'How to be Gay' Course Draws Fire at University

[Encryptic]

Nothing like a gay-related thread to bring the homophobes out of the woodwork.

Sounds like an interesting course if the intent is to focus on the sociological aspect of gay culture.

 

[BoberFett]

I thought gay men were just like everybody else? Why do you have to learn how to be just like everyone else?

Or are they teaching different positions?

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: pandego
Mansechs = teh bad.

Ahem. No.

Originally posted by: Encryptic
Nothing like a gay-related thread to bring the homophobes out of the woodwork.

No kidding.

I personally have no idea WHY anyone on earth would want to take a course on being gay...

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
I thought gay men were just like everybody else? Why do you have to learn how to be just like everyone else?

Or are they teaching different positions?

i think most people can name one big difference between gays and straights. perhaps what you got confused with was the fact that some people believe gays should not be discriminated against on the basis of being gay. it is like blacks and whites, we can all see the difference, but a lot of people believe they should still be treated equally in regards to skin color.

 

[BoberFett]

No there are two kinds of differences, those that we're born with and those we can change. The ones we can't change are the ones we're not to be discrimated against with.

Color of skin
Nationality
Who you prefer having sex with

Then there are the things which you choose

Who you associate with
What music you listen to
How you act

Gay people want to say they're born that way? Fine, I don't disriminate against gays, and think other people shouldn't either. But if you choose to be flaming gay (think Nathan Lane in Birdcage) then don't complain about how people treat you.

So to say that people can or or need to learn how to be gay seems wrong to me. Seems to go against what they're after: equality. The message of this class seems to be that "Gays are NOT like everybody else. We ARE different."

 

[GeekDrew]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
No there are two kinds of differences, those that we're born with and those we can change. The ones we can't change are the ones we're not to be discrimated against with.

Color of skin
Nationality
Who you prefer having sex with

Then there are the things which you choose

Who you associate with
What music you listen to
How you act

Gay people want to say they're born that way? Fine, I don't disriminate against gays, and think other people shouldn't either. But if you choose to be flaming gay (think Nathan Lane in Birdcage) then don't complain about how people treat you.

So to say that people can or or need to learn how to be gay seems wrong to me. Seems to go against what they're after: equality. The message of this class seems to be that "Gays are NOT like everybody else. We ARE different."

This needs to be quoted somewhere. It's exactly what I was thinking... just didn't know how to say it. I hate flaming gays... and those that want to be different... makes life terrible for the rest of us 'normal' gays.

Drew

 

[imported_Tomato]

GO BLUE!!!!!!!

~U of M alum~

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
No there are two kinds of differences, those that we're born with and those we can change. The ones we can't change are the ones we're not to be discrimated against with.

Color of skin
Nationality
Who you prefer having sex with

Then there are the things which you choose

Who you associate with
What music you listen to
How you act

Gay people want to say they're born that way? Fine, I don't disriminate against gays, and think other people shouldn't either. But if you choose to be flaming gay (think Nathan Lane in Birdcage) then don't complain about how people treat you.

So to say that people can or or need to learn how to be gay seems wrong to me. Seems to go against what they're after: equality. The message of this class seems to be that "Gays are NOT like everybody else. We ARE different."

i think you have an issue with the course due to the way it was presented in the media. if you read the actual course description, you will find that this course is not to teach people how to be gay, how to give a great bj, or whatever. it is summarized neatly at the end of the course description:

At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, 'Well, I may be gay, but at least I'm not like that!' Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay.

it seems clear to me that the intent of the course is to study why some gay people end up flaming gay, or some other version of gay, and to get gays to not feel like they have to do a certain thing in order to be gay.

if anything, it would appear that the long term intent of the class is to get people to be more comfortable with who they are, instead of trying to conform to society's image of the gay, ie, nathan lane in the birdcage. which is the exact opposite of promoting the flaming gay lifestyle.

 

[munruss]

Originally posted by: NFS4
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030818-122317-3268r.htm

Simply speechless:Q

This is too funny!

 

[BoberFett]

gopunk

From that article, it quotes the course description:

"Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others."

Sure sounds like they're trying to teach people how to be gay. Sounds like it'd make a great slogan:

"If you're not flaming, you're not gay."

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
WTF?!?! How do these types of classes even make it past college approval boards?

Did you read the article?

"It does not teach students to be homosexual," Mr. Halperin says in an interview. "Rather, it examines critically the odd notion that there are right and wrong ways to be gay, that homosexuality is not just a sexual practice or desire but a set of specific tastes in music, movies, and other cultural forms ? a notion which is shared by straight and gay people alike.
"The reason these courses exist is not that homosexual teachers have hijacked the university for their own purposes; they exist because they convey the results of research which sheds genuinely new light on history, culture, society and thought."
It does not teach students to be homosexual," Mr. Halperin says in an interview. "Rather, it examines critically the odd notion that there are right and wrong ways to be gay, that homosexuality is not just a sexual practice or desire but a set of specific tastes in music, movies, and other cultural forms ? a notion which is shared by straight and gay people alike.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Encryptic
Nothing like a gay-related thread to bring the homophobes out of the woodwork.

Sounds like an interesting course if the intent is to focus on the sociological aspect of gay culture.

So what posts are homophobic?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: Encryptic
Nothing like a gay-related thread to bring the homophobes out of the woodwork.

Sounds like an interesting course if the intent is to focus on the sociological aspect of gay culture.

So what posts are homophobic?

Yayo: whats up with the homo threads tonight?


IGBT:
And they call this education..any wonder why jobs are leaving the country?? Cheap labor does't explain it all. Very few people in the US are willing to do the hardwork and homework to be truly educated. They would rather go to sissy school...

MillionaireNextDoor

Tax dollars at work

<Highschooler> Man, this thread is so gay.

- M4H



and

Nothing like a gay-related thread to bring the homophobes out of the woodwork.

No kidding.

I personally have no idea WHY anyone on earth would want to take a course on being gay...



I Don?t get this one . . .

Gay people want to say they're born that way? Fine, I don't disriminate against gays, and think other people shouldn't either. But if you choose to be flaming gay (think Nathan Lane in Birdcage) then don't complain about how people treat you.

So to say that people can or or need to learn how to be gay seems wrong to me. Seems to go against what they're after: equality. The message of this class seems to be that "Gays are NOT like everybody else. We ARE different."

 

[Mookow]

Well, that's Michigan for you...

<--- Buckeye

 

[BoberFett]

What's not to get? Read it in context. If you still don't get it, maybe I draw you a diagram.

 

[gopunk]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
gopunk

From that article, it quotes the course description:

"Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others."

Sure sounds like they're trying to teach people how to be gay. Sounds like it'd make a great slogan:

"If you're not flaming, you're not gay."

and i'll provide that quote, in context:

Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others, either because we look to them for instruction or because they simply tell us what they think we need to know, whether we ask for their advice or not.

i posted the link earlier, but in case you missed it, here it is.

to me, that sounds more like just an introduction to the rest of the course description... letting readers know what the rest of the course description will be about.

 

[sandorski]

At first(after reading title) I was, WTF? After reading the article, I'm, So What?

Even the people quoted in opposition in the article seem unable to get around the course title, jumping to conclusions and speaking of things they haven't a clue about. Free advertising is great, I suppose.

 

[Walleye]

Originally posted by: MercenaryForHire
<Highschooler> Man, this thread is so gay.

- M4H

you know, you didnt close your tag.

if it werent for the html tag at the bottom of your post, everyone below you would be a highschooler.


but all in all, it's sloppy coding.

 

[0roo0roo]

you are a buncha i love you hags.

thats your gay lesson for today

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: sandorski
At first(after reading title) I was, WTF? After reading the article, I'm, So What?

Even the people quoted in opposition in the article seem unable to get around the course title, jumping to conclusions and speaking of things they haven't a clue about. Free advertising is great, I suppose.

Isn't this what OT is all about?

 

[idNut]

I don't care if you're gay but why must there be a lifestyle out of it? Gay people are the only "open" people about their sexuality. Why can't they be like everyone else and just be quiet about their sexual preference? Just doesn't make sense to me.

 

[hopeless879]

Originally posted by: MillionaireNextDoor
Tax dollars at work

 

[Analog]

Go Blue!

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: idNut
I don't care if you're gay but why must there be a lifestyle out of it? Gay people are the only "open" people about their sexuality. Why can't they be like everyone else and just be quiet about their sexual preference? Just doesn't make sense to me.

From reading your posts, it appears that there is a LOT that doesn't make sense to you . . .

Unfortunately, you ridicule what you can't comprehend.

Do you really want to know?

 

[rudder]

cant you just watch TLC and learn to be gay?