Is being gay "normal"? What defines "normal"?

[Tyrion]

I was on another forum the other day, and the topic of being gay came up. We were talking about something that happened in an 80/90s TV show... and it eventually lead to me saying something about how being gay is not "the norm". That didn't sit well with readers, so I explained that I was gay and that I simply meant that it isn't "normal" in terms of what society expects. Then came a hurl of insults until it finally ended with me being called a self-loathing gay who needs to off himself (lol).

Anyway, I was thinking about the whole discussion afterwards, and now I'm wondering if my choice of word was inappropriate? I personally have always defined "normal" as being something that was determined by society -- something that was generally expected and accepted by the majority. For instance, I have purple hair.. I don't really think that's normal. In the same sense, I think that being straight is "normal".. but I guess even as I type that it doesn't sound right. Maybe the word is average? Maybe being gay is simply "different"? Or maybe it's all a bunch of PC garbage, which I recently bitched about in another thread on the same topic? I'm not sure..

Either way it got me thinking, and I by no means mean to offend.

So.. how do you define normal? What is normal? Is being gay "normal? Was I in the wrong? Am I thinking too much?

So many questions :eek:

Thoughts?

[Pix]

No, it's not offensive, and it's also understandable, just like being left handed isn't normal. Perhaps what the guy who took offense at was confusing your statement with saying being gay is "unnatural," as if it were a cosmic mistake (generally seen as a sin against God) instead of how gay sex and sexuality are found throughout the animal kingdom and thus completely natural, if unusual (and thus not normal).

I like to think the one who took offense simply lacked sobriety. And in any case telling you to off yourself WAS offensive.

[Geminize]

So.. how do you define normal? What is normal? Is being gay "normal? Was I in the wrong? Am I thinking too much?

Tyrion, no one here has the right to say if you were right or wrong, but you are definitely NOT thinking too much. (Pay no attention to the man behind the finger.)

It is easy to confuse "average" and "normal". Think of normal as a bell curve, with a majority of individuals falling relatively near the peak, the mean or average. (Not exactly the same, but close enough.) Any example of normal will include a minority of individuals who exist far from the average.

Considering sexuality, it is normal in any population to find a majority who are straight and a minority who are gay. This is normal. So being gay is NOT abnormal, but actually a natural expression of a range of possibilities within the norm.

Likewise, a minority of left handedness is normal and to be expected. If a culture was discovered that had no left handed or gay individuals... now that would be abnormal.

Diversity is necessary. Diversity is natural. 'Normal' is so much more inclusive than most people think. Let your light shine bright!

[Tyrion]

No, it's not offensive, and it's also understandable, just like being left handed isn't normal. Perhaps what the guy who took offense at was confusing your statement with saying being gay is "unnatural," as if it were a cosmic mistake (generally seen as a sin against God) instead of how gay sex and sexuality are found throughout the animal kingdom and thus completely natural, if unusual (and thus not normal).

I like to think the one who took offense simply lacked sobriety. And in any case telling you to off yourself WAS offensive.

This is how I see it, and I completely agree.

On a related note I am also left handed.. so I guess that makes me extra weird. I can handle that.

[VileKyle]

Oh get over it Krupt and stop overreacting.

And Tyrion, you definitely didn't say anything wrong. "Normal" is an abstract concept with no true value to it. There's also nothing wrong with being different. I actually take pride in it, rather than getting upset at not "fitting in." If I wanted to be normal, I'd be sitting behind a desk slaving away at some office job today.

[Geminize]

Originally posted by VileKyle"Normal" is an abstract concept with no true value to it. There's also nothing wrong with being different.

Actually, "normal" is a very concrete -- but misunderstood -- concept. "Average" is simply one expression of normal, along a broad spectrum. The extremes of any spectrum are also normal, although less common. I don't know if that's comforting to anyone else, but I like it.

[Kiid]

It is defiantly not normalized u.u
I can tell you that much. If it was then there would be no homophobia...

[Kiid]

nor·mal
/ˈnôrməl/

Adjective
Conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

Noun
The usual, average, or typical state or condition.

Synonyms
adjective. regular - standard - ordinary - common - usual
noun. normality - normalcy - perpendicular

[dlboy53]

normal is just someones perspective.
As a friend pointed out to me once who is it to say that your not the normal one and everyone else is abnormal?

[Kiid]

(Pay no attention to the man behind the finger.)

Actually the man behind the finger is a wise one. He usually speaks reason and logic u.u