Straight-acting

Straight-acting is a term used to describe a person who choses not to exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype. Although the label is used by and reserved almost exclusively for gay and bisexual men, it may also be used to describe a lesbian with stereotypical feminine appearance and mannerisms.^[1]^[2] The label is most often used by a self-hating cohort of those who do not self-identify with the traditional, standardized perception of gay men.^[3] Because the term invokes negative stereotypes of gay people, its application is often controversial and may cause offense.^[4]

Criticisms

Sex advice columnist Dan Savage commented on the popularity of the term "straight-acting" in gay personal ads, criticizing both the practice and the idea that a man seeking a gay relationship through a gay personal ad is acting straight.^[5] Use of the term itself has been labeled as damaging to the LGBT community, as it associates certain attributes with homosexuality.^[4]

Men who use the expression "straight-acting" express resentment that the term implies they are acting and not being their true selves.^[2]

Media

Filmmaker Spencer Windes explored the term and the definition of masculinity in his film Straight Acting. The film is a documentary about Windes' transformation from a closeted Mormon missionary into an openly gay man, through his involvement in the subculture of gays who play contact sports.^[6]

Related terminology

Other terms are sometimes used to describe men who do not self-identify as gay nor identify with "gay stereotypes."

Down-low

The down-low (or DL) is a slang phrase used among African Americans for bisexual men who secretly have sex with men while maintaining romantic relationships with women.^[7]

g0y

The neologism g0y is used to identify men who are affectionate with other men but do not participate in anal sex. They detest the ways in which homosexuality has been linked to effeminacy and so have opted to create a new facet of sexual orientation.^[8] G0y proponents dislike the association of gay male culture with intersexed and transgendered people. The spelling of the term g0y comes from replacing the letter a — representing anal sex — with the numeral 0.^[9]

While both g0y and down-low have been criticized as excuses for homosexual men to stay closeted, they have also been recognized as separate of the mainstreaming of gay culture.^[10]^[8]

MSM

In the early 1980s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention created the term men who have sex with men (or MSM) to refer to an AIDS risk group. At the time, many criticized the term as being little more than a euphemism for gay men, but a survey of "MSM" in New York City shows important differences between gay men and non-"gay" MSMs.^[11]

SSA

Courage, a ministry in the Roman Catholic Church for those with homosexual feelings to live chaste lives in accord with Catholic teachings, advocates this term for its memebers and also non-members who, for various reasons, do not wish to associate themselves with the gay community and make clear that they are not sexually active and ae not part of mainstream gay culture.

In popular culture

In a 2006 interview with People magazine, former 'N Sync member Lance Bass referred to himself and his friends as "straight-acting," stating, "I call them the SAGs – the straight-acting gays. We're just normal, typical guys. I love to watch football and drink beer."^[12] After receiving heavy criticism from the LGBT community, Bass later stated that he was unaware of the negative implications surrounding the term.^[12]