oldscratch, I don’t get the point you’re trying to make with open/closed-mindedness. I can’t see how someone who was a repressed homosexual (due to being brainwashed by society) could be considered open minded because they’ve slept with women. It sounds more like they’re unlucky that they live in a society where they feel they have to ‘pass that test’ of proving that they really don’t like having sex with women before they can be justified in calling themselves homosexual.
For the record, I’m straight, but sure I’ve thought about men who I think are attractive - actors or public figures. But if I follow through that thought to the logical physical conclusion, it doesn’t seem like that much fun. Does that make me closed minded? It just means I’m trying to be honest about my feelings. I sort of follow the ‘sexuality is a spectrum’ argument, but even further, in that I think that in an ideal world, it should make no difference whatsoever to a person’s life. It is only because gay people are discriminated against and asked to justify themselves that they need to make a political stance about it. If men who genuinely preferred dark haired women to blondes (to use my own preference, for example) were ridiculed and forced to justify their preference, that might become a politicised stance as well. At the moment we aren’t, so I don’t feel it’s part of my identity.
Thank you, HenrySpencer, for hitting this nail so squarely (and eloquently) on the head. I’ve often found it difficult to explain to people that it’s not us gay people who’ve made it a political issue, it’s the people who’ve built the closet they expect us to live in who have brought it into the public discourse.
What I think Old was trying to say is on this specific thing, if you wouldnt consider having sex with a guy (if straight) or a woman (if gay) at all, then your mind is close minded on that specific issue. Not that you are in general a close minded person. But, of course this was realized at the party yesterday with him present to explain himself. I think this was what he was trying to get at, despite his earlier posts (call it bad wording, whatever).
And old, what do you mean “one of the gayer people I know”? Hmmm? LOL
Sorry for not responding sooner. Actually, anyone who has read the “This Queer’s Switching Teams” thread a while ago knows the answer to this question. If anyone could turn me straight, it’s Vanilla. But I have to agree that Jeri Ryan is attractive to me as well. Maybe it’s that body suit that takes her an hour to get into… Oh my gosh, I’m attracted to fabric now! <g>
You are sure of your heterosexuality, and as such you do not wish to have sex with a man, nor could one “turn you gay.”
So can’t a homosexual be as sure of their homosexuality as you are with your sexual orientation? Why not? Is it because there sexual orientation is different/ Is it because their sexual orientation is wrong?
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Man, this was just a goofy question. Why are you trying to turn it into something more than that? Like I said I have seen it come up on a few TV shows and movies. So I thought it would be a interesting thread if there was a girl pretty or exotic enough to do just that.
Seems like some people(not all) are very touchy about any “gay” subject themes. Like I said I would not have been offended if the question was “Hey Staight Dudes is There A Guy Out There That Would Turn You Gay?”. I would respond like I said when you posed the question to me earlier and said “no” and that would be it. I wouldn’t get all testy and say I can’t believe the rudeness of that question(not you satan but other people have on this thread have acted this way). Life is too short for that. Now on the other hand if there was a dude that interested me than I would have stated who that was. Maybe it wasn’t a good question in retrospect and I truly did not mean to offend anyone. It just bothers me when people get so “touchy” about everything especially when it has to too with homosexuality.
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Now, gentlemen, let’s try to find some common ground here.
Satan I hope that Wildest Bill will agree with me in saying that yes, a homosexual can be as sure of his orientation/preference as WB appears to be with his. In re-reading the OP, I find nothing about the question which is offensive (to me, a gay man) and nothing which implies that homosexuals should be inherently less certain of themselves – and certainly no hint that WB thinks homosexuality is “wrong” or that the concept of sexuality is somehow “different” for gays vs. straights. He was merely curious. That in itself is not a bad thing.
Perhaps WB did not phrase his original question as clearly as he could have, and thereby implied unintentionally that somehow homosexuals could (or ought to) be “turned” to a different orientation more readily than straights.
So yes, WB, with some touchy topics (like this one) you can inadvertently step on someone’s toes. Trust me, after you spend a good part of your life hiding the truth and then manage to “come out”, you do tend to be (overly-)sensitive to potential intolerance – deliberate or unintentional. Unfortunately you can’t always know that in advance.
This thread is interesting on so many levels. As I mentioned earlier, this has come up before and no one seemed offended. Why is this thread offensive, but no one seemed offended when it came up before? As I see it, the difference is that before, 1) the question was asked of gays and straights (sorry bi-'s) and 2) there was no assumption of changing one’s sexuality.
I don’t think it should be so hard to understand why people are so “touchy” about sexuality. There are lots of mis-conceptions. The wording in your OP (“turn you straight”) assumes that sexuality can change if only a homosexual can find the right woman. Later, you ask if gays are gay because of a bad experience with a woman.
People are not getting “touchy” because of your question per se, but rather because of your mis-understanding of sexuality - the assumption that homosexuality is caused by a bad sexual experience and that if only a gay could find the right woman, he would stop all the foolishness and go straight. It simply does not work that way.
Do you think that a bad heterosexual experience could possible turn you gay? Or that an enjoyable homosexual encounter would turn you gay?
LOL