Heterosexual/homosexual vs straight/gay

[ericbear]

Mark:

To be serious, you do bring up an interesting point. A boyfriend I had some years back in New York would say: "I am homosexual, not gay." By that he meant that sexually he preferred men only, but wanted to disassociate himself from a lot of the baggage that has become attached to gay culture. I have platonic friends who feel the same way. Sexually, they are exclusively male-male, but have great disdain for all the little gay games played in the bars and social clubs, find the Imperial Court and drag in general to be absurd, and admit they have a better time socializing with heterosexual groups.

As such, I think Hetero/Homosexual are good titles, because they describe sexual preference without bringing in the other factors associated with terms like "gay." However, I also believe the sexual spectrum is not black and white, homo/hetero, nor is it even a simple 3 fold homo/bi/hetero thing. Rather, I think it is a continuous spectrum from homo to hetero, but that a lot of people near the middle get pushed to one end or the other (most often the hetero end) by societal pressures. So, it might be nice to have perhaps at least 5 levels, and your scale goes even better and has 10.

 

[prepstudinsc]

Originally posted by MarkSavage@Jun 2 2004, 11:28 PM
I would say that a guy like that should rate himself with at least a 10% homosexual component on the LPSG Sexual Orientation scale.

LOL Mark Since that reply was targeted at me......

The past is the past, though....I'm not doing it now. I've experimented, it was fun, I enjoyed it, but that was then, this is now. That chapter is closed and I have moved on. I would still classify myself as straight rather than, bi, however.

 

[MisterMark]

Prepstud, you can classify yourself however you'd like. It's all fine by me.

Ericbear, we think alike! Yes! I certainly know that "straight" and "gay" are the commonly used terms, but I wanted to just keep it simple and clear. I know there's a significant percentage of "gay" guys out there who don't like that term, and so they use the word "queer", "fag", or something else. I don't really care for the labels either. I think that in an ideal world, we wouldn't segregate ourselves according to our sexuality, but I think it's safe to say that some people will always be more "heterosexual" than others, and vice versa. Again, that's why I created the scale. I think most people can give a pretty close estimate of their sexual orientation, if they think about it for a few seconds.

 

[prepstudinsc]

Originally posted by MarkSavage@Jun 3 2004, 09:12 PM
I think that in an ideal world, we wouldn't segregate ourselves according to our sexuality

Amen to that Mark. I've got some friends who are gay/homosexual, whatever you want to call them, that if they didn't tell you, no one would ever guess. They live such benign lives, it's a non-issue with them and with all their friends. With one of their father's who is a Pentecostal minister, it's an issue, but even he is softening on the issue. They are just two regular guys, living everday lives, going to work, earning paychecks, keeping up a household. They don't go to gay bars, they don't do stereotypical "gay" things, both were married before. They're just normal guys.
I don't even think about it, they are my friends and I like them for the qualities I see in them. Their sexuality is a non-issue to me, because they don't bring it up. Who I am to judge them, because God is going to judge me just as much. I don't have to like something, but it's better for me not to go off like that farce of a minister Fred Phelps in Kansas (what an embarassment for us Christians&#33 but to show the compassionate side. Some of my gay friends don't like gay pride parades, thinking that they are a vulgar display. I just don't say anything about it.
However, all these things are what makes our society an interesting tapestry. If we could all just learn to understand each other. Wow....for a conservative, I sure sound like a liberal! LOL

 

[Pecker]

Originally posted by prepstudinsc@Jun 4 2004, 08:08 AM
Wow....for a conservative, I sure sound like a liberal! LOL

I thought you sounded more like a compassionate man.

 

[tracksuitboy]

The words heterosexual and homosexual are clinical, but they are also accurate. It is unlikely that anyone visiting this board will not know what they mean. Moreover, most people will know what is meant by straight and gay. I really don't think the choice of terms is that crucial here. I think the options given cover a wide degree of interest although I like prepstud's Yeah, I've tried it, no big deal. Hey, Mark, how about a I'd like to try it, so how about offers? option?? No. Maybe not!

 

[tracksuitboy]

Originally posted by prepstudinsc@Jun 3 2004, 10:12 PM
I've experimented, it was fun, I enjoyed it, but that was then, this is now.  That chapter is closed

oh Preppy - do tell!! Ok, maybe not!