AllMovie

While most men wrestle with the notion of what masculinity means to themselves and within their culture, the issue is especially tricky for gay men, some of who openly reject traditional gender roles while others seem obsessed with appearing even more "manly" than their straight counterparts. Filmmaker Christopher Hines explores the often contradictory notions of masculinity within the gay community in the documentary The Butch Factor. Hines profiles a number of gay men who are athletes, rodeo cowboys, prison guards and rock musicians, and they share their feelings about the nexus between the macho exterior of their life pursuits and their own sexuality. Hines also interviews a handful of willfully effeminate men who talk about their rejection of a traditional masculine image while also having to defend themselves against anti-gay violence, and gay men on both sides of the divide contribute their feelings about the less complicated perspective on what constitutes manhood for straight men. The Butch Factor received its world premiere at the 2009 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival.