Is There Getting To Be a "Cool Factor" To Being Gay - Especially Among the Young?

[Lost_Wanderer]

There is something attractive about men who look at your face when they talk to you, too.

That’s not a gay-only thing!

I concur! I look at my sister’s face when I talk to her… especially when she owes me money or I’m currently dying of starvation because I’ve been waiting for her at the mall while its already past dinnertime. -.-

 

[EasterJoy]

That’s not a gay-only thing!

Exactly right. I’m saying that there are reasons that a person who is not sexually attractive to you might be more attractive than one who obviously is. It’s not some huge mystery, nor something that necessarily has to do with being gay, nor does it imply some higher morality. It is just that it is easier to refrain from staring at something that doesn’t particularly interest you.

 

[EasterJoy]

I have two neices, age 15 and age 13. Both very into the cool factor of being gay. Their facebook pages are full of positive comments about the gay culture.

Obviously they are very young but this is what they talk about to friends their age because it’s cool to them.

Well, keeping in mind that this replaces thoughtless teen speech of the past that was sinful in its cruelty towards gays, this example of reactionary thought has its up side. There was a long time when the sinful acts committed against gays did not get the condemnation these sins deserved.

 

[signit]

I have two neices, age 15 and age 13. Both very into the cool factor of being gay. Their facebook pages are full of positive comments about the gay culture.

Obviously they are very young but this is what they talk about to friends their age because it’s cool to them.

That is surprising.

When I was 15 or 13 (a few years ago) it was the most uncool thing in the whole world and would get you harassed no end in the schoolyard.

 

[signit]

We’ve been witnessing this with our son for years. It’s not just promoted by his friends (straight & gay alike) but by teachers and now professors. We’ve dealt with the accusations that we’re prejudiced because we tell him that SSA doesn’t make you “cool,” and we’ve had to complain about a religion teacher at a Catholic high school telling the class that, from a Catholic perspective, the Church now teaches that SSA is A-okay as long as you’re truly in love and committed to one person. It makes teaching Christian love & acceptance and the morality of homosexuality a real minefield, mainly because the one lends credence the coolness claims, while the other (in his mind) bolstered the “Mom & Dad are hateful bigots” claims.

I have to disagree here, though, that it’s “promoted.”

Does anyone believe that young people are “turning gay” or turning to “gay culture” because someone else says it’s “cool”? I seriously doubt that.

 

[centurionguard]

I have to disagree here, though, that it’s “promoted.”

Does anyone believe that young people are “turning gay” or turning to “gay culture” because someone else says it’s “cool”? I seriously doubt that.

Totally Agree; IMHO Sex ED taught in schools never lent help with any sexual experimentation. And I not specifically speaking about Gay or Bisexual experimentation as far as sexual temptation is concerned.

 

[3DOCTORS]

Totally Agree; IMHO Sex ED taught in schools never lent help with any sexual experimentation. And I not specifically speaking about Gay or Bisexual experimentation as far as sexual temptation is concerned.

Well, it was a good thing Al Gore didn’t get elected in 1980 when he had Naomi Wolf as a consultant and she wanted the schools to teach teens how to masturbate.

 

[SamH]

But don’t some of the well-known and very openly gay public figures seem to be popular partly because of their gayness? Or at least because it’s PC to be “supportive”?

I remember when it was the “bigots” that prevented the show “Ellen” from being popular. They said America as a whole just wasn’t ready to watch a show with an openly gay person. Then “Will and Grace” turned out to be very popular (and was actually pretty funny).

I guess America just wasn’t willing to be guilted into watching a bad comedy just because the “star” was gay.

 

[SamH]

Well, it was a good thing Al Gore didn’t get elected in 1980 when he had Naomi Wolf as a consultant and she wanted the schools to teach teens how to masturbate.

Instead in 1992 we got Joycelyn Elders who would have done the same in the name of health care had Hillary Care passed.

 

[Castello]

Yep. Just try to sit through one episode of “Glee” if you do not believe it. How any Christian would let their kids watch that show is beyond me.

 

[aloe]

Yep. Just try to sit through one episode of “Glee” if you do not believe it. How any Christian would let their kids watch that show is beyond me.

I have never seen Glee but have tried to watch other shows and found most of the popular shows have strong sexual themes as a main competent. TV series/shows as a whole seem like a lot of junk nowadays.

 

[PoesLaw]

I can’t figure out how to vote on this poll, so I’ll post my answer here.

No. being gay does not have a cool factor to it.

 

[El_White]

Duh!

“Gay is cool” is the Gen-X version of “drugs is groovy” to baby boomers, or “smoking and drinking is jake” to the pre-WWII generation.

 

[Smugleaf]

Yes. It is very cool to be afraid to go out after dark in case you get attacked for what someone may know about you. It is super cool to get stares and verbal abuse for holding your partner’s hand when straight couples can stand in street corners with their tongues down each other’s throats.

You know what’s the coolest? Knowing people get shot for daring to be in love with someone of the “wrong” gender. That’s super awesome.

I feel sick.

 

[knotanes]

I had to vote yes, but with a caveat…

Just because the “in crowd” adopts a pet cause, doesn’t mean that the people in that cause are truly embraced in any way. It’s a sort of tokenism.

When people are “so and so my GAY friend” or “so and so my BLACK friend” rather than, say, “Bob and Monica” …that’s not real acceptance, is it? In a way, I feel like that’s almost worse than outright discrimination. At least with the overt disdain, you know who your enemy is pretty clearly.

I’m not in favor of gay marriage, but I think there are plenty of really awesome people who just happen to be gay or have gender-identity issues. I don’t agree with their choices, but I also don’t agree with alcohol abuse (but then, I’ve had to battle that vice, myself).

All of my hipster friends are busy screaming “LOOK!! I’m COOL! I like counter-culture and GAY people! I’m so FREAKING WONDERFUL! LOOK AT ME!!” And none of it has a single thing to do with the GLBT individuals or their needs. It’s all about being PC and “up with the times.”

I would say to any gay person: THESE are not your friends.

 

[LongingForLight]

Back when I was in high school, in '98 to '00, it was just turning from a “what a weirdo” thing to a “I’m counter-cultural and therefore cool” thing. I live in the Pacific NW of the USA, however, and it’s a liberal / progressive culture up here. By now, ‘gay is cool’ seems to be a pretty strong trend here.

I don’t think this is true throughout the USA, though. Still too many stories of un-Christian anti-homosexual actions. Things that don’t fall under ‘love the sinner, remember that we are all sinners’.

 

[Laughing_Crow]

I think no, being gay isn’t cool but SUPPORTING it is considered cool. “Look at me I accept gay people and support them!” is basically the new cool, you disagree and your a bigot, close minded or religious nut. Pretty much if you have an opinion that counters that of ‘anti culture’ then you are instantly torn to pieces over it. I mean I was torn to pieces for using the word queer in its original context (out of the ordinary/odd/not right) because one gay person used the board I was on and got offended. He also ‘got offended’ when I mentioned the term ‘bugger’, his ‘favorite swear’, was slang for a sailor who committed sodomy.

I knew three girls who hung around with a gay guy because they thought two guys kissing was ‘hot’ and acted like crazed fan girls if someone said anything negative about him.

 

[Lost_Wanderer]

I think no, being gay isn’t cool but SUPPORTING it is considered cool. “Look at me I accept gay people and support them!” is basically the new cool, you disagree and your a bigot, close minded or religious nut. Pretty much if you have an opinion that counters that of ‘anti culture’ then you are instantly torn to pieces over it. I mean I was torn to pieces for using the word queer in its original context (out of the ordinary/odd/not right) because one gay person used the board I was on and got offended. He also ‘got offended’ when I mentioned the term ‘bugger’, his ‘favorite swear’, was slang for a sailor who committed sodomy.

The oversensitivity of the GLBT rights crowd is indeed a disgrace to the civil rights groups of the past.

I knew three girls who hung around with a gay guy because they thought two guys kissing was ‘hot’ and acted like crazed fan girls if someone said anything negative about him.

I know how you feel. It’s rather odd though that the ‘gay’ guys I’ve seen fan girls go for don’t even look like stereotypical gay dudes. -.-

 

[JDB823]

Exactly. Ironically, using female bisexuality to turn on guys (myself unfortunately included so feel free to take this figurative gun and shoot me with it once I’m finished) is something meant to cater to twisted heterosexual senses.

On the bright side, you can’t accuse me of homophobia anymore because lesbians are homosexuals too. I can’t have a psychological fear of something I actually find gravely and sinfully tempting.

Okay, you can all shoot me now. Please. :banghead:

My experience is that there is a big difference between male and female homosexuality.

For the gay men I know, I doubt that there is any “cool” factor at play here. They are completely and obviously gay. They are not interested in women.

For the lesbians I know, it is a little more complicated. Most of the more feminine lesbians I know do have opposite sex attraction. As same sex relationships are more socially acceptable, these women are more likely to pursue relationships with other women. Given the sexual and social immaturity of many modern heterosexual men, I can’t say that I blame them. The more masculine “butch” lesbians have exclusively same sex attraction–and are generally attracted to feminine women–but are less common. (Although my understanding is that a significant number of these individuals may actually be intersexed.)

Notably, the only line in the Bible dealing with women’s perversions, Romans 1:26, refers specifically to heterosexual perversions, not lesbianism. (Hint: The women are doing same “degrading/vile” act with the men that the men are doing with each other. This interpretation makes more sense textually, historically, and from a health perspective.) This makes sense because lesbian sex involves a neutral act (permitted for married couples as foreplay) in an immoral context, while gay sex involves an illicit and unhealthy act in a immoral context. The problem with lesbianism is that both the act and the relationship are a poor imitation of God’s design for human sexuality and marriage.

Lesbians may be homosexuals, but there is a big difference between lesbians and gay men that most people don’t acknowledge.

 

[thomasf]

What do you mean ‘getting to be cool’? The whole being gay to be cool thing has been going on for at least the last decade. Ask young girls at any club what draws the attention of young men fastest, and they will answer acting gay with another girl. Girls have been doing the gay acting out thing for a long time, it gets the attention of guys fast. A lot of young girls are doing the whole ‘exploring’ lesbianism thing just because it’s cool. It gets them attention so girls do it, even if they aren’t serious.

I don’t think it’s the case with young boys/men like with girls, but there is a lot of social pressure on young men as well.

The stigma and bias against gay people has been dropping away quickly and there’s a lot of social acceptance pressure in society now around homosexuality. It’s not nearly as bad as it used to be. Although it’s still a tough lifestyle.

I’m not endorsing it, I’m just saying you’re kidding yourself if you think that this doesn’t exist.