Are Young Gays Puritans?

[Ryuukie]

Are today's young gays more puritanical than young gays of the past? I think they are. I've been doing some research online to locate glory holes. It's been my experience that younger gays don't even know what a glory hole is. Once they find out they're repulsed and horrified to the point of panic. And I'm thinking to myself, what's the big deal. Quit acting like a little girl.

Do you think they're really horrified or are they trying to appear pure and righteous?

 

[Garawr]

From my experience living in LA, note, in MY experience, I've found most younger gay men to be more "innocent" so to speak. I highly doubt that they're either horrified or trying to convey an image of purity, but rather gathering their bearings on the whole, "gay world". Doesn't help that most of them have the WeHo scene to look forward to... woot woot tweakers.

 

[Horschallen]

I guess discovery of HIV was the impetus of the evolutionary process in the sociological aspect of the gay world, as well as in aspects of other types.

 

[propoolplayer99]

Puritan?
..... I dont see how young people today can be puritans?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[LilBit]

I don't think it's prudishness so muh as a lack of awareness. They don't know about the history of things like bathhouses, backrooms, glory holes and the like, because they grew up in an era when those things were more fetishes than necessity.

If the fetish websites I've seen (many of which feature guys much younger than I) are any indication, there are still plenty of kinky little fuckers out there.

 

[youngnihilist]

Me and many other young gays are probably having less sex than an (openly) gay 20 something of the 70s, but we live in far more restrictive times. I would be having as much sex as someone in the 70s if it was so easy and uncomplicated like it was then.

 

[FabFairy]

Not Puritanical what has changed is the ways that guys can meet. The local Glory Hole and Public Toilets were a solution to a difficult problem that all Gays had and that was "To meet other guys" then throw in HIV/AIDS and naturally most people will have a certain amount of caution.

Being someone who lived through that era I always found it to be somewhat sleezy and it never did anything for me anyway. Perhaps the changes in attitude are just the next generation expressing themselves with the newer way to meet others.

 

[Just_Believe18]

To be honest, I don't think gloryhole knowledge is really a requirment of being gay anyway.

Exactly, the logic to Ryuukie's assertion is false. A glory hole is one sexual activity requiring a specific setting, usually in the guise of anonymous secrecy. As society has become more tolerant and accepting of homosexuals, the discrete setting of the glory hole is outdated, and is more of a novelty now, rather than an outlet for sexual expression.

So no, young gay men are just as promiscuous, if not more so than previous generations because more and more gay youth are able to come out and date at a younger age, rather than remain closeted or repressed.

 

[treanir]

^ Agreed.

Glory holes and other ways of getting off anonymously used to fulfill a need, namely: the need for secrecy. Now that it's easier to be openly gay, the need for secrecy is (largely) gone. The AIDS epidemic is a second reason for the demise of the glory hole (sounds like a good title for my dissertation). Sex with anyone can get you anything.

 

[Ryuukie]

Eh, Cum_Slave, please don’t hijack my thread. If you want to discuss semantics or grammar, start your own thread. You obviously haven’t heard the word puritanical used before even though others who read this thread got my drift. May I politely suggest you log off and start reading something to enrich your mind.

 

[thermodynamics]

Speaking for myself, I'm looking for more "depth" than gays might have looked for in the past. Anonymous sex completely turns me off.

 

[alley]

Today there are many other ways to find anonymous sex if that is what you are looking for. On-line dating sites, craiglist, etc---so, taking the chance on going to a glory hole, park, or another risky place is just not attractive---not just because of disease---but law enforcement---and with the internet you get to screen a bit if you want to.

 

[neruda]

To the best of my knowledge promiscuity has not decreased.
There's less glory holes becasue there is less of the "anonymous".
And less focus only on cock sucking.
That can only be less puritan
Or prudish.
And more "in the face" if not exactly "honest"

 

[zerozerozero]

I think its fair to say young gays are more puritanical than the young gays of 30 years ago or whatever. I remember coming across the following article http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/11/magazine/11wwln_freak.html using Price Theory and the Economics of Gay Sex, detailing a few studies in the 90s that did imply a decrease in incidence of gay sex.

I would bet that if these were replicated today (with the funding to be more statistically certain), it would show that among (or maybe because of) people raised in a post-HIV/AIDS world, there is a market decrease in average promiscuity.

 

[Kurn]

It's that Emo music they listen too. Ya think??

 

[SonOfSlobone]

Reading all the threads here, I'm almost amazed at the difference between what young guys seem to want and what the world was like in my generation.

I came of age, sexually speaking, in the 70's and early 80's. Being gay then was about -- getting laid. You fucked first and got to know each other later.

Don't get me wrong -- plenty of people partnered up. I was with the same guy for 7 years. And we met at an orgy!

But it's not about glory holes, orgies, or anything else you young guys may find disgusting. It's about putting yourself out there, taking chances, exploring your sexuality. Being bold.

Finding out who you are, sexually speaking, it seems to me is the first order of business for a gay man just coming out. Only after that can you really know what you're looking for in a partner.

If you try to model your love life on what you see in the straight media, it's just not going to work.

 

[The_Reaper]

Well, it must be a cultural thing...Cause all the young gay guys here are looking to get off, rather than look for something meaningful or lasting.

As for your example of glory holes; I think this is more so because the need for them has sort of disappeared. I suppose in earlier times, back when one needed to be careful about your sexuality, the glory hole was a means of assuring both men remained anonymous, and also allowed a means and a place to guarantee gay sex would occur.

Now that one doesn't need this safe distance; the thought that homosexuality is somewhat more accepted and no longer something that you need to keep a guise of anonymity about, the need for the glory hole disappears. At least, that's how I'd look at it in terms of the lack of knowledge about the glory hole.

As for younger guys being more virginal; not on your life. I've yet to meet the young man who wasn't looking for something more than a hook up.

 

[SonOfSlobone]

Glory holes -- well let's see. Almost worth a thread on its own.

First one I ever encountered was in the men's room of the City Hall in Provincetown. I was startled as hell to see at least a 6-inch square hole cut between stalls. And on the other side, an unobstructed view of some guy jerking off. I was intrigued but left as quickly as I could.

Often seen in years since in video arcades, restrooms, etc., especially in parks. The authorities would try to seal them up but some fag with a Black & Decker always found a way to open them up again.

They never were my thing though -- I need more than just a cock (or a mouth) to get off.

But then suddenly a few years ago they seemed to disappear. New construction standards seem to have made bathroom blowjobs obsolete (I still don't understand where Larry Craig planned to do it). And the public at large became more aware of what was going on all those years.

Can't speak for video parlors though -- haven't been in one in years.