Pain Don't Hurt
On Patrick Swayze and Masculine Grace
This is the Sunday edition of Paging Dr. Lesbian. Plus, this week’s dispatch from the lesbian internet. If you like this type of thing, subscribe!
In the seminal 1989 film Road House, Patrick Swayze delivers one of his career-best lines while being stitched up by a beautiful blonde doctor. “Pain don’t hurt,” he says. In Road House – a wonderfully preposterous film that is both deadly serious and deeply silly – Swayze plays PhD-educated Dalton, a head bouncer with a knack for breaking up fights (or starting them, when called for). Swayze delivers that famous line with the world-weary smile of a man who has seen pain – both physical and emotional – and isn’t afraid to face it (though perhaps is more inured to one than the other, as it turns out).
This line, and indeed, the entire film, perfectly encapsulates what has made Swayze such a beloved figure for so many years. If you’ve been reading this newsletter for some time now you might recall my piece on “Exceptional Heterosexuals,” that is, heterosexual characters (specifically romantic pairings) that I find particularly outstanding for the depth of their longing and angst, and as such have a significant queer or sapphic following. I would include Swayze in a similar camp as he is a deeply masculine movie star with an appeal so broad that it even includes sapphics. (I also make this point to illustrate to you why, dear reader, I am discussing a male movie star in a newsletter about lesbians. I might remind you of the sapphic Midas touch (the Sappho touch?)– if lesbians like it, that means it is automatically relevant. To me, specifically, but really to everyone).
Swayze’s particular brand of masculinity is unique, and, I think, part of the reason for his endearing appeal among both straight and queer women (and, I would assume, non-binary people). The archetypes of his usual roles often seem like something of a contradiction – he played tough, world-weary characters who were also romantic and even sensitive. In Swayze’s hands, however, (and indeed, in his body), these characteristics don’t come off as contradictions. Rather, they are themselves the very gooey essence of his beloved movie star persona.
The apparent stable domesticity of his own life is undoubtedly one of his most appealing characteristics. Born in 1952 in Houston, Texas, he famously met his wife at his mother’s dance studio when they were teenagers. They married in 1975 and were together until Swayze’s death from cancer in 2009.
Both his style of movement and the types of characters he played are reflected in his upbringing. Along with being a trained dancer (he moved to New York City after high school to receive formal ballet training), he also pursued ice skating, played high school football, and studied martial arts. (He spends one extended scene in Road House practicing Tai Chi shirtless while several impressed men look on).
His training as a dancer, of course, is an essential element of his star power. The movement of Swayze’s body is distinct and singular; lithe but strong, confident yet not domineering. Even when he is angry - like in Road House when he jumps out the window of the barn he is living in and leaps over the hood of his car to chase after the bad guys - his movements are graceful and smooth.
Swayze first broke into the film industry with Francis Ford Coppola’s adaptation of The Outsiders in 1983, but it wasn’t until 1987’s Dirty Dancing – a surprise hit – that he really reached icon status. In Dirty Dancing, he plays Johnny Castle, a working-class cool-guy dancer who falls in love with a teenager named Baby (Jennifer Grey) in the summer of 1963. While Dirty Dancing is undoubtedly Baby’s story (and I am of the opinion it is a near-perfect coming-of-age movie), Swayze imbues Johnny Castle with surprising depth that isn’t marred by the film’s most famous (and worst) line. His own struggles with class, self-worth and his feelings of objectification are portrayed sensitively by Swayze, and his dancing, of course, is stupendous. (I must also give credit here to screenwriter Eleanor Bergstein, who produced such a charming and timeless script).
In 1990’s Ghost, Swayze plays a loving man (opposite sexy ceramicist Demi Moore, who is absolutely a bisexual in this movie), who nonetheless is unable to utter the words ‘I love you.’ (He dies, of course, before he can ever say them). Sam is stable and reliable yet also struggles with being vulnerable, and, along with being unparalleled in his ability to pull of high-waisted pants and billowy shirts, Swayze is a master of this particular puzzle, depicting this dilemma with grace and openness.
In 1995, Swayze took this talent to To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, where he plays Vida, a motherly drag queen. To Wong Foo was the first of its kind in terms of mainstream queer representation in America, and, perhaps surprisingly, the drag queens are empathetically portrayed by the film’s straight male actors (Wesley Snipes and John Leguizamo also star). Swayze’s physicality is important here too, as he imbues Vida with a gentle elegance and maternal instinct that is distinct from his usual macho fare but unmistakeably commanding nonetheless. Though Vida does not practice Tai Chi, it’s not actually as far of a leap from Road House to To Wong Foo as you might think, with Swayze’s characters in both standing as calm figures in the center of an ever-encroaching storm.
In Kathryn Bigelow’s Point Break (1991), Swayze lends this temperament to the homoerotic, playing a lawless surfer opposite lawman Keanu Reeves. In this role, his free-spirited gusto for life (also a common trait of his characters) leans closer into chaos, particularly as his relationship with Reeves’ character takes a darkly romantic edge. Here, as a surfer/bank robber, Swayze once again lends his physical strength and grace to the role, traits that, as always, are essential to the very heart of his characters.
While some actors are known for their distinctive drawls (James Stewart, Sean Connery), Swayze is known for the way he moves his body. The brand of masculinity he often displays – tough, yet graceful – is imbued in his words, yes, but in particular can be found in his mannerisms, his movements. It is his mastery of these abilities that allowed him to successfully cross over from romantic lead (Dirty Dancing, Ghost) to action star (Red Dawn, Point Break). While many have become more critical of hyperbolic machismo in recent years (and rightly so), Swayze’s brand of masculine strength has not gone sour, and indeed has even gained more acclaim as we have become better able to observe the full spectrum of his oeuvre.
As a masculine figure of prowess, grace, and somatic freedom, Swayze’s persona (and, indeed, his physical person) inspires both awe and desire. While we may be in awe of his strength and agility, the freedom with which he moves his body also arouses aspiration, if not to be with him, then to somehow absorb some of this freedom. In many ways, this is the very heart of audience desire, particularly when this sort of cross-identification occurs – in inhabiting the space of the male hero, one’s power to effect change in the world increases significantly. Though Johnny Castle sorely lacks economic and social power in Dirty Dancing, he is able to gain it through his commanding movements. The joy and abandon with which he moves is affecting, and this is power that – forever preserved on celluloid, bursting forth – cannot be stifled.
Welcome to this week’s dispatch from the lesbian internet.
In legislative news this week, the Florida Bill 1475, which would ban trans athletes from sports and in some cases even require a genital examination, has (at least temporarily) died in the senate. Read this, from the Tampa Bay Times, about the harmful rhetoric of such bills. Around the country, bills banning healthcare for trans youth are still a huge issue. Read this about the many families planning to leave their states as a result of these bills.
In a Tik Tok video posted on Thursday, Kehlani expanded upon her recent revelation that she is a lesbian, noting that when discussing it with family and friends their only reaction was “duh!” In related news, Kehlani was seen leaving a restaurant in LA with none other than SZA and Lizzo. Note that they are all holding hands in the picture below. They also took this selfie. (Kehlani’s birthday was on April 24th, while Lizzo’s is on the 27th, so perhaps this is the reason for the festivities. SZA’s place in all this I do not know). Major throuple goals.
On Friday, Raven-Symoné and her wife posted a video of them charging their Tesla while apparently parked next to “Amber Heard and her lesbian lover” (who were also in a Tesla, obviously). There’s really a lot to take in here – Raven clandestinely filming herself talking about Amber while also noting that she is probably on the phone with her lawyer and that her “lesbian lover” looks a lot like Johnny Depp. She’s really given us a lot to think about.
Also on Friday, Leisha Hailey posted this photo of her in between Laurel Holloman and Jennifer Beals with the caption “I’m in a Bette and Tina sandwich #tibette.” This is potentially a behind-the-scenes look at Season 2 of The L Word: Generation Q, which apparently has begun production. I obviously watched Season 1 of The L Word: Generation Q but then immediately forgot about it because, frankly, it was just not very good. Also of note is that Stephanie Allynne (actor and wife of Tig Notaro) commented “B.L.T.” (aka Bette, Leisha, Tina) on the photo which I thought was clever. Relatedly, Stephanie was, in my opinion, the best part of the reboot.
That’s all for this week, folks! Stay tuned for next week’s deep dive. I will leave you with this classic photo of Kristen Stewart risking life and limb to take a picture of her model (ex) girlfriend Stella Maxwell.
One of my favorite pieces you've written! <3