ARE ALL MEN PIGS? Are they really? Everyone has heard that phrase - mostly stated by women. Is it simply because men are perceived to always be up for sex while women aren’t? Or is there some not-so-hidden resentment in there because men are able to live out their sexuality while women are judged harshly if they do? With such widely divergent expectations concerning gender roles, can we ever find common ground? How can the genders be so incompatible? Are we hardwired to react in certain ways that are determined by our gender, or is all gender-specific behavior a social construct? Our gender roles continue to clash rather than complement each other. Things get trickier when we look at how gay men perceive being called a pig. Gay men embrace being a pig and being a nasty pig is even more desirable. It means that you’re up for anything sexually. For some men this translates into total freedom. To get a closer look, I invited friends and strangers to answer that question: Are men pigs? Are you? Wearing a pig’s nose and not much else, some ranted, some confessed and some proudly exclaimed they were pigs. Some took a perverse pride in revealing how they use piggish behavior to ward off clingy women. The honesty here is striking and demonstrates that any judgments and evaluations are relative and relevant only in context. Maybe being a pig isn’t such a bad thing after all.