Unrstand health ncerns for gay men and other men who have sex wh men, and learn how to promote good health.
Contents:
- WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE A GAY MAN?
- STEP-BY-STEP INSTCTNS FOR SHOOTG YOUR SHOT WH GAY GUYS
- HOW TO GET A MAN (FOR GAY MEN)
- A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
- WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
- GAY MEN AND STRAIGHT MEN AS FRIENDS
- IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND
WHAT DO IT MEAN TO BE A GAY MAN?
* a gay guy *
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.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTCTNS FOR SHOOTG YOUR SHOT WH GAY GUYS
Learn how to approach and flirt wh gay guys at clubs, bars, or other venuMeetg gay guys is hard. First you have to terme if the guy you're terted is gay or straight. Then you have to approach him and strike up a... * a gay guy *
How do a gay kid survive the trma he suffers for beg different a culture that still nmns his difference as somethg bad or “ls-than” and wants to mold him to the same shape tri to mold every boy? Robert Pollack says the most important thg a fay n do to support their gay son is to keep lovg him, “to nvey to him, as soon as he shar his feelgs, that he is still loved through and through, that his sexual orientatn will not any way dimish how much he is admired and rpected. He needs to know that ’s okay not only to be gay if that's what he is, but to be a man who choos what beg a man means for himself.
HOW TO GET A MAN (FOR GAY MEN)
The gay world is often reprented as some sort of monolhic whole that has the same culture. That is a lie. It is actually broken down to a handful of substrata to which each gay belongs. Here they are. * a gay guy *
Fortunately there is a long history of gay men who bucked the accepted fns of masculy and created liv that exprsed their unrstandg of themselv and how they choose to exprs their inty as men who don’t necsarily f tradnal molds. The late Harry Hay often lled "the father of the morn gay movement, " found the Mattache Society Los Angel the fall of 1950 for gay men to gather and ponr the qutns Hay had long been askg: Who are gay people? Where do gay people e om?
A HANDY GUI TO ALL GAY MEN
Why are people gay? Are they gay by choice or is beg gay geic? Are they born gay? Learn about the and reasons for beg gay. * a gay guy *
Where have gays been throughout history?
Hay didn’t tend the Mattach to be a polil anizatn per se, but a group that would e together to enhance their self-unrstandg and explore the ntributns gay people had ma to the human race through the ag. In a 1987 say tled “A Separate People Whose Time Has Come, ” Hay scribed homosexuals as “spir people, ” who, throughout the ag, had served society their rol as “msengers and tercers, shamans of both genrs, prits and prits, imagemakers and prophets, mim and rhapsos, poets and playwrights, healers and nurturers, teachers and preachers, tkers and tkerers, searchers and rearchers.
WHY ARE PEOPLE GAY? GAY BY CHOICE OR IS BEG GAY GEIC?
Heterosexual and gay men n heal and grow as a rult of their iendships. * a gay guy *
Hay believed that gay people had somethg special to teach nongay people about human life, and for that reason should be nurtured, rather than reviled, by society.
He postulated that “gay people reprent a geic mutatn of nscns whose active fosterg is now required for human survival. Hay believed that gay men are different om heterosexuals and that those differenc go much eper than mere sexual attractn to other men. He said gay men look at the world differently, are uniquely nonaggrsive, nonpetive, oriented toward sharg and cled to velop what Hay lled “subject-subject” love relatnships of equals.
In a 1990 terview for the Washgton Bla, Harry Hay told me our llg as gay men “is not only to accept our uniquens, but to affirm , make joyo. For gay men, learng to accept our “different” sexual orientatn as a posive aspect of ourselv is only part of our “g out.
GAY MEN AND STRAIGHT MEN AS FRIENDS
Unrstand important health issu for gay men and other men who have sex wh men, and get tips for matag good Mayo Clic Staff. However, there are some specific health ncerns that gay men and other men who have sex wh men need to be aware of.
Gay men and other men who have sex wh men may be at an creased risk of prsn, bipolar disorr and anxiety. Gay men also are more likely to have body image problems and eatg disorrs, such as anorexia and bulimia, than are other men.
Gay men are more likely to al wh alhol e disorr than are other people. Many health re and mental health anizatns foced on the lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr muny also offer substance e treatment or may be able to provi rmatn about lol rourc.
IS MY HBAND GAY? SIGNS OF A GAY HBAND
And rearch has shown that gay men and other men who have sex wh men experience timate partner vlence at a higher rate than do other men. But gay men might be more likely to stay silent about this kd of vlence due to fear of discrimatn.
A lack of shelters and other facili equipped to offer gay men a safe, supportive place to get help also may make dntg to seek re. Concern about homophobia and the stigma sometim associated wh homosexualy may prevent some gay men om gettg route health re. Primary re of gay men and men who have sex wh men..
Gay and bisexual men's health: Mental health. Gay and bisexual men's health: Stigma and discrimatn.