Gaydar

This is amazing. Lets not get our scientists working on cures or anything life changing, lets get them on the important topic of "identifying" gay characteristics.

I'll save them some time, if a guy has sex with another guy, he's gay. Alternately, if they use terms like "meaty thighs" or go by internet names such as "Connemara" or "Kronik" or "GQGeek", they are gay. There, I just saved those scientists a bunch of time.

There's something inauspicious about this. What, are they going to identify us all and send us to defabulization camps?

*hides under covers*

They are going to route you into the fashion industry at a young age.

There are countless scientists working on far, far more meaningless endeavors.

There are some social/religious implications for further evidence of these physiological relationships with sexual orientation. It contributes to the idea that homosexuality is innate and not a choice, which (amazingly) is something many people don't believe and a great deal of religious dogma is in direct contradiction to. The idea that it is an inborn trait could possibly soften the stance of homosexuality-as-sin, and make life a lot easier for people who have had and will have their families, friends, and churches have disown them for coming out. And I believe it will all make widespread acceptance of gay marriage a more likely event should the element of "choice" be removed from people's perception of homosexuality, whether you are for or against this. Either way, it's a fairly natural course of study by the field of psychology to try to relate behavior to some sort of biological source and this particular branch of it has been going on for years. Much of what they discuss in the article was covered briefly in a developmental psychology course I took 4 years ago.

The CNN stuff is following a NY Magazine feature that appeared the previous week:

http://nymag.com/news/features/33520/

Re: how to tell in this forum: I'm gay but I really can't tell who else is, unless they spell it out.

here, I'll help with your little spelling bee...

C-O-N-N-E-B-O-I

I have long thought that if homosexuality is a genetically transmitted, immutable trait, as contemporary "enlightened" doctrine maintains, then ipso facto, this proves the Darwinian theory of Natural Selection wrong--far more than the cleversilly arguments of the Creationists!

Homosexuality exists even in the animal kingdom. What's the big deal?

How do gay men know that they are both into men? I mean, what if you walked up to a guy and started hitting on him, and he goes "Umm, I'm straight dude." Does this happen a lot?

I usually realize after we've exchanged numbers that it was odd for him to introduce himself in the gym and that I don't really want to work out with him at any point in the future. Among other situations.

You tell us.

Not really. That just means that he is somewhat attracted to men or at least not entirely disgusted by the idea of sex with men. He could be bisexual. He could even be very predominantly attracted to women and not have many other options (like in prison).

Conversely, he could be gay and not have sex with another guy (abstinent).

How?

Well, not being gay I can't speak for anyone that is and my comment was a bit of a joke but, for me at least, if you are attracted sexually to men (and you are a man), you are gay, there is no bisexual. The sex act between two men is very different from the sex act between two women and I think it is fair to say that it requires a much bigger "commitment", one that does not lend itself to experimentation.

Anyway, I make a lot of gay jokes but really don't care either way. Why this fascination in this country to figure out what is "wrong" with gay people or if you can tell if someone is gay or if you can change someone is beyond me.

Use of terms like "inauspicious", with its educated and slyly Shakespearean undertones, clearly mark you for deportation to the defabulation zone. I suggest cultivating alternatives, like "totally not cool", or "lame". Adding "brah" after any of these will also help, as it will convince people that while you may very well be gay, you're probably not okay with it, which, really, is all they ask.