Why is there such a backlash against the term "straight acting"?

[Rex]

I get that people think it's a stupid term because the person using it isn't heterosexual but ultimately you know what they are saying. They mean they are "masculine" or at least they believe they are.

So to the people who are offended by this term, do you also get annoyed when people use the term "acting black" or "acting white or even "acting gay"?

I know they are all inaccurate ways to describe someone but they never bothered me because I knew what they meant. They are just based on stereotypes.

 

[SilverWolf]

I thought you made a thread about this a while back.

And I've never heard anyone use the term acting white, black or gay.

 

[Rex]

I thought you made a thread about this a while back.

And I've never heard anyone use the term acting white, black or gay.

i might have

 

[barnbuddy]

probably the word "acting,"

ie pretending something you're not, but secretly wish you were.

just use masculine - some might still take offense, but you make the same point

ie, I'm not a queen

 

[Aaron]

Because it perpetuates stereotypes and applies a stigma to "acting gay". In my opinion, it can also create a perception of that person's own insecurity with being gay. Likely not true in a lot of cases (considering the phrase pretty much just takes the place of "masculin" in many cases), but to me it begs the question: why do you feel the need to profess how straight acting you are, and why do you worry about people assuming otherwise?

But, honestly, what do I know? I'm not "straight acting".

 

[NineOfClubs]

It's a fairly straightforward (no pun intended) term.

It "says what it means and means what it says" mostly.

The reason so many take offense is beyond me.

Possibly the word "acting" is the problem, but I know a lot of gays who wouldn't immediately stand out in a crowd as "gay", yet I think most of them aren't "acting" but are just being themselves.

 

[gsdx]

I take offence to it because 'acting straight' implies that I am not 'acting gay'. I don't know how to act stereotypically gay. I couldn't do 'fem' or 'queen' if I tried.

I don't even 'act straight'. What people see is what I am, and what I am isn't stereotypically gay, and to be told otherwise irks me to no end.

I am not a 'performance'. I am me.

 

[NineOfClubs]

Why is everyone, these days, so easily offended?

What a nation of pussies...

 

[juicyjack]

I think the "act" in "straight acting" only means the person's actions seem "straight", not the person is pretending anything. I know stereotyping what is a "straight" action and a "gay" action is kinda shitty but it seems people can be a little too sensitive and it's getting to the point where no one can say anything without someone having to correct someone for improper terms or not to generalize things. The thing is, we have to generalize some things or else we could never compare anything. Besides we say things are "women" actions and "men" actions and that seems way more acceptible. Not sure why that is.

 

[treanir]

Because, without fail, people who use the term 'straight acting' use it to imply that they are in some way better or more desirable than those with stereotypically gay mannerisms. They idolise what they perceive is masculine behaviour and condemn feminine behaviour. By using the word 'acting', feminine behaviour is something that needs to be hidden and replaced by something more acceptable (in their eyes).


That is why 'straight acting' is both offensive and sad. Far more sad than offensive.

 

[Dduder]

I take offence to it because 'acting straight' implies that I am not 'acting gay'. I don't know how to act stereotypically gay. I couldn't do 'fem' or 'queen' if I tried.

I don't even 'act straight'. What people see is what I am, and what I am isn't stereotypically gay, and to be told otherwise irks me to no end.

I am not a 'performance'. I am me.

Hmmm....you are a huge fan of the "Golden Girls"...

 

[pat grimshaw]

Why is everyone, these days, so easily offended?
…What a nation of pussies...

Yes I agree. Our grandparents faced hunger and adversity and we fuss around suffering from affluenza. I'm not surprised Osama Bin Laden thinks we're decadent.

 

[The Reviewer]

Well, there's a few questions that we need to answer. How are we defining the term "straight acting"? Why are we associating that definition with the word "straight" as opposed to "gay"?

My opinion is that the term connotes a certain level of desperation; almost to the extent of obsession with being perceived as "normal". I have yet to see a dating/profile (and believe me, I have looked) of heterosexual men describing themselves as "gay acting"....or even "straight acting" to that extent. It sounds silly, if not a bit pathological. This is something I like to call the "I'm Not Like Them Superiority Complex".

 

[sixthson]

Maybe because I am not in the dating/hook-up scene, but I have never personally heard anyone use the expression, so I am not offended by something that has nothing to do with my life.

It's nothing more than an advertising gimmick and as with all sales pitches, you have to know who your target audience is. Afterall, if you are a man looking for sex with another man, you don't want to feel gay when you do it.

You can try to sell your used Chevy by advertising that is drives like a BMW, but only the BMW wanna-be-owner will fall for it and the used car salesman banks on it. Everyone else sees the chevy as a chevy.

 

[GiacomoPisani]

i'm masculine,in the way that i don't have feminine voice or mannerism,i really don't feel offended by the term "straight acting" at all, coz that term doesn't exist in my native language,i think it is an american or english term,i guess.

the ones who gave the labels of straight acting to masculine homosexuals and "straight" to the heterosexuals were the very effeminate homosexuals who were the ones that never really come out of the closet coz they never needed to.

the gay community in many ways were founded by effeminate gay men,and they got to label everything however they wanted to,well after all ,i think it is their right coz they have done so much for gay rights.

 

[Musik2400]

Because, without fail, people who use the term 'straight acting' use it to imply that they are in some way better or more desirable than those with stereotypically gay mannerisms. They idolise what they perceive is masculine behaviour and condemn feminine behaviour. By using the word 'acting', feminine behaviour is something that needs to be hidden and replaced by something more acceptable (in their eyes).


That is why 'straight acting' is both offensive and sad. Far more sad than offensive.

And you know this how exactly? I assume you have some level of omnipotence which the rest of us are not privy to? Do enlighten.

 

[G-Lexington]

I'm not offended by the term, so much as I feel the term "masculine" gets the point across better, and with less chance of confusion. As said above, it's the word "acting" which I feel trips some people up. I've run into far too many people (gay and straight, masculine and feminine) who feel that others are "putting on an act" if others aren't behaving like they are.

Lex

 

[fetaby]

I swear you started this same exact thread a while back.

(not knocking, I was just confused because I wondered where all the other pages went)

It's a golden oldie round here.

 

[MMMonsterBoy]

Yes I agree. Our grandparents faced hunger and adversity and we fuss around suffering from affluenza. I'm not surprised Osama Bin Laden thinks we're decadent.

Oh for the love of God

Anyhow, I don't "offense" to the term "straight acting," I just think it is unusual term for gay men to use. In the past, whenever I see someone described themselves as "straight acting" it is usually to remind themselves - not the people they are trying to reel in. In addition, they usually attach a negative connotation to flamboyant gay men. If you use the term, then I don't particulary care. There's just nothing straight acting about signing up on a site to meet gay men for sex.

And yes, I do get offended when people use the term 'acting black.' Pisses me off actually. If you're not sitting at KFC with gallon of grape kool-aid wearing your gold chains and rings while listening to rap, you're supposedly not black.

 

[bma1983]

I agree with treanir, I think a lot (not all) men who describe themselves as "straight acting" think that they are better than those with stereotypically gay mannerisms.

I personally think the term is pathetic. At what point do gay men who describe themselves as "straight acting" stop “acting straight”? It can't be when they have a dick up their ass. We all know that's a straight man's favorite activity.