What does "straight acting" even mean?

Dr. Baltar

Like it says in the thread title. What does "straight acting" mean? Not camp? Not gay? Closeted?

Never understood this one.

Rick_

It's a way for naturally straight mennerismed homosexual people to describe themselves. Anyone who usually posts a sentence like that in their profile or wherever usually follows it up with, "but I hate that term as I'm not acting, it's just how I naturally am" as some people would take it to mean that the guy is a raging queen behind closed doors but acts butch in public to cover himself.

I would describe myself as having very straight mannerisms. I am not camp at all really, and any shades of campness only become apparent if I have a lot of alcohol in me, which in itself is a rarity!

Dr. Baltar

Paddy C wrote: »

It's a way for naturally straight mennerismed homosexual people to describe themselves. Anyone who usually posts a sentence like that in their profile or wherever usually follows it up with, "but I hate that term as I'm not acting, it's just how I naturally am" as some people would take it to mean that the guy is a raging queen behind closed doors but acts butch in public to cover himself.

I would describe myself as having very straight mannerisms. I am not camp at all really, and any shades of campness only become apparent if I have a lot of alcohol in me, which in itself is a rarity!

Surely a better term for same would be "not camp". As in, like you, I am not camp at all and that is what I say. (Similarly, with A LOT of alcohol I do become more 'camp').

Beruthiel

Dr. Baltar wrote: »

Like it says in the thread title. What does "straight acting" mean? Not camp? Not gay? Closeted?

I've always taken it to mean that you're not camp and unless you tell someone you're gay, they would never guess.

Goodshape

Paddy C wrote: »

It's a way for naturally straight mennerismed homosexual people to describe themselves.

I would have said it's a way for other people to describe naturally straight mannerismed homosexual people .

Personally I hate that term as I'm not acting, it's just how I naturally am. :pac:


Basically.. it just means not camp / not 'obviously' gay.

hotmail.com

Some gay men use it as a term to infer that they don't have gay friends, they don't go to gay bars, they are one of the lads etc.

cgcsb

basically it's a term of convenience to describe a person who does not have noticably "camp" manerisms. The phrase is rather clumbsy because afterall the only thing a man can do that's "straight-acting" is have sex with a woman.

I find the term, "non scene" very confusing. At first, I thought it meant that the person being described doesn't visit gay bars regularly. But apparently it has many different meanings. Why can't people just describe themselves without the use of buzzwords?

do straights have similar language?

Kanoe

cgcsb wrote: »

I find the term, "non scene" very confusing. At first, I thought it meant that the person being described doesn't visit gay bars regularly. But apparently it has many different meanings. Why can't people just describe themselves without the use of buzzwords?

do straights have similar language?

It might be inappropriate but I consider non scene as those who are just not into the meat factory way of life and haven't worked their way through the entire town/city/village ..of queer. barf. and ya know most of them have.

Sir Ophiuchus

It means that your presentation is traditionally masculine.

keepkeyyellow

I think most of my exes were straight-acting, the only gay thing about them was when they'd hold hands with me and er other things.

I think it defines the kinda person who you wouldn't know was gay unless they said it.

Annasopra

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

It means that your presentation is traditionally masculine.

what about feminine? Do lesbians use the term?

Sir Ophiuchus

Johnnymcg wrote: »

what about feminine? Do lesbians use the term?

Good catch, I was thinking in a gay male context.

I honestly don't know if lesbians use it - never heard of a gay woman doing so. Has anyone here?

Endymion

"Straight acting" = "I'm hung up about liking cock, and try to hide it, but after two cosmos I'm a raging queen".

Whenever I see people trying to define themselves in terms of something else, or someone else, I think tosser. No gay man is "straight" anything as the only defining trait of being straight is being attracted to women.

Dr. Baltar wrote: »

Surely a better term for same would be "not camp". As in, like you, I am not camp at all and that is what I say. (Similarly, with A LOT of alcohol I do become more 'camp').

Ah yes, but the term is as much about trying to be something else as it is about trying to distance oneself from the traditional "gay" terms.

Johnnymcg wrote: »

what about feminine? Do lesbians use the term?

Do they? I think the Lesbian equivalent is "Butch".

AndrewJD

My understanding was that butch and femme were used in certain lesbian subcultures. Femme being closer to the "straight-acting" we're talking about.

To be honest whilst I agree it's clumsy, it's only a tiny bit worse than "not camp" in awkwardness, in as far as suggesting that most gays are camp, and you wanted to distance yourself from that notion with the phrase. I don't mind it personally.

I'd hope that as time goes by it becomes a less relevant phrase because there's more of an assumption that you're not a raging queen. That'd be lovely. But other hopes have flown before.

Goodshape

Endymion wrote: »

"Straight acting" = "I'm hung up about liking cock, and try to hide it, but after two cosmos I'm a raging queen".

That's what it sounds like but often (usually?) not what it means. I'm "straight acting" in that I'm not "camp acting". I'm not hung up about cock. Love the stuff.

The fact that the term does sound as though I'm pretending to be straight, or holding back a natural campness in polite company, is why I don't like the term very much.

I think the Lesbian equivalent is "Butch".

Surely the other way around.

Kanoe

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

Good catch, I was thinking in a gay male context.

I honestly don't know if lesbians use it - never heard of a gay woman doing so. Has anyone here?

lipstick lesbian no? got that a lot until I started wearing check shirts. ...

cgcsb

It's especially frustrating when guys ask me, via various on-line dating sites whether or not I am "straight-acting" of course most of the time I'll just yes as a term of convenience.

ninty9er

Beruthiel wrote: »

I've always taken it to mean that you're not camp and unless you tell someone you're gay, they would never guess.

That's my reading. It would be a good dictionary definition IMO.

strobe

Paddy C wrote: »

I am not camp at all really, and any shades of campness only become apparent if I have a lot of alcohol in me, which in itself is a rarity!

Dr. Baltar wrote: »

(Similarly, with A LOT of alcohol I do become more 'camp').

Have to ask, is this a common phenomenon amongst gay men? They become more camp when they are locked?

meathawk

Have to ask, is this a common phenomenon amongst gay men? They become more camp when they are locked?

Bloody hell mate, it's the same with all fellas.

strobe

meathawk wrote: »

Bloody hell mate, it's the same with all fellas.

Well no. No it isn't.

ongarboy

strobe wrote: »

Have to ask, is this a common phenomenon amongst gay men? They become more camp when they are locked?

My partner would fall into that category but I have a best friend who never displays camp attributes no matter how much booze he has consumed. While he is out to everyone, no-one who doesn't know him would ever guess he is gay (the only clue one might ever get are from some of his interests - he loves Kylie and Desperate Housewives!!)

Rick_

I'll clarify what I meant when I said that. I don't suddenly become some raging queen with 8 pints in me, just a mannerism or something that would be considered "a bit camp" might happen as a one off, not that I was trying to hide it in the first place or anything, it just happens.

I know some incredibly 'butch' heterosexual men who once drunk become quite limp wristed and almost feminine in thier mannerisms, but it in no way means they're secretly gay or anything!

stephen_n

Endymion wrote: »

Ah yes, but the term is as much about trying to be something else as it is about trying to distance oneself from the traditional "gay" terms.



"Butch".

I've read that a couple of times and I'm still not sure what you mean by it. Are you saying that gay men who aren't camp or don't identify themselves as being that way are somehow being untrue to themselves?

The lesbian thing I find weird as well, this while lipstick lesbian thing and the need to conform wearing hoodies and check shirts before you qualify as a "real lesbian" one of my best friends is a lesbian who's biggest problem when she came out was trying to find feminine lesbians, as she put it and I have seen others on here say, I'm a woman who's attracted to women why would I want to be with a woman who dresses like and acts like a man?

I had similar experiences myself, as I'm bi but had only ever been with women when I started coming to terms with my sexuality I only really looked at effemenite guys as they fitted the norm for me but as I have become more comfortable and relaxed about it I find I am really not attracted to that type of guy at all and it's much more "men" that attract me.