I go to the gym regularly. I am hardly the one gaying up the locker room. It is the straight guys that spend more time admiring themselves and others more than I am.
If you aren't comfortable being naked around others, don't be naked. You never really know a stranger's sexuality. One can delude themselves to believe that everyone in the locker room is straight but it simply isn't the case.
Haha, in your face slava!
The state of being naked is a pretty disarming, non-sexual thing. I've had the pleasure of attending naked beaches, skinny dipping sessions and occasional parties and nobody is popping wood everywhere. It just doesn't happen.
Chances are a gay guy is more likely to be checking you out if you're in a douchy pair of jeans and a popped collar than if you're naked. Same goes for straight guys.. cleavage and such has a much better chance of being sexual than changing clothes in the locker room. As posted earlier the segregated change rooms are a bit of a construct
Last edited by calumniate; 02-13-2014 at 09:13 PM.
Well this thread escalated quickly. Since we're basically completely off topic I thought I'd share a little anecdote:
I was in Phuket, Thailand a couple of weeks ago with my family (wife, two 18 year old sons, 16 year old daughter). Ladyboys are everywhere. In the main drag (pardon the pun) there are many restaurants, bars, clubs, vendors, shops, etc. Some bars employ Ladyboys to invite westerners to frequent their establishment. We were walking down the street one night looking for a place to eat. As we walked by a couple of Ladyboys checked us out and stared at my sons, waved to them, said "oooohh boys" and giggled. They're good looking young men. Suffice to say I was pretty upset that I was totally ignored. Yeah, I'm fat and bald and hairy but I deserve to be objectified too damnit!
...or was that story too "happy"?
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I totally get what you are saying here but you also have to understand a lot of these athletes are not grown ups and some (maybe a lot in football) don't come from the greatest of backgrounds. They may not grasp the situation in front of them.
So in keeping with the theme of my first post...time to grow up and realize the world isn't going to be their version of utopia.
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My first thought when thinking/knowing I have a gay fellow in the room isn't is he checking me out but a fear I might offend them with something I say. The dressing room is not the most politically correct place in the world. Hell we call one of our players Princess. Look at the Ridiculousness of the Incognito situation with the Dolphins. Crewed talk to say the least but all done in jest between supposed friends.
The Dolphins thing was far more than crude talk between friends from everything I've seen/read/heard. If a fear is that you might offend them and therefore they should not be in the locker room I would suggest you re-evaluate what you are saying and remove yourself from the locker room if you can't manage to grow up (note: that I'm not singling out you in particular).
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That's where I feel/think teams say it will disrupt the chemistry of a team.
Come one. Name calling, slamming etc are certainly part of the locker room make up and team chemistry. No doubt. But calling one a SPECIFIC name which may be a term you shouldn't be using certainly isn't. That is a complete cop out used by far too many guys who supposedly "fine" with gay men but whose actions suggest everything but.
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Do you act differently with a girl in the dressing room than you would with just the guys?
Honestly no. During the game we are as hard on them as we are anyone else. Criticism and praise is based on skill level not what parts are under the equipment.. In the room it's the same atmosphere. Music, laughing etc. Doesn't change things in any tangible way because, well, we're grown ups who are able to have good friends of any sex/gender.
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The above is a hypothetical, gay, straight, man, women makes no difference to me, I don't care who I offend...With me it is all about attitude. Either your decent or not.
Which is good to hear. No one else should have an issue with it either.
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Great points Ernie and I agree with everything you said. I 100% agree with what happened in Miami is ridiculous and has no part in life let alone in a locker room in a professional environment.
When I said I worried that I might offend someone (again these are generalities and not specifically me just easier for the conversation) I wasn't really thinking about the terms that everyone knows they shouldn't be using. I was more thinking about simple terms like nut up and be a man, suck it Nancy boy. Stuff that you may not think too much of but has the potential to offend some people. Do others get that in their minds and just stop talking in fear of saying something stupid?
On the ice is on the ice, you lace them up in a competitive game you get treated the same way. Dressing room I think would be different. I spare on a team that has a girl come out occasionally and the dressing room is completely different with her there than without. Not her fault but it just is. Single guys like to talk about the bar scene and girls they are dating when she is not there. With her there they sit quietly. Again not her fault and others need to work on their behavior but what if she is offended by a guy talking about getting laid?
I am just looking at this from a slightly different view than the obvious sexual one. Honestly don't think there is a whole lot of sexy going in dressing rooms after sweating for hours on end. Hell, if you can get turned on with the smell in 99% of hockey locker rooms all the power to ya.
Hopefully Michael Sam lands somewhere that he is a good football fit and not to be that guy. Draft him for football not goodwill. I'm sure Sam would appreciate that.
If I were an NFL owner I would want my team to draft Michael Sam. Having the first openly gay professional North American athlete on my team would be great for the pocketbook, all kinds of free marketing opportunities.
If I was the GM of an NFL club I would not draft Michael Sam. The media circus that will come with Michael Sam is going to cause serious distractions and could make it difficult for Sam and his teammates to focus on the game. For a projected mid round pick its not worth it, if he was a sure fire first rounder then it would be different and he might be worth the short term distraction.
As a sports fan, I couldn't care less if he is gay or straight.
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