But why don't we hear it said, ever? Because it doesn't make much sense.. There is no such thing as a "heterosexual lifestyle" - we, as heterosexuals, all live our lives differently.
You know why we never hear it said? Because almost no one ever talks about straight people like people talk about gay people. We don't have threads on this forum specifically about straight people, but even if we do, I certainly don't know about it because they must be terribly rare. And btw, I've been on gay forums before, and that phrase is definitely used.
"Meth addict lifestyle", "Upper middle class American teenager's lifestyle", sure, all of those are specific enough to make sense - their actual lifestyles are all similar and can be grouped together like that.
You note that they all have something similar in common.
But "heterosexual lifestyle" ? What is that?
What do heterosexuals have in common then? Being involved romantically or sexually (or the desire to do those things) with the opposite gender. That is the heterosexual lifestyle. That's what they have in common, and what they have similar, and therefor, according to your own definition (as I infer by what you stated what would constitute a lifestyle) that means that that is the heterosexual lifestyle.
Of course the phrase is obviously vague but who cares? It makes sense.
It's worth pointing out that in a few strokes you've changed the definition from "the way one lives their life" to any amalgamation of "a way one lives their life," which is entirely meaningless as, presumably, one could live their life any number of ways by that definition, rendering any one descriptor thereof as encapsulating the entire thing utterly useless.
What's the difference between the two?
The reason you can be a gay buddhist as readily as a gay christian should be indicative of how the phrase "gay lifestyle" can hardly be said to be comprehensive,
Of course it's not comprehensive, but I can't for the life of me see how that has anything to do with anything. You confused me here, so I went through your earlier posts and, voila! I think I know why you don't like the word -
I hope the absurdity of this example is making it across the amoebic web of the internet. There is nothing inherently different about the "lifestyle" (a completely meaningless word, if I'm honest) of homosexuals except their sexual orientation. Knowing someone is gay tells you as much about them as knowing that they're Chinese, or tall, or fat, or whatever.
So you have a problem with the word because it's vague? I would agree with you, if I felt like people were using the word to mean something other than what it really means, but since that's not the case (at least in this thread, the way Dom used it, iirc) I fail to see what's so wrong with vague if it's used to mean it's definition, and nothing more.
which is what I take objection to; other than the homosexuality, there is nothing about a "gay lifestyle" that can be assumed except in the imagination of overzealous bigots, to whom a gay lifestyle means something much more sinister than merely sexual orientation.
Which I agree, if they're being fools and reading too much into it, but I don't see anything wrong with the phrase if one used to mean it's definition, and nothing more.
tl;dr: the usage of the term does not exactly make it compatible with other like descriptors, which is patently useless because "gay lifestyle" cannot possibly describe everything about the lifestyle of a gay person, although it does describe one important part.
Well, of course it can't describe everything about a person, I don't believe I ever said it did (and if it seems like I did, I didn't mean to, I would not like to argue semantics definition here, nothing's more dull than that, heavens forbid). But, like you said, it describes one
important part of a person's life, so I have no problem with it's usage if it's used to mean it's definition, and nothing more.
The reason I responded in the first place in the first post, and I won't go into it very much, mind, but please understand this
What the hell is a "homosexual lifestyle"? I never realised I was living a "Gay lifestyle".
I know for a fact useless has asked this question before, because I remember it and I also remember responding to it, saying what the gay lifestyle is, and he didn't respond then, either. The reason this has gotten me all in a fit is because he asked this question specifically to raise an emotional response, just like the bigots you described. It's only purpose is not to get an
answer but to respond to Dom in a way I feel is unfair and instigating. It seems a bit like sarcasm, and if there's anything that's a pet peeve of mine it's sarcasm. And so I had to respond.
this is too much.
