(no subject)

[rivka]

So I was in the locker room after my water aerobics class, getting dressed next to the instructor.

"Have any fun plans this weekend?" she asked me.

"Yes," I said. "Tomorrow we're having people over for a cookout, and then Sunday we're going to gay pride in D.C."

She followed up with: "Are you married?"

Huh.

I, personally, would not choose to respond to "We're going to gay pride" by asking "Are you married." It just wouldn't occur to me. What was she thinking? I can think of three possibilities:

(1) She had such extremely accurate gaydar that she correctly perceived me as bisexual. (I wasn't, for example, wearing my wedding ring.)

(2) She wasn't thinking - she was clueless. Maybe she wasn't listening, or maybe she didn't recognize the phrase "gay pride," or maybe she didn't stop to think about the normal audience at gay pride.

(3) She was in a state of homophobic panic brought on by being nekkid next to a queer person.

What do you think?

[Poll #306787]

Water aerobics, incidentally, is insanely fun. I had no idea that I would enjoy it that much. I came home in a lovely peaceful floaty endorphin haze, which unfortunately has now worn off to be replaced by sore muscles. But still: water aerobics is way fun.

I realized that I automatically expect to be the worst at any physical activity. There was another woman I spoke to in the locker room before class - this was her second time doing water aerobics. She was tall and slender and conventionally pretty, and I automatically assumed that, given that we were both beginners, she would be much better at it than I was. She wasn't. In fact, she had a lot of trouble figuring out how she was supposed to move, and I pretty much did okay.

The same thing happened when I learned to shoot, and when I started doing English Country Dance. I'm good at both of them, and I was fairly good at both - and a quick learner - from the beginning. But in my mental image of myself, I still expect to be hopeless at anything physical. I begin to suspect that I may not be uncoordinated and awkward after all - that my problems with physical activity may just be due to disability-related weakness, and not to any inherent klutziness.

It's a weird feeling.

Comments

Re: None of the Above

[greyweirdo.livejournal.com]

I answer this with a very short story that may or may not have happened (I've told it so many times I can't remember anymore)
About 2 years ago now I was working in Blockbuster and a woman and I were discussing movies she could watch (happens more than you'd think) I suggested some movie which caused her to ask if a particular actress was gay. I had no idea and this segued the woman to gay marriage. I said I was all for it, everyone deserves to loose half their stuff in a bad divorce. She said she was all for it because then her son wouldn't have an excuse any more and would have to settle down.
NOW! With the legalization's that are soon going to sweep the land like a scythe of justice or at least equality, gays are going to have to be subjected to the same mother complaints and social pressure to pair off that the rest of us get.

SO to get to the point. I think she was trying to pressure you into getting married.

Re: None of the Above

[nellorat.livejournal.com]

The Onion did a very funny article based on the idea that now gays were getting pressure to marry, just like heterosexuals.

Re: None of the Above

[greyweirdo.livejournal.com]

Well there you have it, this must be the answer when a fine reporting instiute like The Onion is involved