Straight male Dopers: What do you think of this article?

[Slithy_Tove]

Aw shucks. Of course the first thing I’ll do with this acclaim is use it to get laid.

[Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge]

Wait, Illuminatiprimus is gay?!

[Illuminatiprimus]

@Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge

Wait, Illuminatiprimus is gay?!

Now now Mr/Ms sarcastic

[Infovore]

I found pretty much all of Illuminatiprimus’s post to be fascinating (looking at this from a gay man’s perspective is eye-opening for me) but the following in particular struck me:

@Illuminatiprimus

So, really, I don’t buy the whole “I’m a man, I have needs” defence, because I have those needs yet my society thinks they are wrong, so I am not encouraged to act upon them. The only time you can is when you’re in an all gay setting, in which case it’s pretty much expected that that’s what you’re there for. So I know I can control myself, straight men can too.

It’s one of those “duh, I never thought about it that way, but now that it’s been pointed out to me it’s obvious” sort of ideas.

[WhyNot]

@Illuminatiprimus

Picture this - you’re a straight man being forced to have a shower with a load of athletic, young women. At the very least it would be expected that that man get an erection (how could he not when there’s all that stimulation near by???), he might even get a pass on not being able to prevent himself groping a woman because he was so aroused, which would be regrettable but that’s what happens when you put a man in a situation where he’s surrounded by something he desires sexually, right? Well I’ve just described what it’s like to be a gay man at the gym, and I’ve never once had an erection in the shower, and I keep my hands firmly to myself because I know that I could be physically attacked or prosecuted to the full extent of the law if I did anything different. Even making eye contact is a no no to an extreme.

Absolutely. As it happens, I’ve only ever seen one (presumably straight) “man” who even needed to be given a pass on an erection in a mixed gender shower. This was a 14 year old boy, and he clearly wished with all his heart that a hole would open up in the earth and swallow him alive. We (myself and several beautiful lithe teenage women) as matter-of-factly as possible grabbed some towels and exited and used the hose outside the bathhouse to rinse our hair.

Poor kid. I did honestly feel awful for him.

But in 10+ years of attending co-ed clothing optional festivals, that was the *only *inappropriate erection I’ve ever seen. Now, I’m not the most attractive woman in the world anymore, but I used to be pretty hot, and my goddaughters are some of the most stunning young ladies on earth (no bias). If straight men can keep it down in their naked presence, they can keep it down in the library.