MovieChat Forums > My Fair Lady (1964) Discussion > Professor Higgins was gay as hell

Professor Higgins was gay as hell


lol. I had a guy friend watch this movie with me (one of my favorite movies btw, I love Audrey) and those were the first words out of his mouth when the movie was over.

I thought about the plausibility of it before, but him saying it really made it stick this time. Makes me wonder if the gay vibes to his character were done purposefully. Thoughts?

"yeah he asked me how I was"
"...and you told him?"

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he wasnt gay!! the only reason he sang those anti woman songs is because he just couldnt stand the way women acted. he even told eliza that he thought she was attractive. but honestly, he wasnt gay! at the end of the movie he siad he did it, that he liked eliza remember? he said, "Eliza, i like you this way." he "created" the perfect woman to him. what eliza became is what he wanted in a woman.

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Sticks and stone, love. <3

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Higgins & Pickering didn't "live" together. Pickering was a guest in the Higgins household. When they meet, Pickering tells Higgins what hotel he's staying at and Higgins tells him he can pack his bags and move to his house. I always assumed that once the Liza issue was settled, Pickering would go back to India or wherever his permanent residence was.

"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."

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He didn't strike me as gay or even effeminate for that matter.
Could he have been? Of course, but from his dress an mannerisms I'd say it was unlikely.

"Mr. Willoughby, you are not welcome here."

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Right... Thank you! Once he said "I like you this way..." to Eliza, that's where it becomes apparent that he loves her (in a romantic sense).

I also think Eliza was in part denial when she said the bit about "not wanting him to make love to her and she wanted the kindness and friendly relationship." Intitally, I think she wanted Higgins in any capacity (friend, mentor, etc.) but her actions show that she's clearly in love with him. Because of his nature throughout the film, she felt like couldn't have a romantic relationship with a woman, so she fought for the friendship. The course of the friendship changed the night of the ball and its afterwards. IMHO, Eliza became confused and wondered if she truly wanted Higgins as a friend or lover. The ending of the film clearly implies that Eliza and Higgins are in love with each other and will embark on a romantic relationship. MFL is different that Pygliaion sincer Lerner and Lowe believed in the Higgins and Eliza love story. Higgins and Eliza are soulmates who truly understand each other, regardless of class and age. ALL the songs that Eliza sang were about Higgins and her feelings for me. Though Eliza goes back to Higgins, it's Higgins who will need to say "I love you" first.

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Higgins was not gay. He was also not asexual, though he was obviously a man of lower than normal libido. A lot of people who didn't know Rex Harrison personally (and only saw him on screen), also erroneously thought he might be gay. In actuality, he was a rapacious womanizer and women adored him, despite the fact he was incredibly egocentric in person.

It seems young people have no remote understanding of how proper British men acted in that era. They are NOT gay, just Victorian.

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I had a guy friend watch this movie with me

Rather suspect, isn't that? Projecting much?

"Thank you, thank you--you're most kind. In fact you're every kind."

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Yes. Because everyone knows that a guy watching a movie with a female is typical gay behavior.

Clown.

"So thats it? After twenty years, so long good luck?"
"I don't recall saying good luck"

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IMO he was just an asexual Bookworm.

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http://www.youtube.com/user/loveunderlaw

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I cracked up when I read the title of this thread.

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I agree.

I guess I just fine the whole conversation a little odd. I don't get why he is viewed as gay by anyone. Our society is so focused on sex that it seems no one can think about anything in terms other than sexual terms. I guess I just assumed when I saw the film as a young person that Eliza and Henry ended up together. Now that I am older it doesn't seem that cut and dry. I have always viewed writing as art that has a lot of aspects. There is the way that they author means for it to be taken and then there is the way that the audience takes it or completes it and fills in the blanks themselves. Also, if a director is involved and the story is put to screen, then there is the way the director presents the story and the way the viewing audience takes the story. So many people, so many points of view. I could write a story and hand it to 5 different people to read and I without a doubt believe that there would be five different opinions on the story all based on the experiences and preferences of the readers.

We take away from the film/story what we see. For instance, I have long loved Gone With The Wind and never thought of Scarlett as a "bitch". I thought of her as a survivor. Many people completely disagree with me on that. It's all in our point of view. There is also a lot of room for interpretations in film, more so than books because there is a limited time and a lot gets left out generally.

My point is that if you look for something you might see it.

"Mr Corleone is a man who insists on hearing bad news at once."

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Presumably a gay "guy" friend.

Love The Oldies

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I believe that the people who made this story would like to leave it up to the VIEWER of the story to draw their OWN conclusions about the sexual preferences of the characters in the story. What may be right for ONE, may not be right for ANOTHER point of view. I believe there is no RIGHT or WRONG point of view in this situation. Everybody is different, and sees things differently from the next person. Thank you. :D

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Yoooooooooouuuuuu clever shrew. ;)

At least there will be plenty implied.

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I haven't seen this movie, but I know that Professor Higgins's voice inspired the voice of the character Stewie Griffin in Family Guy, as Seth MacFarlane stated. So maybe that's not surprising, because Stewie is known for being very effeminate sometimes, and his voice (which, again, was based on Professor Higgins's apparently gay voice) does an important role on that! So I'd guess you and your friend weren't the first ones to notice it :D

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