‘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!)

All your ancestors, barring victims of rape, have been straight.
Really? You've not heard of sperm donors & lesbians then?

AvocadosBeforeMortgages

Have you seen how many threads there are asking what people had for tea?

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 don't think so, I think it's the fact that it's consistently rammed down our throats nowadays.

Like the "trendy" adverts that are full of "gender fluid" people & messages at the moment (Vodka for one, can't remember the other).

Given that the huge majority (98%) of the population are boringly straight, the representation & influence seems to be totally out of proportion....

It's just identity politics seeping into every aspect of culture and society.

Really? You've not heard of sperm donors & lesbians then?

Which part of "Ancestors" did you have a problem with?

A "sperm donor" would have been an affair (or a rape) 50 years ago.

*I don't think so, I think it's the fact that it's consistently rammed down our throats nowadays.

Like the "trendy" adverts that are full of "gender fluid" people & messages at the moment (Vodka for one, can't remember the other).

Given that the huge majority (98%) of the population are boringly straight, the representation & influence seems to be totally out of proportion....*

“Rammed down our throats”

I refer you back to my original comment.

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

There are plenty of people in the past who were not straight but had children because it was expected.

People also start threads with questions like "what do you see if you turn your head to the left?"

I'm not sure any significant sociological phenomena can be read into what people start MN threads about.

Bold fail

Yes by far the majority of people are straight. But why do you need to assume anything? I'm gay, and I don't get offended when someone assumes I'm dtraight, but it does get irritating sometimes to always either have to correct them (be forced to come out) or just not bother and let incorrect assumptions lie. It shouldn't be an issue in the first place. I never assume anything about anybody's sexuality. When meeting people and getting to know them I maybaksnjfntheybwrre married etc but wouldn't assume it was to a person of the opposite sex. I have no assumptions that my son will grow up to be either straight or gay - he will never have to come out tonne one whimsy or the other, hopefully he will just start bringing girlfriends or boyfriends (or both, although hopefully not at the same time).

It is possible not to make those assumptions about people.

Illustrious would you have said the same thing when POC started appearing more on TV? Were they being "rammed down your throat" considering the majority of the population is white ?

I just can't get my head around this insecurity that some straight people feel. Like they're some poor marginalised suppressed group. We are seeing more LGBT on our screens these days and rightly so and perhaps where you are from it seems disproportionate but I guarantee for many it isn't. I'm bisexual, my brother is gay and I have a few gay/bi friends. Growing up I found is crazy how little representation there was considering the people I knew. By having a gay couple on a tv advert or as part of a programme , gay people are realising that they are being acknowledged and recognised and it's so important especially for younger gay people to actually SEE themselves on screen/books etc so they know they have a place. Why are you so worried about this ??

When I was young the people now called "gender fluid" were called androgynous or Metrosexual I think... its kind of been a thing for decades, except that it used to be just identified as a market segment rather than politicised.

I didn't read it as the OP being 'insecure' - just asking a (straight) question. These days I think labels are becoming less easy to apply anyway and that includes 'gay'. A film about someone coming out as gay already sounds quite old-fashioned somehow.

"Rammed down our throats"

Chance would be a fine thing

Those who assume people are straight because the majority of the population are, do you also assume all posters here (other online forums are available) are white unless told otherwise?

Zzzzzz oh i see my bad sorry

I just can't get my head around this insecurity that some straight people feel. Like they're some poor marginalised suppressed group.

Haven't you twigged yet? Women are a marginalised, suppressed group and have been for centuries.

Things are actually going backwards for women now - pointless trying to excel at athletics, a woman with a dick can run faster than you. Pointless trying to excel at business - a woman with a dick has all the contacts & skills she built up over 40 years living as a man.....

Some people are so desperate to be "cool with it" that they stick their heads in the sand......

Ruffian it sounds old fashioned and it SHOULD be entirely old fashioned but sadly for many it really is very very current. I think we forget the society we live in which is far more accepting than many. Imagine growing up as a gay boy/girl in a tiny town in rural Midwest America with homophobic bible thumping parents. Films like this are so needed.

Illustrious you seem to have gotten on to trans issues. That's entirely desperate. I'm very much talking about heterosexual vs gay/lesbian.

Sorry separate not desperate.

Straight is the default.

As lesbian I have to come out to someone on average once a week.

A doctor will ask me what I use for contraception, a colleague will ask what my husband does, when I mentioned to my hairdresser I had a daughter she asked if she looked like her dad... every time I post about DP on Mumsnet people assume she's a man.

I would like it a lot if straight wasn't the default but it really is!

SomeRandomBird exactly. Tiresome isn't it?

Somerandombird when I was with my ex and my doctor asked what I used for contraception I replied with "my girlfriend"

I'm sadly not surprised how many straight people have a problem with a tag line. I heard someone saying the exact same thing about a pride parade "it's all well and good them being gay but why do they have to ram it down our throats, where is the straight parade anyway!"
I feel like a bit of a sell out myself because I can trade off the privilege of appearing straight when in fact I'm bi. I'm married to a man and have kids so I appear straight, so I wouldn't rate statistics because it's still not comfortable to admit my sexuality meaning I don't often discuss it with friends and certainly not strangers. I've lost female friends after being honest about my sexuality. It's 2% to 5% but that's only the people who are open about it.
No one is forcing you to watch it, so I don't really see that I would be getting myself worked up about it. People say things we don't agree with all the time and I don't believe this one tag line is somehow a threat to all straight people!
I don't think it's about defaults or majorities, it's more about not making assumptions.