why do basically all straight men cringe and the mere sight/mention of a gay man?

Answer 1

simple.

because they aren't gender sensitive. they hate the gays because the latter poses a threat to their macho-image.

Answer 2

Well, being a straight guy, I would have, and most guys (that I've known) will respond that they don't want to be hit on. This is despite the fact that I, nor anyone I've known has every been hit on by a gay guy.

At first the concept of homosexuality was strange to me, and took a while for me to get used to knowing people like that, and it used to make me uncomfortable. But through highschool I met more and more bi and gay people, and I've become very comfortable around people like that. I'm friends with gay and bi guys, give them hugs all the time.
I honestly no longer care if a girl or a guy is checking me out, it doesn't phase me. Whether your straight/bi/gay is a personal preference, but when it comes to the cringe factor, I think it's emotional baggage that comes from the way most guys are raised and expected to act.

It has to do with a 'group mentality' (peer pressure, call it whatever). You have a guy who hangs around with his group of friends. If you don't act the way the group requires you to ask, then they will abandon or scorn you. This is why guys act tough or macho, because there is a general way a guy is 'supposed' to act, within their local group, and society as a whole. Most guys are raised believing they have to fit this particular mold. And part of it is the typical strong disapproval and disgust of gay men. When you think about it, there is really no reason for a straight guy to be bothered by a gay guy at all. The real problem has to do with where the straight guy is with his peer group. Basically, if a guy don't cringe, it almost becomes equated with survival. Eventually they dilute themselves into thinking such a reaction is the 'normal' way to be. There is so much baggage that I doubt most guys would admit that, even to themselves. But it is always a needless reaction.

Answer 3

Why do Christians bash the opinions of those with a different belief system to them? Both of these groups have very strong beliefs in their way of life, and then come people who go against every value they have been taught. Homphobes and Christians are alike in this way, that they cannot tolerate people different from them, and do not regard them as human beings. Yes, it is a sad, sad world that we live in.

Rest assured that not all people are like this. I, as a fourteen-year old straight guy, am pretty accepting of gay people, possibly because I haven't had much male influence in my life (my father is an @$$hole). Besides, almost every female I know is disgusted at the thought of a gay couple, so I think you're being biased against males. Also, many religious groups teach that homosexuality is wrong. We have only recently entered into a religiously free society, despite what the Constitution said.
Who knows, in thirty years we could look back and laugh at all this, and this could be mentioned in the same breath as ethnic discrimination. Unlikely, but possible.

Answer 4

All straight men do NOT cringe...it is just another guy to most men..they do not give a shat unless there is a pass, and a polite "no thank you" will do. YOu find this in redneck, bible spouting lunatics, not the general male population. Men who are very sure of who and what they are do not worry about being in the company of gay men. It is not an issue. Only men who have low self-esteem issues, have closet issues, and fanatic religious issues have a problem..and those men are, by and large, few in number compared to the total male population. The larger the city you live in, the less you see the silliness.

Answer 5

Watch Oz and you'll understand (but not "The Wizard of Oz", mind you).

Seriously though; it's something that most of us guys think of as something that is "not meant to be", like the insertion of a man's privates into another man's rectum without protection or lube, or 300-pound women in blouses that show the stomach.

Since men are generalized as dominant figures that are symbolically strong and even touching amongst friends are viewed as strictly taboo, like for example: If I were to have my hand on the couch and my buddy unconsciously puts it on top, instead of viewing it as an accident or a friendly gesture and not mind it (I hope not in this case LOL), I'd be pretty disgusted.

Women, on the other hand, almost always hugs their friends, share dressing rooms in department stores, and are even known to hold hands on the street and not get a weird eye both from bystanders and the other woman herself, so that is more socially acceptable, whether the girls are platonic friends or actual bis/lesbians. Also women are being generally classified as "submissive", meaning that you don't see one noted for being strong being mushy to another, while a girl drunk at the club and making out with her friend since elementary school is usually sexually alluring to us.

With this acceptablility in mind, that is why most men love the idea of bis/lesbians and not of gay men (unless of course they're against that too).

Answer 6

Fear of the unknown. I used to ask around - and was astonished to discover that most straight men think that gay men only look for sex in a relationship. I dont think they thought that a gay man is capable or looking for a meaningful relationship. However, there are so many same-sex couples who have everlasting relationships.

It would only be obvous that a man who thinks that a gay man is only looking for sex would be subconciouly afraid that the gay will jump him.... He would not mind being jumped by a girl, but a man is against his sexual orientation and frightens him.

Lack of knowledge has always been the founding problems of society....

Answer 7

It simple. Society teaches straight males to be sexist, especially towards women. If a man reveals himself as gay, then other men who are striaght will probably think that they are targets to gay men's desires in the same way that women are targets to straight men's desires. They don't cringe because men are gay, they cringe because maybe they're afraid gay men will treat THEM the way that all men are taught by society to treat women.

Answer 8

I love sharing my theory on this with my friends cause it always leaves a bad taste in their mouths... no puns. gay men are always seen holding hands, touching and hugging etc... so that's become part of public definition. it's my theory that a lot of men cringe at the thought or mention of gay men because of their unconscious desperation for human contact. As human beings, we all crave the sensation of touch. We men however, are brought up to resist these cravings and "weak" desires, restrict ourselves etc... so we can be hard, tough, strong, untouchable. But guys love to be touched just like women do if not more so since it is not readily available to us. i think it's our minds playing this trick on us where as it examines the flesh to flesh contact for what it is not who it's from and decides that that sensation is enjoyable regardless of whom it is that's doing the touching and the more deprived a man is of touch the more likely his body will welcome any given touch making any kind of interaction with another man internally troublesome forever challenging our definition of our sexuality. That's what scares these men. the thought and/or the certainty that they will secretly enjoy something so innocent as the brush of another man's hand which is " Gay" for what it is which will then make them question their sexuality and that would serve to compromise their manhood in the eyes of the general public and more importantly those peers that judge them.
lol make any sense?
then there's the thought that says, to speak of is to accept is to risk being mistaken for and judged as "gay".

Answer 9

Insecure, immature, lacking emotionally. And for the record "basically all straight men" don't cringe. Thats a misconception from a misguided segment of society.

Deal with the truth. We're here ... you get the rest! So get over it!

Answer 10

straight men that vringe at the sight or the thought or mention of gay men or gay sex they are not comfortable with their sexuality. what i mean by this is that I am comfortable with my sexuality and i can watch straight people kiss, cuddle, even watch straight porn with out cringeing. They are not comfortable with anything differnent then what they stick their willy in. it all comse down to they need to be more comfortable with themselves and then they should not cringe.

Answer 11

to answersaddict- you are wrong! There are many homosexual mammals.Do a little reading -- a real book.
I think it's a learned behavior. Fathers teach sons not to cry, show fear or pain, and to never touch another male unless it involves some sport. That idea is drilled into boy children from the beginning.