The Butch Factor

The Butch Factor

What does mean to be gay and be a man? There's no straight answer for sure.

2009•1h 16m•4.6/10

Documentary

Ratings

🎬TMDb

4.6/10(10)

What does mean to be gay and be a man? There's no straight answer for sure. From the Castro culture of the 1970s to today’s Bears and gym rats, this fascinating investigation of gay men and sexuality blows the lid off old stereotypes and showcases a battalion of interviewees including muscle men, rodeo riders, rugby players and cops. The men speak candidly on topics from homophobia to metrosexuality to embracing effeminacy as they reveal what it means to be a gay man in America today.

Open in PickFlick

Production

Rogue Culture Productions

Language

EN

Status

Released

Release Date

Cast

J. Wesley Adams

Himself (Wes Adams)

David Aguilar

Himself

H.T. Bennett

Himself

Jackson Bowman

Himself

Ellen Brin

Herself

Junior Buendia

Himself

Brent Calderwood

Himself

Vincent Calvarese

Himself

John Campbell

John Campbell

Himself

Gregory Cason

Himself (Psycologist)

Recommended

Tongues Untied

Tongues Untied

Marlon Riggs, with assistance from other gay Black men, especially poet Essex Hemphill, celebrates Black men loving Black men as a revolutionary act. The film intercuts footage of Hemphill reciting his poetry, Riggs telling the story of his growing up, scenes of men in social intercourse and dance, and various comic riffs, including a visit to the "Institute of Snap!thology," where men take lessons in how to snap their fingers: the sling snap, the point snap, the diva snap.

Tongues Untied

1990

6.6

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018

6.0

Welcome to Chechnya

Welcome to Chechnya

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

Welcome to Chechnya

2020

6.8

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

Nude men in rubber suits, close-ups of erections, objects shoved in the most intimate of places—these are photographs taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, known by many as the most controversial photographer of the twentieth century. Openly gay, Mapplethorpe took images of male sex, nudity, and fetish to extremes that resulted in his work still being labelled by some as pornography masquerading as art. But less talked about are the more serene, yet striking portraits of flowers, sculptures, and perfectly framed human forms that are equally pioneering and powerful.

Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures

2016

6.9

The Celluloid Closet

The Celluloid Closet

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

The Celluloid Closet

1996

7.2

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere

With rare access and no holds barred, the acclaimed documentarian investigates a growing ultra-masculine network and its controversial influencers.

Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere

2026

6.6

Disclosure

Disclosure

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

Disclosure

2020

7.8

Circus of Books

Circus of Books

For decades, a nice Jewish couple ran Circus of Books, a porn shop and epicenter for gay LA. Their director daughter documents their life and times.

Circus of Books

2019

6.8

The Sound of 007

The Sound of 007

Pull back the curtain on the remarkable history of six decades of James Bond music, from Sean Connery’s Dr No through to Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time to Die.

The Sound of 007

2022

7.2

Public Speaking

Public Speaking

Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.

Public Speaking

2011

7.0

The Last Repair Shop

The Last Repair Shop

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

The Last Repair Shop

2024

7.5

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King

2020

8.1

Similar Movies

The Third Way

The Third Way

Documentary film about Catholic Church teachings about homosexuality. Describes the "third way", the lifestyle lead by orthodox gay Catholics practicing celibacy out of personal choice, an often overlooked demographic in the debates about homosexuality in the Church.

The Third Way

2014

Haram

Homophobia is a recurring issue in Arab and Muslim societies. However, many people from these communities also identify with the LGBTQ+ community. The short documentary HARAM explores the relationship between Muslim religious identity and queer sexual identities through discussions, testimonials and performance art.

Haram

2022

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

Scott Mills travels to Uganda where the death penalty could soon be introduced for being gay. The gay Radio 1 DJ finds out what it's like to live in a society which persecutes people like him and meets those who are leading the hate campaign.

The World's Worst Place to Be Gay?

2011

8.0

Out Laws

Out Laws

A powerful documentary that follows gay Namibian activist Friedel Dausab as he challenges his country’s criminalisation of same-sex love. In June 2022, Friedel files a landmark lawsuit against the government, becoming a beacon of hope for LGBTQIA+ Namibians seeking safety and equality. Facing death threats, public hostility, and immense personal risk, he takes his fight to court while awaiting judgment. The film also traces the colonial roots of queer criminalisation—from Tudor England to its export across the Global South through empire and later reinforced by Christian evangelism. Alongside fellow activists from Sri Lanka and Barbados, Friedel travels to London, where history, protest, and Pride converge. Blending legal battle with historical insight, the documentary is both an urgent exposé of injustice and a stirring celebration of queer resilience, courage, and resistance.

Out Laws

2026

The Codes of Gender

Arguing that advertising not only sells things, but also ideas about the world, media scholar Sut Jhally offers a blistering analysis of commercial culture's inability to let go of reactionary gender representations. Jhally's starting point is the breakthrough work of the late sociologist Erving Goffman, whose 1959 book The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life prefigured the growing field of performance studies. Jhally applies Goffman's analysis of the body in print advertising to hundreds of print ads today, uncovering an astonishing pattern of regressive and destructive gender codes. By looking beyond advertising as a medium that simply sells products, and beyond analyses of gender that tend to focus on either biology or objectification, The Codes of Gender offers important insights into the social construction of masculinity and femininity, the relationship between gender and power, and the everyday performance of cultural norms.

The Codes of Gender

2010

6.5

Will You Look at Me

Will You Look at Me

As a young Chinese filmmaker returns to his hometown in search for himself, a long due conversation with his mother dives the two of them into a quest for acceptance and love.

Will You Look at Me

2022

4.6

Drawn This Way

Drawn This Way

From Tom of Finland to Bugs Bunny in a dress – animation has been a place where artists can unleash and explore their sexuality. When did all this g(art) start? Is it a sexual turn-on? How did the artists get their start? Why the obsession with these fantastical stories and characters? Are they taken seriously in the mainstream comic world? Hosts Andy Cheng and Cara Connors dive into the pages of comic books, animated series, films and video games to discover the LGBTQ characters in the documentary Drawn this Way.

Drawn This Way

2019

2.6

Oliver

Oliver

A documentary about a gay nightclub performer with an especially lurid "Spider-man" act. Oliver is a female impersonator who supports his family by performing in Manila's gay bars.

Oliver

1983

4.2

Edges

Edges

Paolo is a 22-year-old boy and experiences a constant sense of inadequacy and ineptitude, due to his complex relationship with his mother, unaware of his homosexuality, and to the conflict he has with his hometown, Lanciano. Driven by a great desire for emancipation, he decides not to give up and to interview those who have remained in the province and continue to fight just like him.

Edges

2020

8.0

Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End

Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End

Narrated by Linda Hunt, this documentary examines the life of the late author and gay rights activist Paul Monette. Born in 1945 to a well-off Massachusetts family, Monette grows up unable to accept his homosexuality, for years hiding it from his loved ones while struggling to develop as a writer. In 1978, Monette publishes his first novel, which allows him to come out to his parents. After losing one lover to AIDS in 1986, he becomes a ferocious advocate for awareness of the disease.

Paul Monette: The Brink of Summer's End

1997

1.0

Two Spirits

Two Spirits

Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits.

Two Spirits

2009

4.3

She's Safe

She's Safe

Learning can be fun! This package of woman-to-woman safer sex videos features a spicy batch of public service announcements (PSAs) and an international sampling of smart and sexy erotic videos, including Girls Will Be Boys, a drag king date where they skip dinner and a movie; and the silent horror spoof, Cunt Dykula. She's Safe! also features excerpts from Well Sexy Women, the first British-produced lesbian sate sex video; and excerpts from the bold, German-produced Truth or Dare. She's Safe! contains the hottest and most educational safe sex videos ever compiled.

She's Safe

1993

1.0

PickFlick Assistant

Hi! I'm your PickFlick Assistant. Ask me about movies, TV shows, IPTV sources, or anything about PickFlick.

Powered by CopilotKit