I am in the Job Corps (a government vocational program) and I have come out to the other students here. They are all so nice and accepting about it. Some of them are very curious about gay culture since there are only like 5 gays here out of 210 students. Some of them think that I am straight since I don't fit the stereotypes and that I am just pretending to be gay just for the "fun" of it. Some people here said they knew I was gay just by looking at me. I told my younger sister about this fact and she was all like "How could they know just by looking at you when your own family didn't even suspect anything?" LOL.
Is this a private school and is it when the army people come in and stuff??? Idk I'm getting off track.I'm pretty sure none of them could tell by just looking at you unless you came in with a lisp and heavy finger-tips lol congrats though, at least it doesn't sound like any of them have animosity towards you
Job Corps is open to the public. You gotta be 16-24 years old, be able to provide documentation(like social security card and birth certificate) and pass a background check. All the people that could tell I was gay just by looking at me said they have gay relatives or friends. I don't fit the "stereotypical" gay at all in that if I didn't tell you I was gay you would assume I was straight. This makes me wonder how they all could pick up that I was gay. What is kinda weird to me is that everyone keeps saying the same thing to me all the time; they say "You are a pretty cool guy...for being gay." Is this a compliment or something else?
It can be the kind of situation where people don't realize how backhanded a compliment that is. It betrays their underlying feelings about a group of people, and basically amounts to, "I normally don't associate at all with those filthy homosexual types, but you're OK!" I think it comes from those attitudes being so ingrained, talking about it doesn't register to them as being offensive. It's offensive because it's so incredibly ignorant. But they could also be trying to passive-aggresively be trying to insult you too, I don't know. It'd be an awfully middle-school-girl way to do it. It's hard to know without seeing body language and hearing tone of voice and whatnot. Either way, I'd call them on it. "So, wait, are most gay people not cool with you?" That kinda thing. That said, I'm glad most of the people in your Job Corps are cool with it! =) That's awesome.
cool even though gay. not a full complement, why cant you just be cool for being you, i get so frustrated lately with all the double standards and gays being less than fully u equal. whatever. good for you for not hiding you are gay. that can only help us all !
