Different not in a discriminatory way. I didnt say, the are wrong. Just meant they are a different gender.
If everyone was really seen as equal we would have L.G.B.T.H. parades instead of L.G.B.T. ones.

What i mean is, not all gays/bi's are femenine and thus, they dont want to be associated with transsexuals.

It's honestly incomprehensible to me how you can live your life as a gay person, having experienced god knows what discrimination and unease and then going ahead and turning those same exclusionary beliefs on transgender people.

I think people should be able to participate in them if it makes them happy, but it doesn't do anything for me. Pride parades aren't how I feel on the inside. I would feel out of place and apart of something that's not me.

That said, I hate when people consider all gays apart of the gay community

I'm apart of a community because I suck dick..? No, we're all just guys who like guys. There shouldn't be a community to represent us as a whole.

And it seems that is the crux of your issue: that pride parades reinforce stereotypes. We, as people, shouldn't feel confined by stereotypes, that is true. But that being said, we shouldn't have to alter our behaviors or self-expression in order to more easily "blend in" to society. Maybe you wanna blend in, maybe you don't want that attention that comes from being flamboyant...Then blend in. Be that straight-acting, masc bro. But don't for a second forget the hundreds of cross-dressing, flaming, flamboyant gays that threw rocks at Stonewall. Were they at fault for not blending in and defying stereotypes? It's because of them that I can say today that I am gay with a lot less fear. I don't have to worry about getting shot because I wear a shirt with a rainbow on it. THIS IS BECAUSE OF THEM, the drag queens, the sissies, and everyone else that got mocked for limp wrists and high pitched voices. Hate them all you want for reinforcing stereotypes that YOU allow to guide your decisions, but they got you here today.

The only thing that differentiates straight people from gay people is the coming out process, which is necessary because being straight is normal and assumed. After that, though, I fail to see how gay and straight people are significantly different, besides being attracted to the same sex instead of the opposite.

My true story was told to emphasize how everyday and commonplace situations like those are and how others around me are unfazed by my supposedly "different," "important" sexuality. And if I wasn't gay, I would discuss the sexy female coworkers with my straight male friends.

Being gay is nothing more than a trait. It's like if someone commented on the color of my eyes. It would be either:

OR

Not much difference, huh? The situation is the same; they are complimenting my eyes, and nothing more.

In the case of sexuality, I would say either:

To a straight female:

OR

To a straight male:

Still no difference. Either way, we are simply gushing over crushes, like people do.

And how exactly do gay people "act naturally"? That might be the biggest pile of crap I've read in this thread. So because I'm gay, I must go to a pride parade to watch creepy naked old men and drag queens flaunt themselves through city streets? Is that how gays are supposed to "act naturally"? I am an individual, not a stereotype. That comment in particular gives me "Walking in NYC as a Homosexual" teas:

i support it if you're into that kinda thing, but i do think it can be very harmful to the community's image

Coming out is not the only thing that differentiates gay people from straight people. There's a whole culture to the gay community. All communities have cultures; this is something to be proud of. Black people are not different from white people just because of skin colour. They also have a rich culture that belongs to them. Same idea with the gay community. And please don't try to deny being gay is as small a part of your being as your eye colour.

I don't care how normal you think being gay is, being gay will change people's perception of you and therefore alter your life. It doesn't matter if they don't show it. It doesn't matter if they act like it's totally ordinary. Your sexuality is different because over 90% of everyone in the whole world does not have your sexuality. And this is something to be proud of instead of just pretending like it's nothing! Hence, pride parades. You're very lucky to be in such an accepting environment because almost everyone else does not get that same acceptence. Again, hence, pride parades.

As for the last part, you seem to not understand I don't mean every gay person alive ever. I don't even mean the majority of gay people. But why should SOME gay people have to change huge parts of themselves in order to conform to a heteronormative society? All the people at these events are not walking stereotypes either, they are human beings just like you with more depth than just gay stereotypes.

Personally, the gay culture does not seem desirable to me. Maybe I'm uneducated/inexperienced, but the few things I know about gay culture are basic taste in music, promiscuity and rising HIV rates, and Grindr. What is there to be proud of? A rainbow flag? I've never been to a gay club, but I don't really want to go to one anyway.

Also, one reason people have a warped perception about gay people is because of the very pride parades that you agree with. As someone who has never been to one of these things, it appears to be a perv fest, and I'm sure most others who don't attend think the same. It's a shame that crap like that has to alter people's initial impression of the gay community, but it does.

I'm not a hater; I just don't see what's great about gay culture! There are other cultures that I have been exposed to and enjoy. One example is video game culture. Maybe it's because I've never truly "experienced" gay culture, but I'm not rushing to do so anyway.

Clearly, we can't see eye to eye. I'm okay with that, though. Keep focusing on one tiny trait of yours rather than digging deeper into the complexities and intricacies of the human condition tbh.

I'm not going to respond to that because it was shockingly offensive, very upsetting and I know you're not going to listen to what I have to say. So we'll end this here.

Wow, even Goosey would hang his head in shame if he read that. Disgusting

did you get all your info from the westboro baptist church like...
i'm not over the top or super immersed into a lot of gay culture, but if that's really all you think gay people are, then you really need to re-evaluate. it's like saying all white people are slave owners and are blaring racists. also, you can't really have an opinion of what goes on at pride if you've never been to it. you're giving me masc4masc, closeted for life teas and if that's what you want then fine, but your "opinion" is pretty homophobic if you're reducing gay people to moving, disease ridden sex bots.

Meh, not gay people, but from the outside, that's all I get from gay culture!

What is there to gay culture anyway? I clearly don't know.

now i'm getting "i'm not racist, i have a black friend!" teas
i literally googled it and found something on wikipedia instantly
even wikipedia has this ****.. "i don't know" ...try looking then??!?!?!??!?!

I guess I'm kind of oblivious to these types of things, because I've never had a real problem being gay. Sure, I've had some emotional moments, but they are long gone. Thanks for this, though. That section on Wikipedia also mentioned the Stonewall Riots, which I kinda forgot about. (History isn't my thing.) Those people who took a stand during a time when homosexuality wasn't nearly as accepted are certainly something to be proud of! But to me, it seems like important moments in history like that are swept under the rug in place of what I perceive to be modern "gay pride."

Despite this, the section on Wiki doesn't have much more to offer...

I mean... These aren't things I want to be associated with, but whatever.

The only people saying that it's "damaging the community's image" or anything of the sort, genuinely have some internalized homophobia. We've all been there. Been embarrassed to be gay or be associated with people who you don't completely identify with.
The Pride Parades are for gays a whole to learn to love themselves and make us understand that we are not the "alternative" and shouldn't be treated as such. Anybody saying they don't support it or that gays need to monitor how they act should check their self-hatred at the door