# Gays admit they recruit? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 11, 2006, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248 "2006-08-11T03:10:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/61 "2006-08-11T20:03:21Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Now I want to see an “I Want You” poster for gay recruitment. For some reason this makes me flash back to this enormous poster of Eric Estrada a guy in undergrad had on his wall. Above Ponch’s smiling mug were the words “YOU’RE GAY” in giant letters. I found being in the same room with this thing terribly disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/62 "2006-08-11T20:06:12Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > For some reason this makes me flash back to this enormous poster of Eric Estrada a guy in undergrad had on his wall. Above Ponch’s smiling mug were the words “YOU’RE GAY” in giant letters. I found being in the same room with this thing terribly disturbing. That’s probably because YOU’RE GAY! ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/63 "2006-08-11T20:09:41Z")
I dare you to stand in front of a giant image of Eric Estrada smiling enormously and pointing at you, and not be disturbed by _anything_ it might say! ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/64 "2006-08-11T20:11:13Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I dare you to stand in front of a giant image of Eric Estrada smiling enormously and pointing at you, and not be disturbed by _anything_ it might say! Very true. It could probably say, You won a million dollars…and I would still be disturbed. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/65 "2006-08-11T20:12:16Z")
Oh, as fun as this thread has been…what are we debating again? ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/66 "2006-08-11T20:18:53Z")
Whether or not the idea of gays “recruiting” is ludicrous or not, I think. Since it obviously is, it’s more or less inevitable the thread will devolve into “don’t catch teh ghey” jokes and references to fabulousness. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/67 "2006-08-11T20:24:27Z")
Recruiter: Now, are either of you homosexuals? John Winger: You mean like flaming? Or part time? Recruiter: Well, it’s a question we have to ask of all our new recruits. Russell Ziskey: No, we’re not homosexual, but we are willing to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/68 "2006-08-11T20:33:35Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > Whether or not the idea of gays “recruiting” is ludicrous or not, I think. Since it obviously is, it’s more or less inevitable the thread will devolve into “don’t catch teh ghey” jokes and references to fabulousness. Oh that’s right. In the midst of all the fun jokes I forgot. The recruiting thing was invented by the right wing. Their ‘proof’ of this recruiting at least in part comes from an essay written by Michael Swift in 1987 called by some the Gay Manifesto. The piece was written as satire of the so-called gay agenda at the request of a gay newspaper. It says in part… > [@](#): > > This essay is an outré, madness, a tragic, cruel fantasy, an eruption of inner rage, on how the oppressed desperately dream of being the oppressor. > > We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups, in your movie theater bathrooms, in your army bunkhouses, in your truck stops, in your all male clubs, in your houses of Congress, wherever men are with men together. For the full essay and some comment on how it has been used by the right, [Website Disabled](http://rainbowallianceopenfaith.homestead.com/GayAgendaSwiftText.html) ---
**Author:** ![TJdude825](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@TJdude825](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJdude825)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/69 "2006-08-11T20:54:37Z")
I forgot to mention, when someone comes out, I occasionally snicker quietly and mutter under my breath, “Eeeeexcellent. Our army grows stronger each day. Heheheheh.” But jokingly, of course. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/70 "2006-08-11T21:40:47Z")
Think part of the “recruitment” misconception is because of the “Christians” who simply will not accept that homosexuals are born that way - they don’t make a conscious choice to be gay. They may make a conscious choice to openly admit their orientation, but the orientation itself isn’t a choice. If the “Christian” admits that people are born that way, then :::horrors::: maybe “God” made them that way! Which could possibly lead to the even more horrifying thought that maybe “God” doesn’t hate homosexuals. So in their world, people choose to be gay. There are several “letters to the editor” writers here who are always going off on homosexuals, how allowing them to marry will destroy the sacred institution of marriage (when it appears heterosexuals are doing a fine job of that already), so on and so forth. I got so irritated one night after reading that BS I sent a e-mail to the “Sound Off” column asking why these so-called “Christians” were doing spending so much time worrying about what other people were doing in the privacy of their own bedrooms. I typed the term "Christians"as I did because I know many members of the Christian faith who are not like those discussed above. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/71 "2006-08-11T22:14:12Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > …We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar …wherever men are with men together… Another example of shock and _ewwww!_ ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/72 "2006-08-11T22:26:39Z")
No references to “sap(ing) ourprecious bodily fluids”? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/73 "2006-08-11T22:31:32Z")
Could some kind mod add quote tags around the part that is snipped from the original essay from post 68 in this thread? Just to make sure it’s clear that those aren’t my own words. From, This essay is an outre to wherever men are with men together should cover it. thanks in advance! ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/74 "2006-08-11T22:36:23Z")
> [@Antinor01](#): > > Their ‘proof’ of this recruiting at least in part comes from an essay written by Michael Swift in 1987 called by some the Gay Manifesto. I was under the impression that Anita (the anti-fag hag ((thanks **Annie-Xmas** ))) Bryant had come out (heh) with her polemic before '87. I was thinking early eighties, but am more than willing to have my ignorance fought. Did this actually start with Swift? Or Bryant? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/75 "2006-08-11T22:51:25Z")
> [@GLWasteful](#): > > I was under the impression that Anita (the anti-fag hag ((thanks **Annie-Xmas** ))) Bryant had come out (heh) with her polemic before '87. I was thinking early eighties, but am more than willing to have my ignorance fought. Did this actually start with Swift? Or Bryant? Her campaign to repeal the ordinance in Dade county Florida which prohibited dscrimination based on sexual orientation was in 1977. Her words came prior to the above referenced essay, but since the essay was penned by a gay man in a gay publication it is pointed to as proof that gays recruit. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/76 "2006-08-12T00:11:28Z")
**Bricker** , while other good points have been made in response to your post, there’s an important one that has not (or I missed it). I’m pretty much completely straight. I’ve never been sexually attracted to a guy in my life. If I respond to one of those ads and engage in sexual activity with a guy (I’ll have to close my eyes and think of Salma Hayek, but whatever), how have I been recruited? I’d still be completely straight, because I’d still only be attracted to women. Those guys in the ads aren’t recruiting, they just wanna get laid. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/77 "2006-08-12T00:28:49Z")
I just want to agree with what **Diogenes** said. If you seek out sex with another guy, however straight you may call yourself, you’re at the least bi. Nothing changes because of the physical act of having sex with a member of the same sex; it’s the interest in a relationship/sex that makes your sexuality. If you’re answering the ads, you’re not being recruited; you’re _already_ in that subset of humanity. ---
**Author:** ![Fetchund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b2d939/32.png) [@Fetchund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fetchund)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/78 "2006-08-12T01:05:42Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > On the episode of her show where she came out, a lesbian character actually _originated_ the now-long-running joke about getting a toaster oven if she converts just one more person (Ellen). That’s IIRC… Arrrrghhhh! That young upstart gets all the credit… The “toaster” was a joke when I was coming out, 22 years ago or so. So was the “700 Club” (recruit 700 and you get to wear a pin) ---
**Author:** ![Misscegnist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Misscegnist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misscegnist)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/79 "2006-08-12T01:32:35Z")
> [@Revenant Threshold](#): > > I just want to agree with what **Diogenes** said. If you seek out sex with another guy, however straight you may call yourself, you’re at the least bi. Nothing changes because of the physical act of having sex with a member of the same sex; it’s the interest in a relationship/sex that makes your sexuality. If you’re answering the ads, you’re not being recruited; you’re _already_ in that subset of humanity. So that means that if I get “blown” and “enjoy” it, I am gay - so how would masturbation tally with this arguement? If I can turn myself on, and climax, does that mean a) I am gay because I am excited by a guy? b) I am “in love” with myself? What about those blow up sex toys? And any other myriad replacements that are not living breathing women? This is kind of a silly arguement, the point that needs to be made though, is that sex is a combination of mental and physical, the exact proportion of each may vary from person to person, and act to act. Now try to tell me that there is a substancial difference in the **physical** aspect of a women’s mouth and guys mouth during fellatio (skill level aside). The mental images and emotions attached may be different, but not the physical aspect. (we don’t need to go into a guys g-spot here) The point is, I may well be able to “enjoy” being blown by a guy, but that does not neccessarily make me bi, or gay (at least by my definition) it just means that I enjoy being blown. PERIOD What defines being gay is the emotional connection. More than neccessarily the physical acts. Of course, the physical acts, in a good relationship are an expression of the emotional connection so it is a difficult line to draw. Does this make me a gay (or bi) that is in the closet? Maybe, but if so, so be it, I am in a happy marriage and am not about to jump out of that. As to the recruitment question, I have no doubt that there would be a some gays that hearing my feelings would try to explore further and get me to try…does this amount to recruitment? IMHO - yep. Does it matter, or make gays evil? nope. ---
**Author:** ![Misscegnist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Misscegnist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misscegnist)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2006, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248/80 "2006-08-12T01:34:40Z")
whoops - sorry, I just re-read my post, is a little arguementative - just wanna say that I AGREE with **Relevant Threshold** :smack: (shoulda previewed) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-admit-they-recruit/368248.md?page=5)