‘Why is straight the default?’

[JeremyCorbansFancyWoman]

I want to start of by saying I’m not prejudiced. I 100% believe everyone has the right to be attracted to and love whom ever.

But, there’s a movie coming out called Live Simon or something and I’ve seen a tag line from it asking ‘why is straight the default?’

This is going to sound awful and I really don’t mean it to be but if we were being very basic that the meaning of life of everything is to reproduce, it’s a biological man and woman that can do so. (Obviously I mean without modern day ways of helping people have children). I also read an article that said a million people in the U.K. identify as LGB but that’s 2%.

I would make the assumption someone was straight until told otherwise. And of course I wouldn’t have an issue, but does anyone else think that straight IS the default?

(I tried so hard not to offend in this post so apologies if I did!)

It is the default because it is the vast majority and the way nature intended. It's not homophobic to state facts.

Even if the percentage of gay people is 10% or 20% or even 30%, that's still a minority. The default in any situation is the majority.

I'm just lost as to why you're so concerned our a film strap line

Love Simon is about a teenage lad coming to terms with his sexuality and coming out to his friends and family. God forbid that after all the hate and discrimination gay people have had to face throughout history, a film is made to reach out to those people and help to make them feel more loved and less afraid. Poor poor marginalised straight people how will they cope.

ember I guess you're more likely to have encountered people who aren't heterosexual perhaps? So it might have skewed your perception of how common/uncommon it is. I can only think of 6 people I've known over the years who weren't heterosexual (could well be more that I've forgotten, but certainly around 2% doesn't surprise me).

Being straight is encouraged by society to facilitate reproduction and the survival of the human race I suppose

Society doesn't give a shit about the survival of the human race.

Society just likes everyone to behave in predictable ways.

Straight is the default because the majority of people are straight. It's not homophobic or prejudiced to say it. Also probably the procreation thing as you said :-) Anyway, there is is majority = default!

I think it's a fair question.

Something being the majority does not mean you have to treat it as the default.

We could (and should, IMO) behave and think as if a person whose sexuality is unknown is just that: a person whose sexuality we don't yet know.

Spam you're right I suppose. It's not that I know tons of people who label themselves as gay, lesbian, bi, pansexual etc (although I know a fair few) but it's more I know of a lot of people who wouldn't exclusively call themselves heterosexual. I do definitely think that younger generations don't see things as so black and white and are far more open to explore or just see what happens.

Reproduction is the explanation for why life exists. I'm not sure that automatically corresponds to it being the meaning of life, which is either unknowable or else only something you can figure out on an individual level.

Straight is default, but really it should just been seen as "the most common way of being", not as the automatic way people should be. In the same way that being white is the most common race/skin colour but that doesn't mean everything in the country should be set up for white people.

But I may just be misunderstanding what you mean by default. If you just mean "people are more likely to be straight" then fair enough, carry on.

also a majority does not = default.
The majority of people in this country are white. If a friend mentioned they had a new partner would you assume they were white ?

If I were to say that I've only met 6 people in my life who were not right-handed, you would (rightly) tell me that I've probably met quite a lot more, but that I didn't notice and it didn't come up in conversation.

Being right-handed is the majority but not treated as the default in the same way that straightness is. If you don't know if someone is right- or left-handed (or ambidextrous), you don't say "that person is right-handed", you say "I don't know".

Being right-handed is the majority but not treated as the default in the same way that straightness is

I think it is actually. Assuming people are right handed is very much the default. Scissors, tin openers etc. all designed as standard for right handed people. If you're left handed you have to seek out special products

It's called a heuristic.

It's fine applied to randomers in life. It's not enough with family or close friends.

( My) Life is too short to tie oneself in knots worrying about other people's lives.

If a friend mentioned they had a new partner would you assume they were white ?

Knowing the demographic of my area and the demographic of my friends, yes - I'd assume their partner was the opposite sex & white.

Illustrious fair enough. But Love Simon is a film that will hit cinemas universally. I believe the demographic is somewhat different.

I think tin openers are a feature of right handedness being a majority, not a feature of it being as a default.

Products catering to a majority is not the same as people assuming a default rather than recognising when they don't know something.

I assume everyone is straight until told otherwise. I meet a variety of people day to day who tell me about their lives. It’s very rare to meet anyone non-straight, so I believe the 2% overall figure to be correct.

Because procreation

next

I think the fact that you’re having an issue with a film tag line suggests you have more of a problem with people being gay than you’d care to admit.

I'd hand someone my RHanded tin opener rather than quizzing them first.

All your ancestors, barring victims of rape, have been straight.

People who are homosexual have more difficulty spreading their DNA

Survival favours behaviour that leads to higher DNA dispersal rates

Homosexual behaviour doesn't favour high DNA dispersal rates

Ergo Homosexuality is not the default of any species.

That film is just a coming of age romantic comedy I think. What is straight the default really only does apply in that sense - the feeling any need to "come out". It would be less easy to come up with a catchy strap line for similar coming of age scenarios - realising you are not remotely inclined to go to university despite the fact your parents and grandparents did and have a vocation to become a plumber, and knowing that is an equally valid and is absolutely the right thing for you but being worried about telling your parents as they have always unconsciously envisaged another life for you? "Why is university the default" Not quite the same as its not a socially generalisable default. "Why is doing what your parents did the default?" Pretty generalisable but not remotely catchy!

Outside of the "coming of age" context of the film I don't think people go around thinking about which sex the people they meet might be sexually attracted to, even if looking for an encounter or relationship it's more personal than which 50% of the population - doesn't matter remotely if you are both straight if you don't fancy one another! So the "default" thing in a wider context is about as relevant as whether you are left or right handed as somebody said.

Of course anti discrimination legislation is a separate issue.

Skarossinkplunger this.

Are straight people really so insecure that a movie tagline like this causes a thread?

Qvar what in holy hell are you talking about. All our ancestors have been straight ?? Could you elaborate because I'm by no means thick but am struggling to get my head around this one.