My poll.
So, my poll on straight men's feeling about homosexuality has gone fairly well. You can see it here.
I'm not sure how seriously you can take it, because while I have a total of 202 responses (which should be enough to give it some legitimacy), those responses are from men who post to a message board that leans overwhelmingly to the left. There's also no way for me to verify that only straight men responded.
Nevertheless, I think it gives us a picture of how straight men feel about being around gay men.
The question: Are you uncomfortable around gay men?
1. Yes, and I think my reaction is typical of straight men. 22 10.89%
2. Yes, and I think my reaction is not typical of straight men. 5 2.48%
3. No, and I think my reaction is typical of straight men. 90 44.55%
4. No, and I think my reaction is not typical of straight men. 85 42.08%
Two men also told me they misread the question and answered #1 when they meant #3.
So, we have at least some anecdotal evidence that scriptcat's assertion that many straight men (~53% of respondents) do think that straight men are uncomfortable around gay men is accurate.
However, at the same time, ~87% of respondents claim that they are personally not uncomfortable around gay men. This is an interesting discrepancy. Do straight men underestimate their peers' open-mindedness?
This is what happens when you let policy analysts into fandom.
I'm not sure how seriously you can take it, because while I have a total of 202 responses (which should be enough to give it some legitimacy), those responses are from men who post to a message board that leans overwhelmingly to the left. There's also no way for me to verify that only straight men responded.
Nevertheless, I think it gives us a picture of how straight men feel about being around gay men.
The question: Are you uncomfortable around gay men?
1. Yes, and I think my reaction is typical of straight men. 22 10.89%
2. Yes, and I think my reaction is not typical of straight men. 5 2.48%
3. No, and I think my reaction is typical of straight men. 90 44.55%
4. No, and I think my reaction is not typical of straight men. 85 42.08%
Two men also told me they misread the question and answered #1 when they meant #3.
So, we have at least some anecdotal evidence that scriptcat's assertion that many straight men (~53% of respondents) do think that straight men are uncomfortable around gay men is accurate.
However, at the same time, ~87% of respondents claim that they are personally not uncomfortable around gay men. This is an interesting discrepancy. Do straight men underestimate their peers' open-mindedness?
This is what happens when you let policy analysts into fandom.