18 ridiculous things that make a man ‘gay’, according to the internet
The internet has shared things they were told makes them gay (Getty Images, stock)
For many people growing up, “gay” was used as an insult, meaning something was bad. Despite Hilary Duff trying to teach straight people that it’s not ok, it appears some people can’t wrap their head around it.
Now, in an age where toxic masculinity and the so-called “manosphere” is rampant and growing more dangerous by the day, men of the internet have shared things that got them labelled gay.
Over on r/AskReddit, someone asked: “What is the dumbest thing you have been told is ‘not manly’ or ‘not feminine’, depending on your gender?”
The almost 5,000 responses are eye-opening to say the least, but a common theme that pops up is among men who have been called “gay” for absolutely ridiculous things.
Yes, some things on this list are based on out-dated, often harmful stereotypes. But some need to be read to be believed.
Drinking tea
One that is sure to horrify our British readers, but one user shared that their husband was told it was “gay” to drink tea.
They wrote: “My husband was told that drinking tea was gay. I was like, yeah, tea is gay. That’s why there’s only 1.5billion people in China. The tea has been rendering them gay and unable to produce for thousands of years.”
Umbrellas
Only gay men like to stay dry when it rains, apparently.
One user wrote: “Used to be called gay for having an umbrella. Like it’s gay to not want to get soaked. I did grow up ’80s and ’90s and everything was gay to us to be fair.”
Cats
Men, do you own a cat? You’re gay, sorry, the internet says so.
One user commented: “I’m not a cat owner. But I’ve met men and women who think that men with pet cats are ‘gay’.”
Straws
“Father-in-law said using a straw in my drink at a restaurant means I’m gay,” one user wrote.
And while that on its own is weird, it probably plays into the stereotype of what is or isn’t a manly drink. Pint? STRAIGHT! Aperol Spritz? GAYYY!
Well, d’you know what girls and gays? More Aperol Spritz for us!
Blowing your nose
Honestly, I don’t know how straight men manage to exist sometimes, when these are the things deemed not manly.
But yes, one user wrote: “Drunk guy in the bathroom of a nightclub said it was gay to blow my nose.”
Wow.
Flip flops
One user, clearly not from Australia, said: “It’s gay to wear flip flops apparently.”
Someone responded: “Better not come to Australia, mate. Thongs [Aussie for flip flops, not underwear] are safety boots here.”
Laundry
Another that is likely based on stereotypes – women are neat and tidy, men are messes.
One user said someone had said to them: “You’re really folding your clothes? That’s so gay.”
Excuse me, but some of us like to be messes in a neat and tidy environment.
Coats
Men must be cold at all times, it appears, otherwise they simply must be gay.
Well, that’s what one user shared they’d been told. They wrote: “When I was a teenage boy, wearing a winter coat when it was cold out was ‘gay’. Wearing fall coats or hoodies was fine, but not anything warm and bulky.”
Make it make sense.
Red
Yes. Literally just the colour red, apparently.
According to one user, they were told: “The colour red is gay which means it’s bad. Very strict household and I’m the youngest. Even now I can never wear red without thinking this doesn’t look right on me. Never thought something small like that would affect me forever. Even when I was getting my first car it couldn’t be red. Burgundy was okay. But never bright red.”
Wait until they find out what colour the blood in their body is.
Handwriting
“Having good handwriting as a man,” one user said. “I remember this one kid in my 5th grade class who had very good penmanship and everyone made fun of him and called him gay.”
Weirdly, this might be a mantra my dad lives by, because his handwriting looks more like one, long squiggly line. My grandad, on the other hand, had beautiful handwriting. I like to think I’m somewhere in the middle – but the only gay one of the three of us…
Singing
Bruno Mars. Lewis Capaldi. Justin Bieber. Ed Sheeran. What do they have in common? If you said “they’re singers!”, then you’d be right. But one Reddit user was told it would also mean they’re gay, amazingly.
They wrote: “Singing. Apparently men can’t sing, or they’re gay. Ironically, the men saying this are likely listening to country and rap… genres dominated by men.”
Sleeping on your stomach
Now, this might have been this user’s parents’ way of getting them to sleep in a different position – because stomach-sleeping is believed to be the unhealthiest way to sleep – but still, laughable.
They wrote: “If you’re a man, sleeping on your stomach apparently makes you gay.”
White cars
“From one of the old guys on my hockey team: driving a white care is gay,” one user shared.
Yeah, really don’t know where these ideas are coming from.
Watches
Ok, not just watches in general. But apparently, the way a man wears a watch is a tell of whether or not he’s gay.
A Reddit user commented: “I’m not making this up when I say that I was called gay for wearing a watch on my right hand.”
This one might originate from the now-outdated idea from the 1980s and 1990s that men wore an earring in their right ear to show they were gay. But still.
Low fat yoghurt
God forbid a man wants to watch his waistline. But one user said: “Eating low fat yoghurt.”
They explained: “Apparently it would expose me as a gay male in school when I was doing teacher training. Schools were quite homophobic back in the 1990s and I think my partner’s mum didn’t want me to come to grief, so it came out of caring. But I think the implication was a young man who was watching his weight came over as a bit gay.”
Baking
Don’t tell Paul Hollywood this one, I don’t want to imagine an existence without the Great British Bake Off. Because baking cookies means a man is gay, apparently.
A Reddit user said: “Baking cookies. Apparently the only thing a guy can cook is a slab of meat on a grill. Anything else and you are either doing it as a job or gay.”
Plants
Only gay men can keep houseplants alive. Don’t believe us? Ask this Reddit user’s sister.
“I’m a 30+ year old man,” he wrote. “I got into houseplants a little over a year ago. When I was talking to my family about how proud I was that my office and house plants were doing really well, my younger sister said, ‘Are you sure you’re not gay? Plants are for women and gay men.’ I was flabbergasted.”
Luckily, it didn’t put him off. He added: “My plants are doing well and I recently got into succulents.”
Skincare
This one is absolutely based on homophobic stereotypes, but really should be a thing of the past.
“Skincare,” one user wrote. “Looking good for your age and not getting cancer is gay apparently.”
Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.
