‘Silence Of The Lambs’ Is About Things That Scare Men
First up: therapy
The first penis I ever saw in a big-budget Hollywood movie was 30 years ago. It was tucked between the thighs of a serial killer nicknamed ‘Buffalo Bill’ during a homophobic — and transphobic — scene in Silence of the Lambs where he dances in front of a mirror.
Buffalo Bill’s real name is James Gumb, and he is dangerous but also pitiable, the second banana villain in a now-classic horror masterpiece. There’s a human inside the thinly-drawn character. Somewhere.
Normally, Hollywood doesn’t show penises because heterosexual, cisgender men don’t demand our little scepters be given the spotlight. The sight of a penis, limp or tucked or erect, is terrifying. What if it stabs me? Or squishes up against my body, somehow? What if an arc of electricity shoots out from that penis and strikes me in the heart, turning me gay?
No, men prefer beautiful naked women because we’re supposed to be motivated by two driving forces, sex with beautiful naked women and making lots of money. Those are the goals set by the patriarchy, an ancient secret society of dudes who love beer and babes and control the world.
That might sound like a tongue-in-cheek exaggeration but it is the truth: America is a pyramid scheme top-heavy with white straight…
