The "gay stereotype thing"..

So.... yeah... I thought I shoudl bring this up. Why do people decide to assume this persona of "oh no you DIDN'T, girlfriend!" when they come out? I mean, come on... I've known MANY gay guys/girls/etc who weren't "flaming". So, an opinion pole. Why do people feel the need to be "flaming" when they come out of the closet? Is it due to an overcompensation for insecurities? Or is it something else? My friend brad... (who, yeah, is gay) always said "God, I *hate* fags." And, I could identify with him... I mean, why do so many people feel the need to play some "part" when they come out? Is it that people can't just be themselves? Or is this, REALLY, the person they've always wanted to be but couldn't?

um...

I don't remember if you knew me prior to the end of 2000... but... if you did, did you notice a change? Apart from that, would you consider me "flaming" (or I guess butch in my case)?

well, I think it's just more noticeable, really. after all, people who are flaming anything - gay, liberal, Christian, libertarian, etc - tend to stand out more than people who don't make a big deal out of it.

if 1 out of 10 homosexuals who came out of the closet started exhibiting stereotypical behaviour, it would look like a lot more. because no one would notice the other 90%.

Who says that so many people become flaming? Some might, I don't know the exact percentage. I guess it depends on how you define flaming? Billy Beane the Oakland GM came out of the closet and pretty much acts the same way he always has. (The game is on now and I think he's a great GM so I had to bring that up.)

I think this is the kind of thing that says far more about someone's perceptions than objective reality.

I think this is the kind of thing that says far more about someone's perceptions than objective reality.

I agree.

And I'd also like to know if anyone who knew me in 1999 noticed a change when I started identifying as bi....but I really don't talk to any of those people anymore, and they all thought I was a lesbian anyway because I owned a purple nightgown. Um. Yeah.