On what basis are gay guys assumed to be feminine?

I thought that it was gender roles as a whole, not just the sexuality ones.

Be not afraid...

Yes, it's gender roles as a whole, including sexuality.

Anime geemu wo shinasai!

No, wait... you guys are right. What I was refering to was just one kind of heteronormativity :/

I stand by my claim that even though gay men are more likely to be feminine than straight men, it's still incorrect to assume that they will be feminine just because they're gay.

‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.

Ah, so I'm wrong about the word. Do we really have to have so many similar sounding words? So annoying...

I am now known as Flyboy.

It might also be selection bias. The ones who are gay but choose to remain in the closet (for whatever reason, it's not my right to judge or criticize) are probably the ones who take more steps to act stereotypically 'masculine'. That is, the gay people you know who do appear masculine may be more likely to be closeted, and therefore, people you wouldn't associate with 'gayness'.

Or just an insufficient sample size on all parties. Plus, there's issues of stereotype bias, where people are more likely to remember the people who do fit their stereotype of 'gay male' = 'feminine male'.

edited 16th Aug '11 6:16:16 PM by DarkConfidant

But that's like saying gay men are universally feminine unless they force themselve to be otherwise -_-

‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.

This.

Gay men are already disqualified from being "real men" in the eyes of mainstream society (and were even more so a few generations back), so they have less incentive to perform masculinity. Also, once certain behavioral norms become prevalent enough in a given (sub)culture, they become self-perpetuating via diffusion.

That's not the point I was trying to make, but I guess that that's how it came off, and I apologize if that was taken the wrong way.

What I was trying to say is:

Availability Heuristic
Confirmation Bias

Person has 1 experience with a flamboyantly feminine gay person. He/she forms the stereotype that gay is linked to feminine. Thus, when said person sees a gay person who isn't feminine, they associate 'not gay' cognitively, and disregard these examples to the contrary as 'exceptions to the rule'.

Due to human psychology, heuristics and schemas are very difficult to break once formed. As a result, stereotypes can persist even in the face of clear and overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

edited 16th Aug '11 6:23:36 PM by DarkConfidant

Yet straight men don't necessarily like femininity, either. It is possible for a heterosexual man to be attracted to people who are behaviorally and psychologically masculine, but only as long as those people are women who also have GINORMOUS GAZONGAS.

Why must their tits be huge? SOME MEN LIKE FLAT WOMEN.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Generally speaking, they are the minority, however.

I am now known as Flyboy.

-hides in the minority cave-

Though when I am a guy I like males more so...

Um.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

That's just how this hypothetical heterosexual man rolls! Also, I wanted an excuse to type out "ginormous gazongas."

But really, I think most people are fundamentally attracted to the anatomical sexual characteristics of their chosen sex(es) more than their cultural roles.

edited 16th Aug '11 6:35:07 PM by MostlyBenign

When you are a guy...?

You know what, never mind. That's not my business and I really don't want to know...

I am now known as Flyboy.

Bigenderism is a hell of a thing. Let's leave it at that.

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Is that a physical or mental thing...?

And to keep it remotely to topic, since it's kind of related, do people who are... bigender?... tend to be effeminate or straight-ish or what? I've never heard of it...

I am now known as Flyboy.

A mental thing complete with feelings of dyspmorphia and phantom limb.

I haven't noticed a specific pattern in that area. My behavior remains the same though. You know save some of my movements. Personality wise I am the same person.

edited 16th Aug '11 6:37:31 PM by Aondeug

If someone wants to accuse us of eating coconut shells, then that's their business. We know what we're doing. - Achaan Chah

Bigendered = Sometimes they feel like men, sometimes they feel like women. It's a mental thing.

See also: Transsexual

‽‽‽‽ ^These are interrobangs. Love them. Learn them. Use them.

That is... incredibly confusing...

Not my concern, though. Hope it works out for you...

I am now known as Flyboy.

Where do you think it got its momentum from, then?

"The Daily Show has to be right 100% of the time; FOX News only has to be right once." - Jon Stewart

Probably division of labor in hunter-gatherer and early agricultural societies, when such a thing actually made sense?

@OP: According to society gay guy = not a man = feminine

edited 17th Aug '11 6:40:16 AM by Kino

I'd hope not all of society.

No, just the vast majority.

Just going from personal anecdote, I'd say it's very prevalent, even among those who don't honestly have a problem with gay people...

I am now known as Flyboy.