# Can it be proven that I'm not a closet homosexual with a tendancy to wear muumuus? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340 "2005-01-12T04:38:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/1 "2005-01-12T04:38:44Z")
I was debating putting this in GQ. Basically, it is possible to prove a negative? This question comes from an experience I’m going through on another message board. They are all convinced that I’m some way that I’m not. Not something that is based on opinion, either, like bitchy, or mean. Something that could be proven factually. When I ask for proof, they retort with “Well, can you prove you AREN’T yadda yadda yadda?” To me, this makes no sense. How is it possible to prove a negative. Isn’t it impossible? I mean, can YOU, reader, prove that you DON’T have 100 dollars buried somewhere? How can someone prove something that isn’t? Is it possible or no? ---
**Author:** ![Barqalounger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@Barqalounger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barqalounger)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/2 "2005-01-12T11:57:01Z")
It depends on what the negative is. Prove there’s not an invisible, intangible ghost right beside me = impossible. Prove I’m not an 82-year-old Indian woman = easy, just look at me (or my birth certificate). ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/3 "2005-01-12T15:34:58Z")
If you can assume that the negation of your statement is true, and derive a contradiction from that, yes, you can prove a negative. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/4 "2005-01-12T19:26:23Z")
Depends on the standard of proof required. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt isn’t the same as absolute proof. If a mutually exclusive positive claim can be proven, that’s your best bet. Can I prove that I wasn’t at the Dew Drop Inn the evening of July 16? Not directly, but if I can prove that I _was_ somewhere else at the same time then that’s just as good. Some mutually exclusive positive claims don’t lend themselves to such easy proof, though. Could I prove I had _never_ been to the Dew Drop Inn? Unless I could show that the Dew Drop Inn burned down before I was born or something like that, I’d be stuck trying to find proof that I was somewhere else every moment of my life. Not possible in practice. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/5 "2005-01-12T19:30:51Z")
> [@Barqalounger](#): > > Prove I’m not an 82-year-old Indian woman = easy, just look at me (or my birth certificate). But then are you proving that you aren’t an 82 year old Indian women or are you proving that you for example are a 42 guy that was born in France? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/6 "2005-01-12T20:10:19Z")
It is incumbent on the person making the original charge to back it up. Think of it as akin to the US model justice: you are innocent until proven guilty. Thus you are innocent of any accusation someone makes about you unless they can prove it. You do not have to prove that you’re innocent of the charge; they have to prove that you’re guilty of it, or at least supply some sort of evidence for you to refute. ---
**Author:** ![iwakura43](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de0a6/32.png) [@iwakura43](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iwakura43)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/7 "2005-01-12T22:25:24Z")
> [@treis](#): > > But then are you proving that you aren’t an 82 year old Indian women or are you proving that you for example are a 42 guy that was born in France? Both. The two are mutually exclusive (one can’t be of two ages, or genders, or birthplaces), so by proving one, you disprove the other. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/8 "2005-01-12T22:26:37Z")
> [@iwakura43](#): > > Both. The two are mutually exclusive (one can’t be of two ages, or genders, or birthplaces), so by proving one, you disprove the other. The birthplace is pretty solid, but what about a hermaphrodite born on Feb. 29? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/9 "2005-01-12T23:45:31Z")
**Ultrafilter** well, whatever turns you on. I guess 😉 **Idle Thoughts** you can prove you are not a closet homosexual that likes to wear muumuus by coming out of the closet. I’m sure you’ll feel better for it 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/10 "2005-01-13T00:16:25Z")
Oh **Bippy,** anyone who was at the last BADfest could tell that you aren’t homosexual just by the way you were chatting up all the women, and wearing that kilt with nothing underneath it proves it (somehow). But telling me that you would show me what was there if I would kiss it proves that you’re bisexual, and I challenge you to prove you’re not Arf a mo’, maybe it was my SO that you told that. You were looking at her rather lasciviously the whole “kilt conversation”. Never mind… ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/11 "2005-01-13T17:39:23Z")
Sorry, cute as you are **ageless6** the “I’ll show you if you kiss it” answer to “are you wearing anything under a kilt” isn’t necessarily a come on line. If someone accepts the challenge then the kilt wearer (if drunk enough) will either a) if he fancies them, hoist sail and expose his caber or b) if not fancying them, turn round quickly and moon the unfortunate. Of course every Kilt wearer awaits being asked the precise question “Is anything worn under your kilt” to which he will immediately reply “No, it’s all in perfect working condition” If he is really flirting and asked “What do you wear under your kilt” the flirting answer is to say "That’s for me to know, and you to find out 😉 " ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/12 "2005-01-13T21:25:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > You do not have to prove that you’re innocent of the charge; they have to prove that you’re guilty of it, or at least supply some sort of evidence for you to refute. Thanks. That’s what I was thinking. By the way, they all think that I’m a pedo on this board. Mostly because I’m the oldest member and most are in their teens. Me, I’m 25, not too much older than them, but that doesn’t stop them from thinking I have ulterior motives. I’m not a pedo, and I know I’m not a pedo, I just can’t prove that I’m not one. Hopefully that will open the topic up a bit more now that you know what the case is and what needs to be proved/disproved. THEY have no proof at all. Just the assumptions. It’s just that when they tell me to prove I’m not one, all I can tell them is that it’s impossible to prove a negative, which most of them don’t get anyway. Ah well. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/13 "2005-01-13T21:41:05Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > Thanks. That’s what I was thinking. > > By the way, they all think that I’m a pedo on this board. Mostly because I’m the oldest member and most are in their teens. Me, I’m 25, not too much older than them, but that doesn’t stop them from thinking I have ulterior motives. > > I’m not a pedo, and I know I’m not a pedo, I just can’t prove that I’m not one. > > Hopefully that will open the topic up a bit more now that you know what the case is and what needs to be proved/disproved. > > THEY have no proof at all. Just the assumptions. It’s just that when they tell me to prove I’m not one, all I can tell them is that it’s impossible to prove a negative, which most of them don’t get anyway. > > Ah well. Tell them about your wife/girlfriend. Or just claim to be into necrophillia and not interested in them unless the’re dead, or besiality and ask them if they have any pets. None are of course proofs but they should put them off. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/14 "2005-01-13T22:05:43Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > THEY have no proof at all. Just the assumptions. It’s just that when they tell me to prove I’m not one, all I can tell them is that it’s impossible to prove a negative, which most of them don’t get anyway. My guess, they aren’t interested in logic. Why do you go there if you get treated like crap? ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/15 "2005-01-13T22:10:24Z")
_shrug_ It passes the time. I like message boards, and this is just one of them. I’m not treated like that by everyone, just a select few in a “clique”. Plus, I’m not one to leave a message board just for the reason that some don’t like me or want me around. Bippy- Hahahahaha, I’d do that save for the fact that there IS no wife or girlfriend as of yet. And those dead ones just can’t seem to give me the attention I need. They all give me the cold shoulder. Ah yes, I must email you today, Punha. ---
**Author:** ![ageless6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@ageless6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ageless6)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2005, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-it-be-proven-that-im-not-a-closet-homosexual-with-a-tendancy-to-wear-muumuus/284340/16 "2005-01-13T23:35:38Z")
> [@Idle Thoughts](#): > > _shrug_ > > Bippy- Hahahahaha, I’d do that save for the fact that there IS no wife or girlfriend as of yet. And those dead ones just can’t seem to give me the attention I need. They all give me the cold shoulder. I notice you didn’t address **Bippy’s** bestiality answer, which leads me to believe that indeed you’re not a pedo, but _are_ into bestiality. Or maybe you like very young animals, making you a pedo-bestiality-phile. Prove you’re not, you sicko! **Bippy:** Thanks for the lesson on the rules and etiquette of kilt wearing. Next time I see you in one, I’ll play straight man and ask you if anything’s worn under there. You’re kinda cute yourself.