Maxim Russia has published an article entitled “Gays We Respect,” which sings the praises of gay men (sort of) who are “exceptions” to the rule. What is this rule, you might ask? That gay men are not really men at all. Well, apart from these guys.
Maxim writes, “We, men, do not consider men who love men to be men. This is the rule. But there are exceptions. There are gays who have earned our respect and the right to remain real men in our eyes.”
The sort-of honorary gays include Ian McKellen, Oscar Wilde, Freddie Mercury, Alan Turing, and How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris.
So, being a knight, playwright, or flamboyant rock vocalist are all trappings of an exemplary gay man. Duly noted.
Maxim Russia goes on to write: “We weren’t sure about including Neil Patrick Harris in the list — after all, he declared himself a ‘happy gay’ in 2006. But his performance as Barney Stinson in the series How I Met Your Mother hasn’t left us indifferent. It’s impossible not to respect someone who elevated the hunt for girls into a true art, who systematized all the tricks and techniques and created the ‘Bro Code.’ Even if he was just acting the role. But how he acted!”
Thankfully, U.S. Maxim was quick to cast aspersions to their Russian counterpart.
“We are deeply disturbed by the article in Maxim Russia and fully condemn it,” a Maxim spokesperson told BuzzFeed News via e-mail. “It is entirely against the views of U.S. Maxim.”
