Project MUSE - Not Gay

Contents:

• NOT GAY, NOT STRAIGHT: MEET THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO REFE TO FE THEIR SEXUALY
• HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?
• PEOPLE N INTIFY WHETHER A MAN IS GAY OR STRAIGHT BY THEIR VOICE. BISEXUALS? NOT SO MUCH
• NOT GAY: SEX BETWEEN STRAIGHT WHE MEN
• JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY
• ARE YOU GAY OR STRAIGHT?

NOT GAY, NOT STRAIGHT: MEET THE YOUNG PEOPLE WHO REFE TO FE THEIR SEXUALY

For19-year-old psychology stunt Greta Warren, the qutn of whether she f herself as gay or straight is a meangls terms, she believ, are jt labels. "It's somethg I found tratg durg the marriage referendum wh everyone mentg on and celebratg the gay and lbian right to marriage, wh ltle to no reference to everyone else on the sexualy spectm, " she might sound unual, but fact Greta's viewpot is one that more and more of her ntemporari share.

A poll published the UK last week by YouGov showed that jt 46pc of 18 to 24-year-olds nsired themselv to be exclively straight, but only 6pc classed themselv as homosexual. Those who rated a zero were emed exclively heterosexual, while the people who rated a six exclively homosexual. "I'm neher gay nor straight, not a ltle of both.

HOW DO I KNOW I’M NOT REALLY GAY/STRAIGHT?

I will never fet the pths of prsn I faced when I felt like I didn't f 'gay or straight'.

"A lot of young people are more fortable to not intify any one strict tegory, " says Ois McKenna of youth webse "But 's te that they might also intify a unique kd of discrimatn, and even rejectn om gay or straight people. Recently, there has been creased attentn to health issu experienced by the lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) muny.

PEOPLE N INTIFY WHETHER A MAN IS GAY OR STRAIGHT BY THEIR VOICE. BISEXUALS? NOT SO MUCH

It may seem obv that if you want to know someone's sexual orientatn you uld simply ask them, "are you gay?

Acrdg to the report, "Instead, the rponnts (who for all tents and purpos would be tegorized as beg heterosexual), often dis-intify om a gay inty, posssg what is referred to as a 'not-me' inty (McCall, 2003). " In other words, they are more likely to intify as "not gay" than as "heterosexual.

" Perhaps reflectg limed nsiratn of sexual orientatn among those the majory, prev gnive terviewg studi found that rponnts n nfe the words "homosexual" and "heterosexual, " believg that "heterosexual" means beg gay and that "homosexual" means beg straight. "gay" rather than "homosexual"), avoidg labels that people do not unrstand (i. [For women] Lbian or Gay.

NOT GAY: SEX BETWEEN STRAIGHT WHE MEN

[For women] Straight, that is, not lbian or gay. [For men] Gay. [For men] Straight, that is, not gay.

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS ACH OUT AS GAY

In orr to have doubts about one’s sexual inty, a sufferer need not ever have had a homo- or heterosexual experience, or any type of sexual experience at all.

If the sufferer is heterosexual, then the thought may be that they are homosexual. If on the other hand they happen to be homosexual they may obss about the possibily that they might really be straight. ” Some people’s doubts are further plited by havg such experienc as hearg other people talkg or lookg their directn and thkg that the people mt be analyzg their behavr or appearance and talkg about them – discsg how they mt be gay (or straight).

ARE YOU GAY OR STRAIGHT?

For those wh thoughts of beg homosexual, part of the distrs mt surely be social orig.

Let’s face , gay people have always been an opprsed mory wh our culture, and to sudnly thk of beg this posn, and to be stigmatized this way, n be ighteng. I have sometim wonred if those who experience the most distrs om such thoughts as the do so bee they were raised wh more strongly homophobic or anti-gay attus to beg wh, or if is simply bee one’s sexualy n be such a basic doubt. Lookg at attractive men or women, or pictur of them, or readg sexually oriented lerature or pornography (hetero- or homosexual), to see if they are sexually excg.