Anohito
No Longer Active
- 24 Dec 2006
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I usually have no need to know anyones sexual prefernece or what have you. I don't refer to my self as straight or heterosexual when I talk to people it is something that is my business and no one elses and I don't feel I need to classify myself with a special or politcally correct name or label. I would never use the word gay to infer that it was regarding "gay" men. Fag, which is used for a cigarette in the UK to me sounds derogatory. We never said gay to mean a homosexual, if that was what was meant, kids would use fag or homo! Really I don't want to start a thread on what names to call people. We are all humans and thats that, it doesn't matter race, color, creed or sexual orientation. I'll like you or not by who you are, not what you choose to call yourself.
First, strictly speaking, sexual orientation is not a preference, it is hard-wired. The word "preference" may be applicable to certain bisexuals who are attracted to both men and women, but its use to refer to gay men & lesbians is too often done to imply that "those people" choose to be the way they are.
We seldom use the term gay to refer to ourselves unless we are among other gay men and/or lesbians. However, we do not hide our relationship. If a conversation warrants it, we do not hesitate to refer to "our house" or indicate in other ways that we are a couple (12 years this past Feb).
Heterosexuals have little or no need to refer to themselves as heterosexual, because (at least in American society) heterosexuality is considered the default, or the way things "are." Also, an opposite-sex couple are clearly saying something to the world at large about their sexual orientation even if they never utter the word "heterosexual."
It's nice to say "we are all humans" (which is not really a compliment, if you think about it), but it is not so nice if people around you expect you to keep your sexual orientation hidden. Some do.