Being Gay

[InbetweenDreams]

For you personally, is being gay something that is strictly an attraction to your own gender, or do you think it influences other aspects of who you are as well? Like if you suddenly met a straight version of yourself, how different or similar would you two be?

What does gay mean in terms of an identity? Your personal identity or a broader social/cultural one.

If you are bi or identify as something else, feel free to contribute as well.

I think being gay, aside from being attracted to men, has had impacts. Mostly that I feel that I can't share my thoughts and feelings with certain people and I think it is going to be a lot harder to have kids, if that ever becomes a possibility. Just the worry about being out, how that effects things in the workplace. Since we have a small family, I don't have to deal with a lot but... the rest of my family I'm not close to. Not sure why, but probably has a lot to do with my parents and their interactions...

I don't think a straight version myself would be profoundly different, possibly more outgoing. I guess I can say that since I spend most of my time single and doing my own thing anyway.

For me, being gay is more of a sexual orientation than a culture. I feel that "my type" of gay by other gay guys isn't well received. I'm not into a lot of the things that many gay guys are into... Like The Golden Girls, or Ru Paul's Drag Race... Same with music... I just don't share those interests. Doesn't make me "masc" or "fem," I'm just me and I don't see what the big fucking deal is of why every gay guy gasps when I tell them I haven't hard of whatever or don't like Queer As Folk as if liking all those things is a requirement to be gay.

At the end of the day, I just want to stop worrying about it. I want to stop wondering whether or not I will ever get married and do this thing called settling down. I know I have mentioned kids, which for a long time I was on the fence about, but if I could find myself in a stable relationship maybe that could happen, but seeing I struggle to find guys who know how to feed themselves or know how to fill out a job application being single probably isn't the worst thing for me right now.

Ok that turned more into a rant, but hopefully that covers it.