The tth behd Twter’s favore stereotype about gay men, as explaed by GQ ntributor Louis Stapl.
Contents:
- WHY DO GAY MEN WALK SO FAST?
- THE GAY-FRIENDLY CI HAVE LOTS TO OFFER LGBTQ BUYERS—INCLUDG AFFORDABLE HOM
- THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020
- MOVE I'M GAY
WHY DO GAY MEN WALK SO FAST?
” I ed to wonr how puttg one foot ont of the other uld seem gay, but I heard so equently that I accepted as tth. To fd out what else was gay, I looked to popular-culture, where I saw gay men mostly adherg to a fairly one-dimensnal set of stereotyp: fashnable, wty, effemate. Yet today’s gay men aren’t as reliant on reprentatns crafted by others, wh social media helpg to mocratize storytellg by providg a platform for people to share their experienc.
Inevably, gay people beg active onle (Twter gays, I’m lookg at you) has ed new stereotyp to emerge. From “gays n’t drive” to “gays love iced ffee, ” new on seem to appear every day.
THE GAY-FRIENDLY CI HAVE LOTS TO OFFER LGBTQ BUYERS—INCLUDG AFFORDABLE HOM
Earlier this year, Vice wrer Jam Greig attempted to fact-check the “new gay stereotyp.
THE 10 GAYEST STAT IN AMERI FOR 2020
Both found the accuracy of the new trop difficult to prove, but explored their plex and often ntradictory that sense, the new(ish) stereotype that “gay men walk fast” is no different. If “walkg gay” really is a thg, seems that many gay people perceive speed to be a part of that.
On Twter, one person wr: “Straight people, look behd you, chanc are there's a gay person tryg to get past bee you're movg at an extremely glacial pace. ” Others joke that gays n halve the journey time timate on most travel apps, or suggt that gay men walk fast “to flee the straights” bee “they learned to walk to the beat of ‘Womanizer’ by Brney Spears. To create “gay walkg lan” bee gay men supposedly walk so a fast walker, I’ve fely been there: that moment when you’re walkg through a public place, listeng to “Jump” by Madonna, and the (prumably heterosexual) public n’t seen to hurry up and get out of your way.
But beyond my personal experience, and the admtedly pretty lazy humor of “gays walk fast” jok, is there any tth to the stereotype?
MOVE I'M GAY
There’s never been a scientific study parg gay walkg speed wh straight men of a siar age and physil ndn. We know that gay men tend to gravate towards urban areas, where walkg is the flt travel method. Gay men the Uned Kgdom, for example, are 30% ls likely to own a r when pared to the average populatn, ditg that they’re more acctomed to walkg.
Confince ach Lisa Phillips says that a fear of homophobia strangers uld make gay men walk quickly.
“If gay men feel self-nsc or fear attack, they uld walk quickly to get away om perceived risks orr to feel safe aga, ” she explas. “I lived Sydney for 20 years and there were a lot of nfint walkers Oxford Street, one of Sydney's gay areas, as this was a ‘safe’ area for people. Psychologist Ian MacRae agre that walkg speed and style n be affected by eher posive or negative emotns, but also says that gay men are statistilly predisposed to walkg fast.