"I don't think I know any gay people"

... this made me laugh.

I work as a research assistant on an epidemiological study of HIV-positive men. I'm straight, but obviously, many of our study participants are gay, which intrigues and baffles my parents -- who are Asian -- to no end.

My dad the other day asked me what it's like working around gay people. "Um... normal, I guess," came my reply. "They're pretty much what you'd expect of a broad range of people." I kind of gave him a "WTF" look.

That's what prompted the statement written in the subject heading.

Anybody else have funny experiences with parents, relatives or friends claiming not to know anybody who's gay?

Most were like, how could we have never known this?? My response, have you ever known me to date or have relationships with men? Haven't most of my friends been "girlfriends"?

Funniest realization was my mother. She told me she thought my "girlfriend" might be gay. I said, uhm, yeah, ... she is. Still took her a while to figure out the REST of it. :rofl:

as I know his gay friends and lovers, some who have passed and others who have lived due to hiv my brothers ex boyfriend who was my best friend for many years. we just need to step out of the box. my Brother had a boyfriend years ago who contracted aids as an abuse episode when he was 12 he's now 40e and still alive that's great news how can we not love our families?

My youth was quite sheltered, I didn't know cannabis resin until I threw a load out in my 3rd year at university (my co-habitants happened to sell the stuff, plus was in Med school... but they got caught...).

Unless someone told me they were homosexual, I probably wouldn't know, unless they were quite "camp" like Julian Clary or Graham Norton, then I might suspect something, but then again they may well be "straight". It certainly was a revelation to me when I found out about Replacements Ltd - the owner is gay, he and his partner adopted some twins from Vietname I think, and a good number of LGBT people work there, probably attracted to the open environment... good place to work for pet owners too - you can bring your dog to work; the people have broke more china than any dog ever has. Mind you, my father in law and my wife both worked there and had reasonably happy experiences... my father retired from there disabled, my wife left for better pastures but returned for a spell.

Then I came out. So apparently nobody in our town was gay except me. :shrug:

I left and never went back, and I'm assuming other people who came out did the same thing, so I still don't know of anyone else from my town who ever came out. :P

Back in the late 80s (I believe the comment was in response to a funding request from an HIV/AIDS support services organization). Something to the extent of "We don't need an AIDS center because there are no gays in WV." Which makes it all the worse.

I think that's often the way of it though -- I can't think of anyone from my hometown who I now know is gay who actually lives there. Most fled for or after college. Unfortunately, one of those committed suicide rather than come out to his family.

"They didn't have gays when I was growing up. That's something new." She was dead serious, too.

They don't even know that I am bisexual because I'm not out to them (I'm out only to my parents and my brother). It's a generational, pre-Stonewall, closet thing.

And my great-uncle came out right around the time I was born, so I just grew up with it as a matter of fact.

I only knew a couple of non-straights in high school, none of them girls. One bi guy and two gay guys. I kinda had a crush on one, but I didn't realize it until after I went off to college. :P

They went to high school together. They used to tell stories.

Every once in a while I heard a story about a girl from their high school named Bunny.

I thought her last name was "Thelesbian." When I got older I figured out she was "Bunny The Lesbian."

RL

And that was eighty years ago... in Hollywood, California.

http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Screen-Lesbians-Hollywood-1910-1969/dp/0670030171