This topic should have a sticker. Once in every while, we have some people wander into our Wonderland and they feel lost because “I’m not like everyone here, I don’t act or speak in a certain way”. And we once again reassure them that it’s okay to be yourselves. Well, part of me is glad that people question about this issue so we can dispel the silly notion of gay-acting and help people find their identities. The other part wonders when will all this stop? While we love to point an accusatory finger at the media for propagating the gay stereotypes, I’d like to point out that the media is also painting a more realistic portrayal of queer people. Look no further to TVtropes for example and all those coming-out celebrities (Who hasn’t heard of Neil Patrick??). The media is not enemy, work with it. It’s like some not bother looking and jump to the conclusion :”Oooh, so this is what gay culture like, if you’re not like this, you’re not gay”. Understandable if you’re straight because you normally don’t have to think much about sexuality. I dislike stereotypes because they divide people. On one hand, we have the non-stereotypical who feel like they don’t belong. On the other hand, we have people who fit some of the stereotypes and they also feel frustrated, or even shame, because blah blah stereotypes are bad. (and ofc, this is just a generalization) Sorry for the rant, but this is one of those topics that will come up again, and again.
I hate this too. For god's sake there are straight men who are effeminate, softhearted crossdressers and straight women who are butchy tough fighters. Why can't gay people be the same?
This is offensive to my snowflake status, as it forces me to accept the multitude of factors and complexity of individualism, as opposed to allowing me to remain outside the framework of a preordained box, which everybody but me is in, since I am me and me is I; this angst is due to my uniqueness and incapability of being even slightly similar to another. To dare challenge it is imposing on my awesome, and it shall not stand.
Nope"being gay" means"being happy" =P You won't stop people from stereotyping.Putting everyone in nice little boxes is human as sad and annoying as it is.
tbh change a few words and it sounds like something ppl on tumblr would say because words don't mean anything and ppl can label themselves however they want
Stereotypes do have some, some, validity, but by in large only pigeonhole people. I'll us myself as an example: most people classify me as a "bear", and though I do identify as a "bear"...I am older, stocky, and hairy...yet I own no camo, nothing from Carhart, am not "working class", and own no flannel...so apart from physical appearance in what world am I a bear...if I'm a bear I'm Ralph Laurens's Polo bear. When I first came out last year it helped to make me feel included, but there is much more to me than the stereotype. Yes, I am definitely part of this sub-culture, but not the stereotype. If I'm rated as more masculine on that imaginary sliding scale, why can't I change a tire? When I had a flat and AAA was running behind, one of my most feminine friends, a "twink", came to change it for me. Also if I'm ever in a bar fight I want the queens on my side, the bears scatter, butch my ass. I guess belonging to a gay men's chorus has exposed me to more than one type of person. When you get to know people the stereotypes fall away.
If gay means being attracted to the same sex then am I bisexual for being attracted to male crossdressers and butch women? I once read a post on EC in which someone told a guy who said that he was attracted to women and male crossdressers that he is straight because he is attracted to femininity. Thus, this person was implying that men who are attracted to only people with a feminine gender expression are straight, regardless of the gender identity of those people. Well, in my case, I am bisexual either way. If gender expression is what matters then I am attracted to both masculine (butch women) and feminine (male crossderssers) presenting people. But if gender identity is what matters then I am attracted to both male (male crossdressers) and female (butch women) people. Regardless of my own situation, I think that this person was wrong for basing someone's sexual orientation on the gender expression of the people that person is attracted to. Would you call a female identified person who is attracted to butch women but not femmes straight? I certainly hope not! So why would you call a male identified person who is attracted to feminine men or male crossdressers straight? Clearly a person is gay if they are attracted to someone with whom they share the same gender identity; gender expression is entirely irrelevant!
"Being gay means attracted to the same sex (or gender)!" Minorities have always and will always be heavily stereotyped. It is something that we can work to weaken, but these stereotypes will never disappear. They may evolve, but they will always exist in some form.
I wish. At the all-girls school I spent all of lower and middle school at, the majority of people were white. There was still the "white girl" stereotype. There is also the straight girl stereotype, even though there was a lot of homophobia. The stereotypes weren't used so much by queer people or people of color. The straight white girls just forced themselves to follow as close to their stereotypes as possible. I was that weirdo who was free from that pressure, since I was in nearly all of the minorities at the school. People avoided me. Also, think of the Apartheid in South Africa. The ideal of white superiority was a big deal for many of the colonizers, a minority. They looked down on the majority, the native people. I think that stereotypes are from bigotry induced by social pressure. The only way to get rid of them is to create a completely relaxed social environment, where people don't feel the need to assert their authority.
