[John K.]

I don’t think this is a gay thing. Most gay men I know do not try to dress or look like women. Some have feminine characteristics, but the only men I know who regularly wear makeup and/or dresses are completely straight. There are some gay men I know who cross-dress for pride parades and the like, but in that case it’s mostly a camp thing. I wonder if you are simply perceiving all people who try to dress and look like the opposite sex as gay. Or perhaps the gay people you know who do dress and act that way are so noticeable to you that you fail to see the much larger number of gay people who do not?

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 35, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Quality Assurance Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

I think a lot depends on where you are looking. If you are looking in an environment where looking for dates/sex is a primary ingredient, you’ll probably have problems finding friends without the sexual component. However, if you look for friends in groups or activities where the primary purpose is pursuing community service, shared enjoyment of hobbies, or something similar, you probably would have less of a problem finding people who want to be friends without the sexual tension. If that is your goal, I would recommend volunteering at a gay/lesbian community center, finding gay groups that share your hobby interests, or looking for similar things online.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 35, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Quality Assurance Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

For me the ‘abandoning’ of my faith and religion was a gradual thing. I was raised in my parents’ Catholic faith. Throughout my religious education, I was taught that Catholicism, and Christianity in general, was a very personal faith. However, this was at odd with what I saw at church. At church, so many people there seemed to be only going through the motions, with no personal involvement. I even saw people doing things like writing out offering checks while reciting some of the most important prayers in the service. It became apparent to me that a congregation who worshipped by chanting pre-written and thoroughly memorized prayers cannot be having much of a personal connection to their messiah and creator. Where was the wonder? Where was the joy? It all seemed so hypocritical. As I entered my early teen years I started looking at the world in a critical way. I started questioning the supernatural explanations for many things. For example, I knew that refraction of sunlight through raindrops caused rainbows. Therefore, unless god created refraction AFTER the flood, rainbows always existed. That, coupled with distress over why a loving god would allow so much suffering and confusion about god’s apparent multiple personality disorder (compare the old testament god with the new testament god from an impressionable child’s point of view), led to find religion more and more illogical. Also during my early teen years, I started to realize that I was gay. My religion told me that being gay was inherently evil. Since I wasn’t led into being gay, it meant that I was inherently evil. What kid wants to think of himself that way? I prayed and prayed, staying up entire nights pleading with god to take it away from me. You know what, he never did. Eventually, I decided one of two conditions existed. Either god wanted me to be evil or god did not exist. Since the first one required me to believe that no matter what I did I would go to hell, I chose to accept the possibility of a godless universe. That choice was the only one that fit all of the available facts and feelings I had. I don’t feel a need for god. I do feel a need for spirituality, and currently Buddhism is filling that need without the onus of a supernatural father-figure. If Catholicism was more internally consistent in its teachings and did not resort to calling some of its followers inherently flawed and evil, who knows, I might still be a Catholic today.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 35, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Quality Assurance Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[John K.]

Many times, the reasons celebrities come out is to help the general public get to know that gay people really are everywhere. It seems that when people know gay people, they learn to be more accepting of gay issues. By coming out, the gay celebrity furthers that tendency. Then again, it may not be the celebrity who is causing his or her “outness” to be plastered all over the headlines. The celebrity may have made a simple statement at one time, and from that point on became known as a (or the) “gay celebrity.” Even if that celebrity never mentions the “gay” word again, every time that celebrity’s name is mentioned in the press, the press may feel compelled to add the “gay” label.

User Detail :  

Name : John K., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 35, City : San Diego, State : CA, Country : United States, Occupation : Quality Assurance Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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