Gay culture

[mikey3000]

For you, what does the gay culture consisted of? A certain walk? Language? Job? Living in a gay village? Political affiliation? Sexual activity preferences? What is it for you?

 

[Cormac135]

All o the above and none of the above.

Solidarity.

 

[offthewall14420]

It's self-imposed cultural apartheid is what it is.

 

[rareboy]

It is whatever homos do. All of it.

 

[NotHardUp1]

I don't accept that there is a gay culture separate from the broader culture. We are an orientation, not a social club.

Sometimes my gay friends will make obscene comments as they gather if it's not mixed company, but I really don't accept that. I wouldn't make crude sexual references in my other social circles, and I don't expect them in my LGBT circles, but several of the others obviously do think a different standard applies.

 

[Peloso]

I don't accept that there is a gay culture separate from the broader culture. We are an orientation, not a social club.

Sometimes my gay friends will make obscene comments as they gather if it's not mixed company, but I really don't accept that. I wouldn't make crude sexual references in my other social circles, and I don't expect them in my LGBT circles, but several of the others obviously do think a different standard applies.

This reminds me of the biggest problem I have with gay culture. Too many of us consider it to be based on sex. Not sexuality, but sex.

Sex is only a tiny fraction of what makes a person who they are. Aside from procreation, which is popular with that other, bigger club, sex shouldn't hold more weight than, say, taking a nice nap in a hammock on a warm summer day. It's a pleasurable activity. It can be a pastime. It can even be a vocation. But when you let it bleed into other areas of your life, that's when you get annoying.

I get it. Guys are perpetually horny. So what. Go rub one out behind the barn and then get on with things.

And please, for the love of God, when Gay Parade Day comes along, please do not dress like the leather guy from the Village People and gyrate lasciviously on your float. Have some respect for those of us who wish to be known for who we are, not who we stick their dick into.

 

[Latimer]

My first thought was that there's no Gay Culture, only gay cultures, and that I've never had much interest in any of them, other than an occasional visit to a club or bar. It's been a very long time since I been in either, and their only importance for me was as places to find sexual partners, but I understand that for some guys there's an important cultural aspect as well.

But on further reflection I realized that I've rarely been far from one of the most important and enduring of gay cultures: the culture of buying and selling sex. It's the one gay culture I've had any sustained interest in, even before I was first initiated into the ranks of rent-boys in my late teens. In one way or another I've participated in and enjoyed the world almost my entire adult life. I assume it's what supports this site. And it endures: the hunks at the top of this page are arguably the descendants of the boys and young men wrestling naked and finding patrons in the gymnasiums of ancient Greece.

 

[rareboy]

Being a prostitute isn't actually a gay culture thing.

 

[NotHardUp1]

This reminds me of the biggest problem I have with gay culture. Too many of us consider it to be based on sex. Not sexuality, but sex.

Sex is only a tiny fraction of what makes a person who they are. Aside from procreation, which is popular with that other, bigger club, sex shouldn't hold more weight than, say, taking a nice nap in a hammock on a warm summer day. It's a pleasurable activity. It can be a pastime. It can even be a vocation. But when you let it bleed into other areas of your life, that's when you get annoying.

In fairness to those who preceded us, I guess sex became a bigger part of identity when it became the source of persecution and/or stigma. Oscar Wilde could have just been a gifted and eccentric writer, but he became the gay author when he was prosecuted in England. Nelson Mandela could have been any number of things but he became a black icon because his race was used to define him.

So, we should count ourselves grateful today if we live in a culture that allows us to be just an architect, a heavy metal fan, or a garderner, rather than the gay guy that live in the 3rd house over there.

And please, for the love of God, when Gay Parade Day comes along, please do not dress like the leather guy from the Village People and gyrate lasciviously on your float. Have some respect for those of us who wish to be known for who we are, not who we stick their dick into.

This.

Although I'm in support of gays and straights doing whatever is within the law and that liberty allows, you can't have it both ways. Gay can't be accepted as just another stripe of your average citizen if it is celebrated and promoted as a party-seeking hypersexed subpopulation. A Carnival-style parade may be nothing shocking in New Orleans or Rio, but in most of the hinterland, it is tame and not so much about hedonism. The same used to be true-ish about Pride Parades. They varied widely, yet even in sleepy little Albuquerque they still seemed to require a float with go-go boys twerking in their Speedos.

Gay includes them too, but it needs to get beyond being defined by them.

 

[Pierresro]

For you, what does the gay culture consisted of? A certain walk? Language? Job? Living in a gay village? Political affiliation? Sexual activity preferences? What is it for you?

And you if you ask a question answer it for yourself DUHHH

 

[mikey3000]

When I ask a question, I prefer others to answer first before I do. I want others to answer honestly. For the question to be first answered by the asker only increases the possibility of skewing the responses. I prefer the answers to flow from the group organically. Duh!

 

[Latimer]

Being a prostitute isn't actually a gay culture thing.

The sex trade--prostitution and porn--is a large part of gay culture. What do you think supports this site?

 

[Thad1527]

Oh, it intersects with the larger culture. Where would you place Ariana Grande?

It's interesting how the lines cross in literature. Lots of young adult books today have gay content; I spend time in the library young adult section and find so much of interest.

 

[JerryPic]

The sex trade--prostitution and porn--is a large part of gay culture. What do you think supports this site?

True. I wonder how come rareboy all of a sudden sounds so naive!?
JUB is part of gay culture, with or without the whor...hook...I mean the boys

Drag queens belongs to the gay culture.

And of course all the serious stuff like in the straight culture...marriage, children, legal stuff etc.

 

[rareboy]

The sex trade--prostitution and porn--is a large part of gay culture. What do you think supports this site?

I should have clarified and wrote 'not necessarily a uniquely gay culture thing'.

It is an integral part of straight and homo culture.

But I guess if this is what gay culture means to you, I'm not going to dispute it.