Gay marriage has been accepted in Canada since July, 2005. From media reports, one would think that probably ten or fifteen percent of marriages in Canada were between people of the same sex. Statistics Canada (2006) listed six out of a thousand marriages as being between same sex couples. That is just over one-half of one percent.
People tell me that in Social Media such as Facebook, being gay is cool. If this is the case, my guess is that many people who register as either gay or bi are just doing it as a stunt and do not realize the implications of putting themselves into a box. Could it be a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Just for discussion’s sake, let’s say that about half the population is straight, A low percentage is gay and the rest cover a wide spectrum between. For the latter group, would sexual encounters skew their thinking? Because it felt good, could a person identify himself/herself incorrectly? Could incorrect labeling be a self-fulfilling prophecy?
What are your thoughts?
I think it’s possible people could skew their thinking. Young boys who are raped or who experiment with each other may indeed have some psychological harm that would make them believe they are gay when they’re not. However, the number of people who identify as gay because it is cool would have to be monumentally low. Being gay is nothing that has ever made me feel cool. In fact, most gay people I know have been belittled and put down a lot. So, to me, being gay only because it’s cool just sounds absurd. That’s like putting a kick me sign on your own back. Anyone who’d do that must have some real problems aside from that. But I do see how some people may only be confused about their orientation.