Simon Doonan’s new book to “prove gay men really are French women”
Simon Doonan, gay Creative Ambassador-at-Large of New York City department store Barneys, has made waves with the release of a new book which details the tongue-in-cheek differences between “gay” and “straight” foods.
The title is a nod to Mirelle Guiliano best-selling diet advice book, French Women Don’t Get Fat, and aims to prove “that gay men really are French women, from their delight in fashion, to their brilliant choices in accessories and décor, to their awe-inspiring ability to limit calorie intake”.
The “gay foods” are supposedly lighter, have less carbohydrate and less fat, and are arranged with more care than “straight foods”.
In an interview with the New York Times for the launch, he said: “Gay chips are baked. Straight chips are deep-fried.”
He added: “I have a lot of straight friends. And a lot of them are a very different shape.
“The word ‘burly’ springs to mind. And that’s a function of eating too many meatloafs, too many steaks, too many jumbo burritos.”
While Doonan says the humorous book is based on gender and sexuality stereotypes, he argued there was an amount of truth in the sweeping generalisations.
He used macarons, a confection made up of meringue-based cookies sanwiched together with jam or buttercream, as a particular example of a gay food.
Donnan said: “The macaron craze is the ne plus ultra of gay fooderie. I can’t believe any red-blooded straight guy can even walk into a macaron shop. If you wanted to ruin a politician’s career, just publish a picture of him shopping for macarons.”
Doonan’s memoirs of growing up gay in the Surrey town of Reading before he moved to New York was turned into the BBC cult hit, Beautiful People.
The Slate columnist has a history of irreverent statements. When he announced he would marry his partner in 2008, he said: “I always thought we were married, so I don’t feel like celebrating the fact that the government’s allowing me to think I’m married. It’s more like paying a parking ticket.”
