is difficult. Anything that makes the empathizing process quicker, simpler? That's a good thing.
Gay readers: I'm talking to you. Look into Robert Wone. You will go down a rabbit hole. You will find yourself "identifying" in strange ways. You won't regret the time expended. You're welcome, and enjoy!
Do you know this story?
A powerful, successful, married man goes to spend the night at the home of a friend. The friend is gay, and part of a thrupple. Within a couple of hours, Wone--the guest, the married man--is murdered. He is dead, stabbed.
It seems clear that at least a fraction of the thrupple is responsible for the murder. There's no evidence of an intruder. At least one-third of the thrupple--Joseph Price, a well-known lawyer--makes statements that seem (possibly) self-incriminating. Also, each part of the thrupple appears freshly-showered; the murder scene seems "staged," or finessed; there's evidence to suggest that Wone has (had) been drugged, and this suggests a fairly elaborate set-up, and not a set-up that a knife-wielding intruder, operating in haste, could have been a part of.
Some people feel that the Wone story is as bizarre and mysterious as the disappearance of Madeleine McCann or the death of Jonbenet Ramsey. It's not that people feel baffled by the identity of the murderer; there's a strong consensus that at least some portion of the thrupple did the deed. The questions are: Did *all three* men participate? Was the murder planned, or did it result from panic? There is evidence of some BDSM activity pre-murder, and so did Wone consent to be "violated," or was he simply violated? Was Wone secretly gay? Secretly bisexual?
People say that this case does not generate Jonbenet-esque attention in part because the protagonists are homosexual.
My husband argued with this bit of speculation: He said the lack of interest didn't have anything to do with gayness. He said people are murdered all the time; the main murders that generate public attention are murders of children.
But I disagree. I think if this were a hetero thrupple--affluent, prominent in the DC world--there would be headline after headline after headline.
I don't think the lack of interest is a result of homophobia, or at least conscious homophobia. In other words, I don't think hetero reporters are saying: "Eww! Those icky gay men and their crimes! I'm not going anywhere near that stuff!"
But I do think something sex-related is at work here. I think straight people enjoy hearing stories about straight people. Look at the multiplex: How often do you encounter a gay character? When you *do* see a gay protagonist, it's as if hell has frozen over. Major self-congratulatory stories pop up. (Witness "Love, Simon.")
I think the hetero response to the Wone story was: "Well, I don't RELATE." And that was the end of that.
But I do want to shine light on Mr. Wone's death. I want that because--first--it would be nice to have justice for Mr. Wone, and for his family. And second: Gay stories deserve more attention, period. The Wone story would be juicy material for--e.g.--a Laura Lippman novel. But I suspect she won't go near it. We can hope that Ryan Murphy might try his hand at a Wone-inspired scenario, but I've not heard anything along those lines. At least not yet.
There are some touching sidenotes in the Wone story: If you listen to the 911 call, the dispatcher repeatedly refers to the gay male caller as "ma'am." Hetero podcasters really scratch their head over this. Can I tell you how many times I'm called "ma'am" on the phone? And how many times--like Zaborsky--I don't bother to correct the person on the other end, because the whole thing is embarrassing, and probably because of some weird internalized homophobia? Also, Zaborsky never makes clear that the "partner" he alludes to on the call is male. And then I wonder if Zaborsky--an older guy, trying to hang onto a younger partner--consented to some stuff he didn't want to consent to, mainly to hang on to the family he had built for himself. Was Zaborsky more vulnerable than Price? To some extent, these are specifically *gay* questions. Who cares if hetero audiences would take an interest? I, for one, would really like to read a lengthy true-crime account of what happened with Zaborsky, Price, et al.
There was a buzz of activity surrounding "Into the Spider-verse," recently. Some people said: "How nice to see a protagonist who looks like me!" And others said: "Why is that so important? Can't you use your imagination and identify with protagonists who don't share your exact background?"
I say: The easier it is to relate, the better. The world needs more stories with gay protagonists (even if some of the stories are sordid). It absolutely makes a difference for a young gay reader to pick up a good book that has a gay lead character. Reading is difficult. Anything that makes the empathizing process quicker, simpler? That's a good thing.
Gay readers: I'm talking to you. Look into Robert Wone. You will go down a rabbit hole. You will find yourself "identifying" in strange ways. You won't regret the time expended. You're welcome, and enjoy!
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