Input wanted: Perhaps a poll here to discuss sexuality?

[MSIC]

I thought about doing a Poll here, purely for curiosity, to enquire about people's sexual leanings.
The reason for this is my perception that tech / geek / PC types are 99.9% heterosexual, but maybe I am wrong.

Is such a Poll a worthwhile thing?
If I did it, should I just ask about gay/straight, or open it up to more of a 'spectrum' thing?

[chuckskull]

I'm a straight guy, but where anyone else sticks their genitals(or anything else they see fit) is their business.

[g8ina]

wot chuck sed

[MSIC]

Well, that wasnt entirely the sort of response i was going for.....

[chuckskull]

Originally Posted by MSIC

Well, that wasnt entirely the sort of response i was going for.....

Well I've never really thought about it, but as far as I can tell there's no more/less than any other walk of life. There does seem to be a lot of stigma about it in the IT community though, mainly coming from a small minority thinking they have to prove something by being more manly and of course the most manly thing you can do is mock someone you see as less manly than yourself.

[htid]

I'd agree with your perception that generally geeks/tech types aren't gay, but I don't know why. Maybe would work doing an anonymous poll if you're really interested.

[Kezzer]

I'd say my girlfriend is proof of my heterosexuality but then Michael Barrymore raised the bar with that one.

[pollaxe]

It's never something I've considered either.. we've got one openly gay guy where I work (I think he's married to his partner) but that's about it. I'm not sure we've got to 'make up' for anything by working in computer/IT environments but I've honestly never thought about it.

I'm straight though I've given-up on relationships (for 18 months plus) but that's nothing to do with what I do for a living... interesting question, though.

[staffsMike]

The stereotypes would suggest that straight guys like cars, gadgets,beer, doing the bbq but never touching an oven etc.. ()

Homosexuals would then like what girls stereotypically like..fashion and interior design etc..

There's always going to be overlay but I think it's going to be small percentages.

My girlfriend gets so bored if I talk about computers and I just turn my brain off if she tries to explain to me that what im calling red is some shade of rose petel lol

I don't know many gay people tbh..but I know one that likes pc's..the rest like fashion and stupid fussy drinks

[MSIC]

Originally Posted by staffsMike

Homosexuals would then like what girls stereotypically like..fashion and interior design etc..

Now that is obviously the stereotype of homosexual men, but my original idea was actually prompted by a good friend of mine who is a lesbian and nearly as geeky as I am (don't think she's a Hexus poster though).

[staffsMike]

Well with lesbians i'm not so sure..I don't know any..

I would assume though that the stereotype could reverse..they would like more blokey type of things.

I'm no psychologist though so i'm a bit out of my depth on that one.

That said it seems far more acceptable for girls to like cars than blokes to like interior design etc.. without being labled as gay anyway.

I think it comes more down to who you fit in with socially. A gay guy doesn't tend to fit in a group a straight guys..unless he is into the same sort of thing like..cars..computers..

So a gay girl probably won't fit into a group of girly girls who like...shopping and..guys.

This is all stereotyping of course but it gives you the jist.

[kalniel]

Well to actually answer the question, I'm not sure how well such a poll would fit in with Hexus' community.

Even if the poll itself was anonymous, you have to consider what you would actually gain by such a thing, and what you stand to loose.

Presumably you'd gain a better understanding of the proportion of people who were straight/other who actually responded to the poll. You're then fraught by the usual things of how well a poll response actually represents the forumites - for eg I would expect minorities generally get over represented in polls, because the topic is of more interest to them.

As for what you stand to loose.. it's more the discussion afterwards I guess. Would a result saying 99.99% of respondants were straight make the Hexus boards seem more or less welcoming to those of other orientations? Are discussions of the results likely to offend other posters?

[MSIC]

That's the sort of sensible, well thought out answer I was seeking. I don't have an answer to that myself really, and clearly it's not something that is hugely relevant to tech-related stuff per se, so i suppose it's simply a thought about raising the issue in general.
That's why this isn't the poll.

Edit: In many ways, i wonder if we all really quite like the anonymity provided by these sorts of forums, why we assign ourselves usernames etc, so that we can either secretly pretend to be something we are not, something more than we are in real life, or just generally wanting our on-line presence anonymous. And maybe that is a more interesting subject?

[Splash]

Originally Posted by MSIC

That's the sort of sensible, well thought out answer I was seeking. I don't have an answer to that myself really, and clearly it's not something that is hugely relevant to tech-related stuff per se, so i suppose it's simply a thought about raising the issue in general.
That's why this isn't the poll.

Edit: In many ways, i wonder if we all really quite like the anonymity provided by these sorts of forums, why we assign ourselves usernames etc, so that we can either secretly pretend to be something we are not, something more than we are in real life, or just generally wanting our on-line presence anonymous. And maybe that is a more interesting subject?

I believe Gabe from Penny Arcade had a theory about that once...

[jamin]

I have no questions about my sexuality. I am a straight married bloke. I can't remember ever questioning if I was straight or gay, I always fancied women.

My wife and I do however have a lot of gay mates, who love to try it on with me and feel Nics boobs at every opportunity! But always stop if we feel they have crossed the line!

The only problem I have had is because I'm a well built rugged bloke, I intimidate some gay men and they can get a bit nasty until they get to know me and realise I'm not a gay basher!

[TeePee]

I always thought homosexuals would be over-represented in the IT sector. It's one of those jobs you tend to keep your fingernails clean..

Flying is similar, but the gay guys are always the airline pilot types (It's the uniform) rather than the bush flyers.

And we all know about the flight attendants.