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Gay skinheads)
A Gay skinhead, often called a gayskin, is a gay man who identifies with the skinhead subculture out of a sexual interest. Some gay skinheads have a sexual fetish for skinhead clothing styles. Others have a violence fetish. Still others simply see skinhead attitude as the epitome of masculinity, and are attracted to that. What they all have in common, though, is that they both adopt skinhead subcultural aspects and are sexually attracted to others who do the same.
There are also skinheads who happen to be gay, but who are not especially attracted to skinheads per se. These often prefer not to be referred to as "gayskins" because of the sexual connotations, and they may or may not associate with gayskins. Although the simplest meaning of the phrase "gay skinhead" would apply to these skinheads, they are not the subject of this article.
Subculture
Gay skinheads as a group are a distinct and separate sub-subculture of the skinhead subculture. It is distinct in that it has its own unique set of rules for social interaction, which combine elements of generic gay male interaction with skinhead modes of expression. For example, one gay skinhead might engage another in a fistfight or wrestling match to establish which will take the dominant role in a subsequent sexual encounter. The gay skinhead subculture is separate from that of other skinheads because such interactions would almost certainly not be tolerated by the latter, so gay skinheads usually practice their subculture in isolation—in private residences, gay bars, or predominantly gayskin events.
Relationship to other skinheads
Most gay skinheads are not affiliated with neo-Nazi or white power movements, for the simple reason that those movements usually condemn homosexuality in any form. There are, however, some who fetishize Nazism, Nazi uniforms, and/or other Nazi memorabilia, and there are some who subscribe to racist, racialist, and white power viewpoints.
In general, gay skinheads are disliked, even hated, by other skinheads, who often feel that gayskins are misappropriating, desecrating, or diluting their subculture. There is a common perception among some that homosexuals can not be truly masculine, and since exaggerated masculinity is a hallmark of skinhead attitude, gay skinheads are seen by them as making a mockery of their subculture. Others might be less disparaging of gayskin masculinity, but simply don't want to witness homosexual intimacy, or don't want society to get the impression that it's a common feature of skinhead life. For this reason, gay skinheads tend not to mix with non-gay skinheads, or at least conceal their sexual interest when they do. A gay skinhead who incautiously makes a pass at a non-gay skinhead is taking a real risk of getting beaten up.
Media Recognition
Gay skinheads figure prominently in the work of gay artists such as Canadian painter Attila Richard Lukacs and filmmaker Bruce LaBruce.
