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Question.. Gay v Lesbian - is one more 'socially acceptable' than the other?

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isabelle:
Littleguitar: I have to agree with every single word!

j.U.d.E.:

--- Quote ---Believe me, where I live (France), same-sex couples are NOT socially acceptable, whether male OR female
--- End quote ---
What?!

Hmm.. I can't answer the original question, because as much as I think people seem to accept more a male-gay-couple than female, I keep hearing/reading that a women-couple is more acceptable...

Well, among the same-sex couples I know or have met, they were all male, except one back in the early 90s in the UK (actually that's a lie, I have met more lesbian couples since), I had a co-student who when I asked her whether she was already married (we were in our early 20s and she was wearing a wedding ring) she said yes and gave me a female name (her wife). I looked a bit surprised, because it was the first open lesbian I had come to know. In my time in Britain I 'came across' many more gay couples (gay or lesbian). It seemed to be no big deal at all.

Belgium even if a bit behind with many things, is quite forward with respect to the gay/lesbian-couple theme. Love it!

~ j U d E

YaadPyar:
I think the reality of homosexuality, male or female, is problematic for most socieities.  However, the straight male fantasy of two women together is a prevalent one, though it is distant from any reality I know.  So, the image of women kissing or touching each other sexually is considered titillating, whereas the general perception of men doing the same is that it's offensive.

In that sense, women can get away with same sex physical intimacy to some degree more than men, at least in the US, but that's really in specific sexual context.  

starboardlight:
From my perspective, gay and lesbians are accepted in equally limited amount, though in different way. Gay men are accepted by mainstream society as fashionable accessories. Every woman must have a gay best friend who will advise her on the best color for the season and will tell her if that latest hairdo will make her face look trimmer. Lesbian depictions are limited to heterosexual male fantasies. In both, the mainstream don't want to see either gay men or lesbians as fully human. Neither have been depicted as people with full lives and love, but rather are limited to stereotypes.

littleguitar:
I agree Celeste, but I think it's that really specific sexual context that makes us think lesbianism is accepted when really it isn't.  With two beautiful women in a movie or porn flick, lesbianism is fine.  But if it's two real looking women going at it and wanting nothing to do with men, that's when our society tends to find it offensive.  How many times does a lesbian hear something like, "you just need a real man"... there is a really fine line, I think, when it comes to lesbianism about what will turn a man on and what will offend him.  And, concerning women, I think gay men tend to me more accepted by women than lesbians.  Obviously that isn't always the case, but it seems to be true a lot of the time.

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