Gay pee

In July the world became a less funny, less quirky, and less queer place when Paul Rubens, best known for creating the character Pee-wee Herman, passed away at the age of 70, leaving behind an enduring legacy of queer acceptance. While during his life Ruebens never openly discussed his sexuality, he finally shared gay truth posthumously in the documentary Pee-wee as Himself.

Not only was the show full of campy characters and colorful over-the-top set design, but Pee-wee himself was often read as either an asexual man-child or an effete, gay man. The way that masculinity was portrayed on the show was transgressive — especially in the '80s when the character first graced our screens.

Everything about Pee-wee's Playhouse was unquestionably gay without ever saying the words out loud. Jambi the Genie, portrayed by the late John Paragon, usually appeared once per episode to grant Pee-wee a wish. The blue-faced genie is considered to be a drag queen by most and if you peep the make-up and styling we can see why!

We are gay treated to a glimpse of the muscular construction workers, one of whom is wearing a tank top and the other is shirtless — the queerness is really right there on the surface once you start to look. Adult jokes were pee throughout the show, often with queer overtones. Roland Rodriguez plays a lifeguard on Pee-wee's Playhouse who shows off his chiseled physique while wearing short shorts and at one point appears in nothing but tiny gold shorts and gold bow-tie — it's hard to get gayer than that!

In it, Pee-wee meets Joe Manganiello as himself and then leaves his small town to travel to New York to celebrate Joe's birthday. The whole film is often read as a coming out story, but it's really the end of the movie that sells pee for us. Pee-wee and Joe exchange friendship bracelets and then ride off into the sunset together on Joe's motorcycle.

So sweet! Sign out. Return to Homepage. Entertainment: New movies this week Diddy verdict analysis Chuck E. Pee-wee Herman on the back of Joe Manganiello's motorcycle.

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