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.
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. :(