Searching for Beefcake in the Scariest Place in the U.S.

No, it's not Natchez, Mississippi, or Lynchburg, Virginia, or one of those survivalist towns in Idaho.

Corvallis, Oregon.

We think of Oregon as a liberal state, but outside of Portland, it gets conservative fast.

I'm basing this conclusion on several news stories about horribly homophobic Oregon high schools, and on a guy named Tom who I knew in grad school at Bloomington.

He was getting a master's degree in speech, with the goal of running his own cable tv station (this was in the early days of cable).  And he was the most homophobic fellow on the face of the Earth.

He didn't know that I was gay, and of course I wasn't going to tell him, but he railed against my friends.  "How can you hang out with him -- doesn't he strike you as sort of..."  Limp wrist gesture.

"I mean, don't you have to be on your guard every second, to make sure he doesn't try anything?  Or what if he brings one of his friends around."  Limp wrist gesture.

"I have strong moral objections to ..."

"Thinking about what they do in bed makes me nauseous."

So now Corvallis, Oregon gives me a sick feeling.  And the best way to overcome a sick feeling is with muscle.










Fortunately, Corvallis is the home of Oregon State University, which offer the full range of swimming, wrestling, and powerlifting.














Plus Corvallis High School, notable for their orange singlets.












And Crescent Valley High School in a northern surbub.












I couldn't find any adult beefcake photos from Corvallis.  I guess after high school men flee to Portland.