Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Men Share What They Were Told Not To Do Because 'That's Gay'

Men Share What They Were Told Not To Do Because 'That's Gay'
nrd on Unsplash

Irrespective of men's sexual identity or preference, there are men who hate sports, and there are men who love musical theater. Do participating in either activity make men straight or gay?


Unfortunately, we live in a society where a good majority of people like to put labels on others who are defined by their propensities that either make them more or less, masculine.
Curious to explore perceptions challenging heteronormative behavior in men, Redditor Biscuitgod1 asked:
"Straight men of Reddit, what is the strangest thing you have been told not to do because 'that's gay?'"

The following behavior just screams, "gay," fellas. Watch out.

Song Choice

"Sing a Lily Allen song during karaoke."

– KentuckyFriedEel

School Protocol

"Advice I received in high school from other students:"

"Don't cross your legs with one knee over the other. Put one ankle over the other knee."

"When carrying books, palm them and carry them at your side. Don't rest one edge of the books near your waist."

"Never button the top button of your shirt."

– Gorf_the_Magnificent

Look, But Don't Look

"This one time, at summer camp, this guy who'd just been swimming in the lake told me you could tell how cold the water was by how hard his nipples were. 'But don't stare too long,' he said, 'because that's gay.'"

"You were the one who told me to look in the first place!"

– SonOfTheShire

Sandwich For Sissies

"When I was a kid, my dad called me a sissy because I cut a sandwich diagonally."

– captainmagictrousers

Getting Woodwind

"I played the clarinet. I got called Faginet a lot."

– Virtual_Caramell

Choice Words

"I Was told that the word assumption made me gay. This guy thought big words (?) made me an intellectual, and in his mind, intellectual - gay."

– PWesterberg1977

Living In Narnia

"Hot tea is gay?"

"Well f'k me, my entire country must actually be Narnia, seeing as we all must be deep in the closet without knowing it over this hot tea situation."

– Sonnyboy1990

The Singing Competition

"Watch the Eurovision Song Contest."

"I don't care, it can be as gay as it likes I still want to hear the music. (Although seriously the uk needs to up its game but that's another story)"

– zippy72

"But that's what women do," one might argue.

Daddy Duty

"Changing my daughter's diaper. Mentioned it in the office one day. Called gay."

– Bullydaddy

People Break Down The Nicest Celebrities They've Ever Met | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

They always say, "don't meet your heroes." But here's the thing, sometimes your celebrities are actually just chill, normal people who are overjoyed to meet ...

A Lighter Shade

"Buying a white IPhone."

– Freshrendar

"Added my husband (then boyfriend) to my phone plan. Went to the store on my own to upgrade both our phones. We both just wanted the next gen Samsung. It was only available in purplish-pink in store."

"I shrugged and said it didn't matter, he's putting a case on it anyways. Guys working at the store kept trying to talk me out of it, actively pushing me to go to another store, making them lose commission, just so my partner wouldn't have a feminine phone. He used his pink phone for 3 years."

– Caity26

Life Skills

"I've been criticized for knowing how to sew and cook. Those are essential life skills!"

– placeholderNull

"My father was a Marine drill instructor in the 50's. Guess who did all the sewing in my house growing up?"

"Yeah, no one dared to call him gay for it."

– desrever1138

Lots Of Colors

"When I was 10 or so, I brought an umbrella to school on a rainy day with the colors red, yellow, green, and blue. My dad of all people told me to never use that umbrella again because the colors were too closely resembled to a rainbow which stood for homosexuality."

"I was f'king 10, I was far from puberty and had no idea. I just wanted to stay dry and grabbed the only umbrella available at the time."

"Now that I think about it, why did we even own that umbrella then? HUH, DAD?"

– ThaDFunkee

Bad Flavor

"My dad told me 'rainbow sherbet is for p**sies' when I was like eight. I stopped eating my favorite flavor for 10 years until I had that flashback and asked him about it".

"He said 'Oh, I didn’t like rainbow sherbet and always had to finish the parts you didn’t eat so I wanted you to get mint chocolate chip instead.' It makes me wonder what things I might say to my kids that will scar them for life without even thinking about it."

– vincentrm

Girls And Gays Apparently Have This In Common

"i'm a teenager, not quite a man, but here's a story."

"a kid asked me if i liked crunch or creamy peanuty butter, i said creamy, and they told me since i like creamy peanut butter and not crunchy, it was 'gay,' because 'only girls or gay guys like creamy peanut butter.'"

"i was so confused."

– TiredSkylar

Here are examples of guidelines for being a manly man, according to manly men.

Manly Appetite

"Not a straight man but... back in my bartending days I asked a man if he wanted to see a dessert menu. He said 'if I wanted dessert I'd order wings like a real man.'"

" Weird flex but okay."

– BigJiggies

When I'm In The Mood, I Masticate

"When I'm feeling extra manly, I just take a bite out of a cow and then chew on some raw wheat."

"Like a man."

– AmigoDelDiabla

No Appointments Necessary For Straight Men

"I left a pick-up basketball game because I had an appointment to get a haircut. Evidently, the only straight way to get a haircut is as a walk in."

– patricksaurus

Abiding By The Law Is So Gay

"Using turn signals. And not as some sort of euphemism, but literally using them while driving to turn or change lanes."

– Sargatanus

In grade school, some fellow classmates asked me to check for gum on my shoe because they saw me step in some.

When I lifted my leg to take a gander, the boys were howling hysterically as if my actions confirmed something.

Well, it sure did. Apparently, if I l looked at the bottom of my shoe from in front of me, I was "normal," but since I bent my leg back and looked at the bottom of my shoe from behind, that made me "so gay."

Although, I didn't come out 'til years later, maybe those goons were onto something. Thanks for the heads up, guys.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Karoline Leavitt
Win McNamee/Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Slammed After Suggesting Reports Of Deadly Strike On Iranian Girls' School Are Just 'Propaganda'

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was criticized after she rejected reports that the U.S. struck a girls' elementary school in Iran, killing 175 people, insisting in remarks to the press pool that it's just Iranian "propaganda" that they've "fallen" for.

Iranian state media and health officials said the strike occurred early Saturday morning in Minab, in the country’s southern Hormozgan Province. Journalists from international news organizations have not been granted access to independently verify the reported death toll or the circumstances surrounding the strike.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @madswellness's TikTok video
@madswellness/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate With Her Viral Hot Take That We Should 'Normalize Not Liking Dogs'

We're all different people with different interests, and it's perfectly okay that we like different things.

But there are some people who passionately, even vehemently, draw the line at other people liking or disliking dogs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @vanellimelli030's TikTok video
@vanellimelli030/TikTok

Model Accuses Fashion Brand Of Using AI To Recreate Her Looks For Ad Instead Of Hiring Her

There used to be laws in place for someone's likeness being used without their consent, and most certainly if their likeness was being used in an exploitative way for profit.

But now with the rise of AI-generated photographs, advertisements, and other digital products, the lines seem to have become muddied between the illegal stealing of someone's likeness and AI "inspiration."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @anissahm15's TikTok video
@anissahm15/TikTok

TikToker Secretly Records Unhinged Spectrum Employee Screaming At Her For Trying To Cancel Her Service

Employees in commission-based positions are feeling increasingly pressured to acquire new clients, retain previous clients, and solve the issues their clients call in about with high satisfaction ratings.

Even though tensions are high, and the pressure they're feeling may be unrealistic for any one person to take, that doesn't give them the right to mistreat people who do not want to sign up or want to cancel.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @hustleb***h's TikTok video
@hustleb***h/TikTok

Travel Influencer Posts Viral 'Hack' Using Hotel Coffee Maker To Wash Her Underwear—And We're Horrified

We've all worried about packing enough clothes when we go on a trip, especially when it's the really important stuff, like underwear and socks.

But travel influencer @tarawoodcox11 thoroughly grossed out the internet when she shared a hack for maintaining clean, or at least cleaner underwear, while on the go. The video was later shared by the TikTok platform @hustleb*tch where it went viral.

Keep ReadingShow less