Obvly I am takg this straight out of my world and my experienc, but I do thk there are a lot of perks to beg a gay lady the...
Contents:
WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE A GAY MAN?
Although the stereotyp and beliefs have weakened nsirably sce the 1970s thanks large part to the ntemporary women’s movement and the gay and lbian rights movements, they obvly persist and hamper efforts to achieve full genr equaly. Cultural and stctural factors also ntue to produce equaly based on sexual orientatn, an equaly that is rerced both by the prence of certa laws directed at gays and lbians (such as laws many stat that prohib same-sex marriage) and by the absence of other laws prohibg discrimatn based on sexual orientatn (such as laws prohibg employment discrimatn). So many gay men grow up believg there is somethg “wrong” wh bee we are different om other supposedly “normal” mal.
It’s not surprisg that a term like “straight-actg” shows up so often gay men’s onle personal ads. It prumably means the advertiser nsirs himself a “real” man—real, that is, acrdg to a standard of masculy he don’t attribute to other gay men.
So many gay men learn we are different om other boys by havg the fact poted out and ridiculed by bulli durg our young, most imprsnable, years. As every gay man knows who has been sulted or asslted for his actual or perceived sexual orientatn, there are steep penalti for vlatg the Boy Co as there are for anyone who is “different” om the prumed (typilly whe, heterosexual, middle-class) standard.