Gaydar

Gaydar has become virtually obsolete in the city of Vancouver. The only way these days that you can know for sure if a guy is gay is if you see him with his tongue down the throat of another guy on the street. I sit in my lecture hall just observing and notice that no one is for sure. It's no longer just is he gay or european (a common North American phrase due the lack of style the straight male portion of this continent has been afflicted with for decades). These days it's is he gay or hipster? Is he gay or Asian? Is he gay or metrosexual? Is he gay or has his girlfriend just gone shopping for him? Is he gay or has his best gay friend gone shopping for him? The possibilities are just endless these days. I remember when I went back home to Australia for a holiday for the first time in 4 years and I noticed that the men seem to have a thing for tight short shorts that reach their mid thigh. Having spent 4 years with limited exposure to fashion I remarked to my friend: "Is everybody gay?" (note the hopeful tones). Her response was "Nah it's just how guys here dress". After a few more questions I gave up even attempting to guess if they were when it was revealed the man in the lace backed shirt was straight.....yeah I know right. Now I understand this post may seem particularly shallow, stereotypical and judgmental but in the defense of my position. Fashion has been a key part of gay culture. When homosexuality was still illegal in the west gay men developed a style and a subculture that had a particular style which allowed them to identify similar members of their group. Yeah, that fabulous sense of style was not bred into us. This sense of fashion that straight men are embracing is great as it expands the horizons of men's fashion and brings in new varieties of clothing but for a simple gay man trying to to figure out if the guy he is interested in is ok to hit on it can be confusing as fuck.