horribleperson said:
...those are the people i want to kill with an olive fork.
That sounds so fabulous. Are you certain you're not...? No? Well, the bit about the olive fork is still absolutely smashing, regardless.
Actually, I think that gay men and straight men are really so much more alike then we and they often see each other (neurobiological differences notwithstanding). In recent times, I've had the opportunity to spend more time with straight men then I have in the past, and have learned that quite a number of them are even more comfortable with my sexuality then *I* am...
As for THIS forum, while I am not a regular poster, or even a regular reader, I have found myself coming back time and time again over the last couple of years, chiefly because, while it is ostensibly about "large penises", at times the dialog seems to transcend the limitations of that premise.
Oh, but back to the topic...
While I'm not straight by any stretch of the imagination, I think that men in general just like penises (either their own, or those of others, or both), and that they like to talk about them, and while it's inappropriate to discuss male genitalia with most women (at least, the women often seem to think so), and it's generally considered taboo to make conversation with other straight men about the subject (either because of genuine homophobia, or fear of homophobia on the part of the other person, or whatever), whereas in THIS forum, the attitudes of tolerance and respect (in general) appear to create an environment where those artificial inhibitions have no power to cause men to modify their innate impulses (to talk about penises).
As for cock-shots, the posting and viewing of them and so forth, I think that for many men, displaying themselves to other people, regardless of either gender or orientation, appears to be a fairly common impulse. I think it's rooted in the realities of our often animal nature, in that we're wired to not only display ourselves to potential mates, and be aroused by potential mates, but to display ourselves to potential competitors (in an attempt to run off the competition), but to become aroused by potential competitors as well (to make sure that we don't miss out in the action). That men who are strictly either gay or straight do not actually present each other with competition for potential mates doesn't seem to matter to our biological mechanisms for arousal and response, so...
At least, that's how I've come to interpret the seemingly inexplicable behavior that I've both observed on the part of others, and at times succumbed to myself. Aren't people a curious bunch?
Oh, but about the penis-pictures (I can't seem to stay quite to the topic today), as our modern-day society is such an unnatural and inhospitable environment for many of our more animal instincts, I think that, because we so often use higher brain functions to restrict our innate behaviors and responses (for example, attempting to NOT have an erection in public, when it would be completely natural for one to do so), we look for some other way to express these things, or seek support from others to counter our culture's disapproval (real or perceived).
Hm, I hadn't really planned on writing an essay on the subject, but I got a bit carried away...