living.in.technicolor

California’s state colleges and universities are laying plans to ask students about their sexual orientation next year on application or enrollment forms, becoming the largest group of schools in the country to do so. The move has raised the hopes of gay activists for recognition but the concerns of others about privacy.

The questions, which students could answer voluntarily, would be posed because of a little-known state law aimed at gauging the size of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations on the campuses. The law encourages UC, Cal State and community colleges to explore whether they are offering enough services, such as counseling, for those students.

I can see this going terribly terribly wrong.

Be a proud gay man and a self-loathing asshole. Have a bitchy attitude towards gays who are different from you and fail to understand why. Go out of your way to avoid stereotypes. You aren’t promiscuous and you don’t really do drugs. Wear these facts like a badge of honor. Become a holier-than-thou bitch. Despise the narcissism and vanity that pervades gay culture. Succumb to doing crunches before bed and taking photos of yourself when you have a good hair day.

Another Thought Catalog repost and I’m done. I am guilty of doing a few of these. Ryan O’Connell’s satire is so spot on, it’s frightening.

Thought this was an interesting read when he starts quoting his posts. I thought the part, “I feel like a traitor to my own culture but then I realize that the idea of this collective gay culture is problematic. The only thing we all share in common is that we like dick,” was somewhat insightful. I’d follow him on Twitter if I ever back-down and get one.

bound-to-happen:

I’ve been getting a lot of flak for having gone out with my most recent ex and everyone always tells me, “You can do better.” What does that mean? Sure, he might not have been the most attractive person in the world and he might not have been the brightest bulb in the pack, but I had my completely legitimate reasons for going out with him and to say “you can do better” questions my judgment in a highly offensive manner.

When I ask them what they mean when they say that, I usually get something about how they think he’s unattractive and how someone “as attractive as you are” could therefore “do better”. I think appearances are an incredibly petty and selfish reason to not go out with a person.

If I subscribed to such a terrible philosophy, what was I supposed to tell him? “Sorry, you have a great personality and we have a lot in common, but you’re not attractive enough to be with me.”

The same people who are telling me that I could do better are the same people who will probably end up all alone because they themselves could “do better”. There’s no point in appreciating what you have if you’re deluded into thinking that while the person you have at the moment might be good, but “you can do better”.

Rawr. I’m done ranting.

On one hand, it sounds like they were trying to compliment you or make you feel better for whatever reason. I don’t know personally why you broke up with your ex but if you were the “victim” or were perceived as much, then I can see why they would say that. Also, I think that appearances can be a legitimate reason to break up with someone, especially if they stop taking care of themselves, but it shouldn’t be the only reason.

On the other hand, it is disheartening to know that these people didn’t really respect your relationship in the first place. People like couples of equal attractiveness because they’re easier to understand and accept. Even so, relationships are about compromise and growth and I think a lot of people aren’t willing to invest in that, especially if they’re only focused on what’s immediately available. I hope you find friends who can appreciate that.

(Source: an-examined-life)

So now openly gay soldiers get to fight and die in neocon-imperialist wars too?

With ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ repealed and gays seeking marriage equality, the homosexual bourgeoisie is emerging — a concept subversive to both liberals and conservatives.

This article reminded me of the time I read The Hours by Michael Cunningham in high school. One part involved a character, Mary Krull, who sees Mrs. Dalloway as a sell-out for settling into a domestic lifestyle with her partner Sally. It was one of my first exposures to the idea that there’s a divide within the gay community between its radical ideas of subverting existing institutions (monogamy, gender) and those who want to accommodate those institutions. The article refers to the latter as homosexual bourgeoisie or “HoBos.”

Nowadays, It’s hard to ignore public figures like Neil Patrick Harris and Elton John raising families through surrogacy or adoption and settling into long-term relationships. Perhaps there is a general trend of gays (usually the older, more established ones) assimilating into the “American dream,” for better or for worse. It just makes me wonder what gays will fight for once they achieve true acceptance.

He was told there was a party at a brick house on Osborne Place, a quiet block set on a steep hill in the Bronx. He showed up last Sunday night as instructed, with plenty of cans of malt liquor. What he walked into was not a party at all, but a night of torture — he was sodomized, burned and whipped.

All punishment, the police said Friday, for being gay.

This makes me really sad and angry. Sex with minors is one thing, but I don’t understand how you could do that to someone. I also don’t understand why there has been such an upswing in violence against gays lately.

I find this statistic discouraging that in spite of the community’s efforts to provide condoms, free HIV testing and education. I guess the only solution now is to escalate their approach. Funny how Asian Americans are left out of the article. Getting tested is scary but not knowing is worse. Even though I don’t have an extensive dating history and I have a stable relationship, I still get tested once in a while due to the nature of my job and just for peace of mind. My mantra is to never assume.