Silly men just need to understand that saying “I’m lonely” and “women belong in the kitchen” are equivalent. So don’t you dare ever talk or reach out if you’re lonely.
It’s a real shame that male loneliness is so quickly dismissed because it would be a great starting point to begin talking about how traditional male friendships tend to keep each other at a distance, and maybe come up with ways to bridge the gap so existing friendships can become deeper.
Instead it feels like the conversation just gets to this point where we all collectively shrug and say, “shame” and never really talk about it more than this.
In my career, I have had a lot of contacts with Saudi Arabian men. I’ve sometimes been a bit jealous of the ease and familiarity of their male-male friendships in that culture.
They generally have no qualms about just hanging an arm over a friends shoulder and just keeping it there for a protracted side-hug, seemingly without a thought.
Sure, there are other aspects of the culture that give me pause, but the easy familiarity is something that I think is beautiful.
A good friend of mine and I were open enough to hug and say “I love you man” to each other, even at work. The engineering staff sort of tolerates us but thought we were weird for showing feelings, the shop floor staff immediately started with the gay rumour.
Yeah one of the many ways our culture is broken. :(
But did you double down on the affection after the gay rumors? Because, unless you feared violence, it seems like a great setup to mess with Straighty.
Yes, that snippet went viral because it is so incongruous in the USA, especially. But such things are common elsewhere and it is not perceived as ‘gay’ or negative in any way.
I think of my own experience of learning how to live as a gay man in the way our culture accepts. I just have to wonder how it would have been different if I had been raised seeing and experiencing males touching each other with casual affection and no overt sexual undertones.
I had to go to gay bars to first experience socially sanctioned touching between men. In the sexualized atmosphere of US gay bars, it was hard to just enjoy the closeness - because of the implications.
This is also why representation in media is so important. Kids need to see people like them represented as “normal”.
The cumulative effect that the media has had on how Americans view homosexuality has changed so dramatically, even in my lifetime, and so much of that has to do with the media normalizing it.
It’s also why conservatives are so terrified of it.
I mean yeah. To start with, casual homophobic phrase: “{blank} is gay” is a very common, very quick social check on behavior; it’s saying to be careful of being too effeminate, or too lame, uncool.
I think for children, they first use the phrase more to mean “lame”, it’s edgy for them and therefore interesting because it’s as close to cursing as they can get without cursing. I think that by the time they grow old enough to understand that the phrase can be homophobic, it’s likely that the phrase “don’t be gay” has already been repeated enough that it creates an unconscious tension to still try to “not be gay”, even if the phrase isn’t used anymore because “that would be gay.”
I think confronting children’s fear of appearing “lame” would go a long way in promoting men’s willingness to discover how to have deeper bonds with each other, even if it could be awkward at first.
Silly men just need to understand that saying “I’m lonely” and “women belong in the kitchen” are equivalent. So don’t you dare ever talk or reach out if you’re lonely.
It’s a real shame that male loneliness is so quickly dismissed because it would be a great starting point to begin talking about how traditional male friendships tend to keep each other at a distance, and maybe come up with ways to bridge the gap so existing friendships can become deeper.
Instead it feels like the conversation just gets to this point where we all collectively shrug and say, “shame” and never really talk about it more than this.
“I’m lonely.”
“Well, you probably deserve it then.”
There is a difference between thinking someone deserves it and them probably needing to do some introspection.
In my career, I have had a lot of contacts with Saudi Arabian men. I’ve sometimes been a bit jealous of the ease and familiarity of their male-male friendships in that culture.
They generally have no qualms about just hanging an arm over a friends shoulder and just keeping it there for a protracted side-hug, seemingly without a thought.
Sure, there are other aspects of the culture that give me pause, but the easy familiarity is something that I think is beautiful.
A good friend of mine and I were open enough to hug and say “I love you man” to each other, even at work. The engineering staff sort of tolerates us but thought we were weird for showing feelings, the shop floor staff immediately started with the gay rumour.
Yeah one of the many ways our culture is broken. :(
But did you double down on the affection after the gay rumors? Because, unless you feared violence, it seems like a great setup to mess with Straighty.
We had our photo taken together and framed it.
Made me think of that video of George W. Bush walking hand-in-hand with that Saudi royal (MBS maybe? Don’t recall)
Yes, that snippet went viral because it is so incongruous in the USA, especially. But such things are common elsewhere and it is not perceived as ‘gay’ or negative in any way.
I think of my own experience of learning how to live as a gay man in the way our culture accepts. I just have to wonder how it would have been different if I had been raised seeing and experiencing males touching each other with casual affection and no overt sexual undertones.
I had to go to gay bars to first experience socially sanctioned touching between men. In the sexualized atmosphere of US gay bars, it was hard to just enjoy the closeness - because of the implications.
This is also why representation in media is so important. Kids need to see people like them represented as “normal”.
The cumulative effect that the media has had on how Americans view homosexuality has changed so dramatically, even in my lifetime, and so much of that has to do with the media normalizing it.
It’s also why conservatives are so terrified of it.
Yep, it is my civic duty to be visibly gay.
Look at you being all self-actualized… Stay safe though! Shit is crazy out there.
The lack of safety is exactly the reason I must do it. :(
Yeah, I think maybe you misunderstood the meme format? I don’t think anyone is saying those things are equivalent…
Maybe, just maybe… men don’t have deep friendships because “empathy is gay”?
I mean yeah. To start with, casual homophobic phrase: “{blank} is gay” is a very common, very quick social check on behavior; it’s saying to be careful of being too effeminate, or too lame, uncool.
I think for children, they first use the phrase more to mean “lame”, it’s edgy for them and therefore interesting because it’s as close to cursing as they can get without cursing. I think that by the time they grow old enough to understand that the phrase can be homophobic, it’s likely that the phrase “don’t be gay” has already been repeated enough that it creates an unconscious tension to still try to “not be gay”, even if the phrase isn’t used anymore because “that would be gay.”
I think confronting children’s fear of appearing “lame” would go a long way in promoting men’s willingness to discover how to have deeper bonds with each other, even if it could be awkward at first.
edit: wording