Dressed in drag, they performed their flamboyance for the crowd, and didn’t necessarily enter into any serious feats of strength with the macho masked luchadores (wrestlers). Exóticos appeared on the Mexican scene in the 1940s (often portrayed by straight men) as a kind of clown to make people laugh. Lucha libre (Mexican pro wrestling) solved the machismo/homoeroticism conundrum by creating a homosexual “other” to counterbalance all that male-on-male touching. Professional wrestling is undeniably hypermasculine and homoerotic (there’s no shortage of gay porn with wrestling themes, from beefcake to Pornhub). Troy Michael Bordun talked to Cassandro about homophobia, masculinity, and the glitz and glamor of wrestling. Share the post 'Cassandro the Exotico is Wrestling Homophobia Out of the Ring, with Style'Ī vision in rhinestones and nylon tights, Cassandro the Exotico – a celebrated Mexican wrestler who happens to also be gay as hell – is finally getting the biopic he deserves.
