Questions For Our Non-Straight Members

Ok, first of all, it's a sucky thread title, but I honestly can't
think of a good name for it, so if anyone would like to suggest a
good one, I'll edit it post haste.


Ok, so basically is that I'm curious about some stuff that those
individuals whom are not straight have experienced, so if you will,
please answer the following questions if you fit the credentials.


1. When did you realise you were'nt straight?

2. How old were you when you realised the difference between
straight, bi & gay?

3. What type of religious backgroud are you from?

4. What type of moral support do/have you had?

5. Are you totally out of the closet, or only with friends and/or family?

6. Have you ever faced descrimination for a job because of your sexual
orientation?

7. Have you ever been threatened and/or attacked because of your
sexuality?

8. Do you, personally, favor/practice monogamy or polygamy?

9. How accepting have those you've told or have found out been?

10. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being straight 10 being flamboyant, how do you
act in general?


Those are the 10 questions I'm curious about.

Something I need to say right now, I will not tolerate this thread
becoming a gay-bashing or debate on if homosexiality is right or
wrong thread.
That is why I ask now, that if this thread should become such,
a moderator close it.

If anyone has any other questions they're interested to hear the
answer to, add them on in a post, as I realise I have'nt though of
all the possible questions to ask.

I just relaised I did'nt put my answers to the questions I asked..

1. When I was 9.

2. I learned the difference when I was 7-8.

3. Maternal side Christain/Catholic, Paternal side Mormon.

4. D*mn, I don't know how to answer my own question, lol.
My friends could'nt care less.

5. My friends know, the smal amount of my family I even
keep contact with know.

6. Nope.

7. Nope, people know not to mess with me.

8. I favor polygamy, but I practive chastity, though only
partially because I want to.

9. Mixed.
Considering the majority of the small amount of people I consider
friends knew about it before we were friends.

10. 1.



So, anyone else want to answer the questions, I know there are
atleast three other members who are open about it on the board.

Oh, and you can also respond to my answers regardless of your
own sexuality.

[edit on 9/12/2006 by iori_komei]

one question are you a man or woman?
guessing by ur avatar ur intrests are woman so u a lesbian?

wont say anymore since i am the most homophobic person on this board (i think atleast)

I'm a dude, technically I'm bi, but since I prefer men over women,
it's easier to just say gay.

As for the homophobic thing, I'm quite sure I'm right in saying you're
probably far from being "The Most".

Hey there,
I'm wondering what the intention of this thread is. I find a lot of the questions difficult to answer, as they contain certain heteronormative assumptions that I don't really share. For example, what does "acting straight" mean? And why is "acting flamboyant" posited as the opposite of "acting straight?"

Originally posted by archergal
Hey there,
I'm wondering what the intention of this thread is. I find a lot of the questions difficult to answer, as they contain certain heteronormative assumptions that I don't really share. For example, what does "acting straight" mean? And why is "acting flamboyant" posited as the opposite of "acting straight?"

Umm, no intentions, I'm just curious.

Actring striaght would mean, well acting straight, not openly showing
ones interest for the same gender, just acting like of the guys or girls.

Ok, well flamboyant is the only word I know how to describe it, and I
guess that more pertains to guys, what I meant when I said that,
was the gay guy who has the stereotypical accent, and acts it more
than they probably should.

I decided to respond before I read other member's replies to keep my answers as honest as possible. I'll read the thread after I post this..........

1. When did you realise you were'nt straight?

Probably around the age of 10 I knew I wasn't like all the other boys. I don't think I was a femmie kid, but I wasn't into sports and all the stuff the other guys were into.
But I was always building tree forts and tunneling under ground, and pretty much got on well with the other kids.



2. How old were you when you realised the difference between
straight, bi & gay?

I'm not sure I have that figured out yet, and I'm 44.
I've found that people are willing to change their sexuality depending on the conditions of their environment. It mostly comes down to what's available.
I'll bet that most of the totally straight guys have had some sort of sexual contact with another guy while growing up, even if it was something as simple as wanking after school with a mate.

I don't think anyone is 100% one way or the other.



3. What type of religious backgroud are you from?

No formal religious training.
My family didn't go to church on a regular basis, but we spent some summers at Catholic retreats. My grandmother had a large influence on my religious beliefs, she was the one that encouraged me to read the bible, and I thank her for that.
I would have to say that I'm agnostic today, I'll keep my options open until I have more information.



4. What type of moral support do/have you had?

Not sure what you mean.
I don't think I need any moral support because there's no conflict.



5. Are you totally out of the closet, or only with friends and/or family?

I have had a husband for over 17 years, and everybody knows it.



6. Have you ever faced descrimination for a job because of your sexual
orientation?

Never.
But I live in Canada, and it's a non-issue in this country. I couldn't imagine an employer being worried about what you do in your bedroom as long as you don't do it in the office.

(P.E.T. said...)
"The Canadian government has no business in the nation's bedrooms."



7. Have you ever been threatened and/or attacked because of your
sexuality?

Never.
There was some teasing in high school, but I never got beat-up for being gay.



8. Do you, personally, favor/practice monogamy or polygamy?

Monogamy for the most part for 17+ years, but we have had the oportunity to walk on the wild side once in a while. But it's a mutual thing...........



9. How accepting have those you've told or have found out been?

I've never had an adverse reaction from someone I've told.
Also, our families have no problem with our relationship. We both come from large families with many brothers, sisters, neices, nephews, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc..
They all accept us the same as any other couple in the family.

We have friends and neighbours that have no issues about having a gay couple next door. And people don't worry that we're going to perv on their kids, we're just like everyone else.



10. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being straight 10 being flamboyant, how do you
act in general?

On a scale of 1-10 it would be zero.
You would never have any indication that I was gay unless I told you, but I don't keep it secret from anyone.

Wow, your right Anxiety, I never would have suspected you
were gay, or that you were married, nor that you were over
thirty years of age.



I know there are atleast two other semi-active members who
are that have'nt responded, so I'm gonna keep this active.


And of course, as I've sadi, you can ask questions to,
regardless of your sexuality.

im straight so i cant answer your questions, but i want to say this .......

if anyone comes in here being ignorant and starts gay bashing, i hope you get banned.

very brave thread, much respect to you all for not being afraid of the ignorance in the world. i say this thread is brave because so many naive people are afraid of gay or bi people. some even use the bible to back their hateful beliefs.

peace

Originally posted by iori_komei
I know there are atleast two other semi-active members who
are that have'nt responded, so I'm gonna keep this active.

You might be surprised at how many gay members we have in this community.
There have been a bunch of gay specific threads over the last few months, and I get the impression that most gay members are quite happy with their lives and find total acceptance in society towards homosexuals/bisexuals.

I've been a bit put off by some of the radical gays at Gay Pride parades because I think some people are just trying to piss-off the straight folks when they push the envelope with public nudity. There's a time and a place for everything, but a public street is not that place. It's just throwing fuel on the fire
All that does is give the religious zealots and right winger a target to aim at, and then they proclaim we're all like that. :shk:

This whole thing of pride is just silly to me. I don't see organized marches for straight people proclaiming their sexuality, and some of the behaviour I've witnessed at Pride marches just tarnishes the reputations of the entire group. Many of us just live and work in our communities with acceptance because we don't make a big deal about it.



I am curious how well homosexuality is accepted in other countries though.
Canada seems very accepting, and most people just don't care. If there is a gay bashing in Toronto or Vancouver it does make the news, but that's a pretty rare thing.
I've lived in Los Angeles and found them to be pretty mellow, but Texas was a bit uptight when I worked there.

I guess my question is this.....
What's the tollerance level in your part of the world ?

The UK is very tolerant with the view to a persons sexuality. It has become a non issue in my country due to the vast numbers of men and women being either heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual.

However, one thing I don't understand is why there is no classification for an individual who has no desire to have a sexual preference.

1. When did you realise you were'nt straight?

Knew I was interested in boys at about 4 or 5 - although didn't realise that I wasn't str8 because I'd never heard the expression before at that age.

2. How old were you when you realised the difference between
straight, bi & gay?

About 9, I think, around about the time the UK Government was pushing the HIV\AIDS message with those scary TV ads.

3. What type of religious backgroud are you from?

My grandparents were Jewish, Catholic and Protestant, but my parents weren't religious in any formal way, I describe myself as Atheist.

4. What type of moral support do/have you had?

Haven't really had any, as I never really needed it, had a really great teacher at school, she introduced me to "gay life", and although she passed recently, I'll always be indebted to her.

5. Are you totally out of the closet, or only with friends and/or family?

Totally out - never been in!!

6. Have you ever faced descrimination for a job because of your sexual
orientation?

No, never descriminated against, Public Sector, Private Sector, various professions.

7. Have you ever been threatened and/or attacked because of your
sexuality?

Had a few kids shout the odd comment in the street, but my sharp and witty tongue often puts them in their place.

8. Do you, personally, favor/practice monogamy or polygamy?

I'm single right now, but in the past both have featured in relationships. Depends on the security of the relationship and the attitudes of the other guy. I prefer honest polygamy.

9. How accepting have those you've told or have found out been?

Most people are surprised, I don't normally meet somebody and announce my sexuality, so a lot of people don't figure until I make a comment about a guy or something. People are often surprised, but accepting.

10. On a scale of 1-10, 1 being straight 10 being flamboyant, how do you
act in general?

I don't generally act, but I know what you mean, I'm not camp unless I'm joking about with friends, generally I'm a typical, butch bloke. I worked a gay club once, on the bar, I was called homophobic by a guy I told to wait his turn. So I guess I'd be a "straight acting" type.


May not be the most exciting of answers... But I think the UK is pretty liberal minded on the whole, so I don't have much to complain about.

Jon

Originally posted by bodrul
one question are you a man or woman?
guessing by ur avatar ur intrests are woman so u a lesbian?

You aren't getting the sexual imagary?

Originally posted by Creeping Jesus
However, one thing I don't understand is why there is no classification for an individual who has no desire to have a sexual preference.

I guess no preference would either be Bisexual for liking all, and Asexual for liking none. But then... there is the expression I use for one of my friends - I call her Sexually Ambivalent - I just think she's lazy TBH.

Jon