Originally posted by Bbug:
Okay, I'm sorry, but sexuality can't be reduced to "hahaha he wore a see-thru shirt!!" I don't care if Larry or anyone else is gay, straight, bi, whatever, but the notion that you can pin people into a category because of what they wear, especially when they're PERFORMING on a stage in front of thousands of strangers and use that to make a direct inference about his or her sexual orientation upsets me.
I am perfectly ready to let this thread die, and have already apologized for any hurt feelings I may have caused, but since I think this reference was for me I'd like to respond to it because I feel misunderstood.
As I said, my now-deceased gay best friend, believed that Larry is gay. I did not agree, and we argued about this for many years--good-naturedly. Whether it is PC or not, he and the many, many, many gay male friends I have had over the years, did in fact, with uncanny accuracy, identify gay men by their attire, along with other variables as well. You may not like it, but they did/do, hence the popular expression "gaydar." If you are gay or have gay friends, you know that gaydar is an astonishing talent. I will add, though it isn't necessarily relevant, yet I feel like I want to say, that my friend really did not fit any gay stereotypes, so I don't mean to paint a picture of some effeminate queen pointing at men in certain clothing and giggling, "gay!" It's not like that at all.
Anyway, what I failed to mention before, was that my friend wore a see-through black mesh shirt to gay clubs on a regular basis, and thus, knowing my friend intimately as I did, I know that had he lived to see Larry's shirt he would no doubt have used this as ammunition in our 15-year-long "argument" over Larry's sexuality.
It would be great if we lived in a world where people were completely unconcerned about others' sexuality so that in talking to someone, or observing them, the thought "gay" or "straight" never entered our minds, but for whatever reason, we mere mortals remain curious about sexuality and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. It's what you do with that that matters. Do you note it and move on, or do you discriminate against them? While there was some stereotyping going on in this thread, it was not, in my opinion, of a dangerous or offensive nature, because the spirit behind it was very much one of acceptance of gays. In my case, it's much more than acceptance--it's a deep love for my friend whom I miss terribly, as well as for the love I currently have for many close gay and lesbian friends. That, at least, is the spirit in which I read this thread and participated in it.
Okay, I'm done. Thanks.
[This message has been edited by joyfulgirl (edited 02-07-2002).]