We're All Gay -- The Only Question is How Much?

I thought this was an interesting concept. In fact, I think it is right on the mark. I would rate my self at 99% gay. I say that because when I was attending summer school at the University of Oregon years ago, Kent and I were staying in a dorm. One day while I was showering (it was a shower room with four shower heads in it), a young woman entered the shower room to take a shower. At first, I was surprised by this boldness, but decided, “Maybe they do things differently in Oregon. Why the hell not? She needs to shower too.” This dorm housed both sexes, but they were separated into different wings. I didn’t find out until later that she shouldn’t have been there, and was in fact crashing at the dorm because she was homeless for the summer. I think she was a student who wasn’t attending summer classes, but didn’t want to go home for the summer.

I looked at her and asked a question in a very naive voice, “So.... that’s a breast huh?” She laughed in a way that told me she knew from the moment she stepped into the shower that I was gay (guess it even shows there), and asked me, “Would you like to touch them?” I said emphatically, “NO!!!!!!?!?!?!?!!!!”

Silence and awkwardness followed.

We both lathered ourselves up. I finally said, “Well.... maybe...”. Life is about experiences, don’t you think? She stepped towards me, and I touched her breasts, all with the innocence and curiosity of children. Then shrugged my shoulders and said, “Hummmm... I don’t get it. What’s the attraction? This does nothing for me.” She laughed and said, “And that’s why I’m in the shower with you. Wash my back?” I agreed. She washed my back. It was all sort of a surreal (but practical -- we both got our backs washed) experience.

But then, this rather handsome dark-skinned guy stepped into the shower with us. He looked at both of us all lathered up and had the distinct look on his face of, “What the hell?” We stepped away from each other, and he proceeded to shower.

Silence and awkwardness following.

He finally broke the silence as he turned to her and said with a good amount of disdain, “Who are you? You can’t just come in here like this with us naked and all! This is a man’s shower!” He was pissed. She smiled, pointed to his penis and said, “Well, tell that to him. He seems to be happy that I’m here.” I quickly got the hell out of there.

I would see her off and on, usually entered and leaving his room. Apparently, he agreed to let her stay for the summer in his room. Who knows what she had to do to get him to agree to that.

So, my curiosity was satisfied and I’m still mystified on what the attraction of breasts are to straight men. But that’s ok. There’s a lot they don’t understand about me either. And in this day and age, I accept that as long as we can accept each other’s differences.

In a very closed society some one who is “80% gay” might never come out and in a very open society someone who is even “20% gay” might try it. These are gross simplifications, but you get the point. In fact, this is in some ways exactly what the culture warriors on the right have been warning about.

The Christian right (and the religious and cultural conservatives of a great many societies) have been worried about this for a long time. They are right. As society opens up, we will likely be more “gay.” Or in reality, be closer to our true nature, wherever that might lie on the bisexuality continuum.

Where the cultural right is wrong is when they make a value judgment on that. Of course, there isn’t anything wrong with that all. In fact, since it allows us to be closer to our “real” nature without societal judgments on our natural sexual preferences, there is something very right about it. (source)