The "Gay Friend"

[ZzKingz]

Do you think the gay friend stereotype is good or bad for the gay community?

Personally I think that stereotypes are never a good thing, but I feel like this one gives gays a positive image that our society really needs. I think that for this reason, I've found a sense of belonging with my girlfriends, who embrace my sexuality by taking me shopping and what not. Every girl wants a gay friend, and I think that it's great that gays are becoming a desirable part of our society, even if it's driven by media stereotypes that aren't necessarily true.

That's my opinion. What's yours?

[Victor]

I think.. for masculine gay/bi guys who haven't come out the closet, might find it quite difficult to come out, because they don't want to be associated with that femmenine stereotype (:

But yeah, it does have its positives, like your girlfriends would drag you along with them shopping and be thier Style nazi xP
A Gay best friend can talk any girl out of buying something hideous :D

[ZzKingz]

It's like they trust us with that more than they do haha. I get a B- as a gay friend haha

[JJSSHH]

I think stereotypes are always a bad thing. Even if there considered "good", it sets an unrealistic goal for the person.

[teenmanchester]

yh i mean in my friend group, im not out but im quite masculine, whereas no one else in the group is gay and we only have a bi friend in the group. he's quite feminine and all the girls in the group say he is their gay friend so im sort of mixed on the stereotype, it fits some ppl but wouldnt fit entirely for a guy like me.

[DerBear]

Stereotyped are never good for any person/community.

For the gays who are not feminine saying that all gays love shopping and want to hang with girls and frill over clothes gives the rest of the community who hate that kinda stuff look bad.

Throughout the years man women and child have stereotyped one and other and it has caused more hate than good. I was watching a tv program the other day and because this guy who worked at a bar, cooked food people said "Oh my burger must have aids" because again they stereotyped.

In fact a lot hatred towards society has been formed or egged on by society. Therefore I disagree with stereotypical views on people and therefore feel that it should not happen with anyone one or community.

[Lights]

I hate the gay stereotype because in many cases it is entirely inaccurate, and I hate television for portraying most gay characters to be the stereotype.

It is thanks to massive shows like Glee with Chris Colfer that people who don't know much about sexuality jump to the conclusion that feminine qualities are what tell you if someone's gay or not. In some sense, who can blame them for thinking that? I think there is a horrible lack of education in schools when it comes to sexuality, and as a result people don't understand it, so they jump to quick conclusions which settle their minds.

The stereotype has become so embedded in society that it's going to be hard to ever come back from it. It's going to take more guys who don't fall into the stereotype's category to speak up about sexuality and how yes there are people who fit the gay stereotype, but there are also an extraordinary amount of people who don't. I don't think anything will improve until sexuality is properly educated in schools with organisations/charities coming in to give talks.

While girls tend to be accepting of guys who are gay, other guys aren't always as friendly. I usually find that other guys see my sexuality as my defining characteristic, which I find is sad. Some girls even seem to see my sexuality as my defining quality. Somehow these people bring my sexuality into most discussions (not always in a negative way, but I don't like it constantly coming up) that we have.

I don't think any kind of stereotype is beneficial. Stereotyping often leads to prejudice and discrimination, which is totally wrong. Because of the gay stereotype for example, in an interview, if a man comes across as gay because he has obvious feminine tendencies, and the employer happens not to like gay people, this man will not get the job. Although it is illegal for employers to discriminate against applicants because of things like their race, sexuality or gender etc, this doesn't mean it doesn't still happen. Employers can still turn down the applicant because of their race/sexuality/gender, they just have to turn you down for another reason which they can happily make up, like: "Sorry, we just didn't think you were right for the job". Some employers don't even have to tell you why they turned you down. I think this kind of example shows how stereotyping is very wrong.

[Joe96]

I think it's both good and bad.
Like you said, it's good because a lot of girls (and some guys) want gay friends because they can do all the feminine things.
I also feel it's bad because, me personally, am quite masculine and I often feel bad around gay people who fit the stereotype because it's like I'm not actually gay - I'm more of an 'outsider' if you see what I'm trying to say.

Also, some idiots don't believe me when I tell them I'm gay because I'm too 'manly' apparently. I don't like it when people think I'm lying about my sexuality.

[swimmerboy95]

I think.. for masculine gay/bi guys who haven't come out the closet, might find it quite difficult to come out, because they don't want to be associated with that femmenine stereotype (:

But yeah, it does have its positives, like your girlfriends would drag you along with them shopping and be thier Style nazi xP
A Gay best friend can talk any girl out of buying something hideous :D

Absolutely agree with the first part because that is my situation exactly. I do n0t want to be associated with what a majority of people think "gay" means. Not too sure about that second part though :P

[Thomas01]

I think it is a good thing that people are accepting of others, so yeah the gay friend stereotype is okay. It's basically just hanging out as normal people do, one's sexual preference shouldn't change how we view one another. Personally I have 3 girl friends and they were excited when I said I was gay because they wanted a gay best friend. It doesn't change how we act too much just sometimes we joke around a little.