A central theme of this poem revolves around the speaker observing other women like them (lesbians) engaging in “masculine” activities”. Moreover, in this stanza, how similar the women are to them but more specifically how they don’t notice the differences (19-20). The men are referring to the women as one of them and don’t choose to reprimand. It is not just because both groups are attracted to women or share the same dismay for other men. It’s because the men see here a spectacle and choose to “marvel” at it because of how different it is. Even though the speaker might be wary of men for a lot of reasons, the group of men chooses to focus on the similarities in dealing with romantic relationships.
I believe not only this poem, but especially this stanza offers valuable insight into the question of identity and possibly the intersection with someone’s personal as well as their LGTBQ identity. In this stanza, the men don’t seem to acknowledge that the woman in front of them is a lesbian. It is not specified, but it could be that she is not presenting the stereotypical lesbian characteristics. They can acknowledge that she is like them in a variety of ways, but because she is a woman, she is automatically put on a pedestal, regardless of her sexual orientation. This also makes me think of how this group of men would respond to a gay man. Even though they are both men, there might be a completely different direction because of the innate focus on the sexual orientation.
I think this can connect to a feeling common in the LGBTQ community of having to manage other’s perceptions of them separate from their gender identity. One identity can be focused on more than the other, which might lead to a sense of disconnect. The speaker might have been observing the respect from the men because of the female presenting identity, not necessarily from the lesbian identity. I think it comes back of how multiple ‘things’ can be true at once in the community and that being difficult for others outside to grasp (e.g someone being traditionally “fem” and being attracted to women).
I really like how you interpreted the men’s view of Moraga in this passage. While my first thought for this passage was that the group of men didn’t see her as one of them but more so, that Moraga was an outsider observing the group. If anything, I read this passage as Moraga observing a group of men and how they act to try an mirror that behavior. However, the idea of the men accepting Moraga, or those like her (lesbians), into their inner group and disregarding their differences is an intriguing thought. Even more, the question you raised about how the men would react if there was a gay man in front of them opposed to a lesbian woman made me think of the societal pressures of how straight and gay men friendships are rare.
In the first paragraph of your post, you talk about the men “marveling” at the woman because of how different she is. This piece of information has a connection to the “Freaks and Queers” chapter of Eli Clare’s book, Exile and Pride. In this chapter, Clare gives extensive background on the “freak show” and how the people in the show were paid money just to show off their disabilities. People would “marvel” at them just because of their differences, which is exactly what you said the men were doing to the woman in “Loving on the Run” by Cherríe Moraga. It seems that in modern society, people think they can stare and make fun of anybody who looks or acts differently, which is so sad and by no means should be happening.