1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Does gay culture exist?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by gibson234, Sep 1, 2014.

  1. gibson234

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2013
    Messages:
    1,135
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    UK,Wales
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    I've heard a lot about how "gay culture" is this and "gay culture" is that. But does it really exist? I've never experienced it. Does being gay mean that certain ideas are shared that are different to those of straight people. Personally I just see being gay as just liking the same sex, that's it.

    When ever people talk about "gay culture" I feel like I'm some sort of outcast who hasn't been allowed into to some exclusion "gay scene". It this true? Do you guys have a "gay scene" membership card? Did they forget to send one to me?
     
  2. AlamoCity

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2012
    Messages:
    4,656
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Lone Star State
    I haven't renewed my gay membership card yet. I need to pay my dues.

    :lol:


    Honestly, I think "gay" culture is as varied as the members who compose the LGBT community. I doubt there is a monolithic gay culture.
     
  3. ahardlife

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2014
    Messages:
    471
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Derbyshire peaks
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    would see gay culture as something not to far from a gay community .
     
  4. gravechild

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    3,425
    Likes Received:
    110
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Wouldn't things like Pride, drag shows, and leather bar all be a part of "gay culture"?

    Perhaps musicals for gay men and women's festivals for lesbians?
     
  5. Wuggums47

    Wuggums47 Guest

    You beat me to it. I think the reason we've developed our own culture is because we weren't free to express ourselves within mainstream culture.
     
  6. OGS

    OGS
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2014
    Messages:
    2,716
    Likes Received:
    728
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I think there's definitely a gay culture, or perhaps several gay cultures--and then there are a lot of gay people who don't particularly participate in those cultures. There are certain cultural presuppositions that I assume when I am dealing with someone who is out and actively involved in the gay scene--certain tropes, certain modes of communicating. When I find out that someone is gay there is a certain recognition and comfort--it's not like all the walls come down but several do. It's like if we were both Assyrian (I assume)--it doesn't mean we will be best of friends but it means if we were going to maybe it would happen faster because we might share certain experiences and vocabularies. I think culture is actually the perfect word for it.
     
  7. One Man Army

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2014
    Messages:
    618
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Essex, UK
    I prefer 'gay culture' to 'gay lifestyle' which has become a derogatory term used by homophones to justify their hatred/dislike/revulsion towards LGBT folks.

    Anyway, OGS has answered the question well I think.
     
  8. Kai LD

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2014
    Messages:
    852
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    ᎮᎧᏒᏖᏝ& Ꭷ&#5074
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Gender Pronoun:
    Other
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Some people
    OGS gave an excellent answer. Just as not every American like football (Merkin) not every person that falls under the LGBT umbrella will participate or even give a damn.
     
  9. AAASAS

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2012
    Messages:
    1,330
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Toronto Area
    If you can consider listening to Gaga and tripping on Molly a culture.
     
  10. Lipstick Leuger

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2013
    Messages:
    1,113
    Likes Received:
    17
    Location:
    Michigan
    Yes, there is gay culture.

    You will see it mostly in the Butch/Femme, BSMD, Daddi/babyboi/babygirl, Leather, and Drag communities. Are all Gay people part of these cultures? No, so that means they may not experience it as much. However, when you go to a gay club, there is certain music played, certain singers loved by the gay community, and even in entertainment certain movies, plays and actors are part of it all. There are ways of looking at people, certain hairstyles and mode of dress that mark us as gay. The whole Metrosexual movement in the 90s started from the gay male and his habits of taking care of himself and using products for his hair and face. There are certain words and terms that are used in the gay culture, such as Bear/Cub, Butch/Femme, Mary, Size Queen etc and so on.

    It makes me sad that the younger generation are losing our culture in the effort to blend into the straight world.
     
  11. OGS

    OGS
    Full Member

    Joined:
    Feb 1, 2014
    Messages:
    2,716
    Likes Received:
    728
    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Wow, filled with hateful stereotypes much?
     
  12. Fallingdown7

    Fallingdown7 Guest

    I believe it exists because straight culture is generally different than us. It's not to say all gay men are feminine or stereotyped or whatever, it's to show that we're non-heteronormative and have a different variety of looking at things.
     
  13. gravechild

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2013
    Messages:
    3,425
    Likes Received:
    110
    Gender:
    Androgyne
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    A few people
    Actually, I'm starting to see more and more cishets using terms like "bear/twink" and "top/bottom", at least online. Whether this has always been the case, or I'm just becoming more aware of it is anyone's guess, though.
     
  14. Incognito10

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 3, 2013
    Messages:
    805
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    East Coast, US.
    The concept of culture exists in many domains. I think some aspects of gay culture are perhaps related to historical societal shunning and exclusion from the public square. Nowadays, many LGBT persons assimilate in the "rest" of society. But the shared interests, struggles etc. help form the "culture."
     
  15. gibson234

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Jan 28, 2013
    Messages:
    1,135
    Likes Received:
    4
    Location:
    UK,Wales
    Gender:
    Male
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Some people
    You could call it blending in. But you could also see it as a sign that being gay no longer causes someone (in most of the west) to be excluded hence this culture is no longer necessary.
     
  16. blueberrykisses

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Jul 30, 2014
    Messages:
    219
    Likes Received:
    1
    Gender:
    Female
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Of course it exists! Minorities have their distinct culture. There are several subcultures within gay culture, it's very wide ranging. Some gays don't identify with it or don't associate with it..

    But gays are different to straight people in some ways and gay men tend to have different interests from straight men... you know how the theater is a gay thing. Liza Minelli? Godmother of the gays. Pop music and female pop stars are definitely a part of gay culture. I mean Madonna? Lady Gaga? So gay. I used to be on a pop music forum and more than half the men on that site were gay. We were all wondering how it"s possible to have so many gays around when it isnt even a gay site. Nearly everyone was gay there. If someone said they were straight we were wondering if they were lying.

    Drag shows, cross dressing, pride parades, gender bending stuff, that's all GAY.

    Of course there are those gays who aren't interested in these things. Which is fine. We cant all float around on a parade boat. There wouldnt be enough space. But there are those with internalized homophobia who see these as a negative thing because they want to be 'normal' and 'act like straight people' and think they're above other gays just because they aren't a flaming queen. Those people have problems and need to sort themselves out.

    ---------- Post added 2nd Sep 2014 at 11:35 AM ----------



    I dont think the younger generation is losing our culture at all! Its just become a mainstream thing now and straight people participate as well. That isn't a bad thing at all!
     
  17. imnotreallysure

    Joined:
    Dec 27, 2013
    Messages:
    2,937
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Leeds, UK
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    I don't think this is fair - some people don't make a conscious effort to avoid fitting into the 'gay culture' - it's just not something they're apart of because.. they're just not. It's like I don't go out of my way to avoid gay bars - I just prefer the bars that I currently go to, and see no reason to go to a any establishment just because of my sexuality.

    I can't speak for anyone else on here, but my identity is not largely based around me being gay. I don't even tell people - it only comes up in conversation if they inquire. Sure, it's relevant, but it doesn't define who I am as a person, nor does it dictate what people I hang around with, what music I listen to or what bars I go to.
     
    #17 imnotreallysure, Sep 2, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2014
  18. Candace

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 8, 2013
    Messages:
    3,819
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Southeastern U.S.
    Gender:
    Male
    Of course it exists! Why would it not?
     
  19. 741852963

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2014
    Messages:
    1,522
    Likes Received:
    0
    Gender:
    Male
    Yup, I'd say there is a "gay culture" or "gay scene" that exists that some gay people like to be a part of. I'd say it encompasses gay clubs, urbanite living, drag events, pride, certain music, certain sexual tastes/interests, movie or musical tastes, ******, slang, popular culture references etc. Certain things like that.

    I'd actually guess its more of a minority group interest or subculture within gay people, which is why "gay culture", "gay scene", "gay community" etc are probably misnomers - they conjure up the idea that these things are universally liked/done by all gay people, or are even exclusive to gay people. Not necessarily the case, take drag for example. You'll find a lot of gay people for who have no interest in it or who actively dislike drag for various reasons, likewise you'll find straight men and women who enjoy it or actively participate.

    Those pesky homophones! Always creating confusion!

    ---------- Post added 2nd Sep 2014 at 02:32 PM ----------

    I don't think this is fair - some people don't make a conscious effort to avoid fitting into the 'gay culture' - it's just not something they're apart of because.. they're just not. It's like I don't go out of my way to avoid gay bars - I just prefer the bars that I currently go to, and see no reason to go to a any establishment just because of my sexuality.[/QUOTE]

    I feel the same.

    Unfortunately it seems many queer theorists share a similar view to Lipstick Leuger's which to me is a failure to understand a rather basic premise: that not all gay people are identical. Not all gay people are "queer", or subvert traditional gender or social norms. Some are, but some of us just tend to naturally slot into traditional roles. That does not automatically mean we are "rejecting gay culture", are "heteronormative sheep" or "trying to fit in". It does strike me as an odd position; calling someone out on being "conformist" then wanting all gay people to share the same interests without objection.

    Now I could force myself to go to drag shows, sing Judy Garland songs and reference gay cult movies but I would not be being authentic as those things just aren't my bag. Being inauthentic is really the opposite of what we should be aiming for.
     
  20. Lipstick Leuger

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2013
    Messages:
    1,113
    Likes Received:
    17
    Location:
    Michigan
    And yes, it can be a good sign, but does any other culture loose their own, when they immigrate? We should not forget where we came from.

    ---------- Post added 2nd Sep 2014 at 04:16 PM ----------

    I hope so......