Is there a place for politically or socially gay men?

Slightly conservative bisexual guy dating another guy here... you are certainly not the only gay person with conservative beliefs. There is even an entire section of the Republican party specifically for gay people: http://www.logcabin.org/

I think the issue might just be where you live, considering San Francisco is quite possibly the most liberal city in America, it makes sense that you wouldn't find very many politically conservative people there.

 

Hey justaguyinsf

One of the facts about being LGBT, and the one that convinces more than anything else about the naturalness and legitimacy of this sexual orientation, is that we are pretty much everywhere. Being LGBT does not depend on class, political affiliation, race, national or religious origins, age, or gender...we are everywhere (mwhahahaha!!!).

I'm not even sure if we can say with absolute confidence that the predominant ethos for the LGBT community is liberal (whatever that means), other than to say that it should logically be our natural political affiliation because this is where we could expect to be most accepted (but...let's not forget that it was Bill Clinton who came up with DOMA, or the "Defense of Marriage Act" which put the kibosh on same-sex marriage for a while).

In any case, birds of a feather will flock together...at some point and to some degree.

The whole division between liberal and conservative is interesting to me, but more as a manifestation of current social pathologies arising from the rigid ideologies inherent in modern identity politics. It is natural for anyone to seek like-minded individuals, so I do hope you find what you are looking for, but it might perhaps be a good thing to maintain a certain level of independence and self-confidence in one's own values above and beyond any affiliations, political or otherwise, liberal or conservative, that we may feel we need to get involved with.

But maybe that's just me, I'm not really much of a joiner...despite having joined many things in my life. I'm reminded of the joke: I wouldn't want to join any organization that would have me as a member...

 

There are definitely are conservatives lgbt people and there has always been.

I think the only thing that bothers me about conservative LGBT people is that many don't know the history behind their own movements.

I have met proud LGBT conservatives who celebrate Stonewall Riots, yet will declare that Black Lives Matter is too radical. It makes no sense.

The reason why you won't find too big of an LGBT conservative movement is because a lot of conservative LGBT have historically been against being out and proud in the first place. If it were up for the old LGBT conservative movement, we would all be married to women and just have our thing on the side. No need to tell everyone about what we do in our bedrooms... but now that the GOP has to at least tolerate LGBT people, more and more lgbt conservatives are coming out of the woodworks. Trump even had an LGBT caucus going for him so there is that.

So yes, find your people, but don't forget that the reason why you are here and able to do what you do is thanks to the faggots of the past. The outcasts, the liberals, the poor, the people of color and the young. All people who are shunned down by other conservatives policies.

 

Part of my own process toward self actualization was understanding one political affiliation versus another. In the end, I concluded that a two party system is just not sufficient to cover all spectrums of the political landscape. As such, people need to decide what their priorities are compared to what each party has to offer, and then choose which one best fits understanding neither party is perfect.

Having done this myself, an independent non-party affiliation seems to fit me best. With only comprising 6-7 percent, I am actually surprised how small a subset indepents make up of the political landscape.

 

I tend to meet more liberal LGBT folks than conservative ones. The folks who would identify as conservative tended to be business leaders (not necessarily, but often a small business owner), so it made sense they were gravitating to politics or fiscal stances that supported that. But they were liberal in other areas, such as on many social issues.

 

These are all good comments. I would add that I think more LGBT people would support the Republican party for its fiscal conservatism if it wasn't for the far-right wing of the party that seeks to deny LGBT rights and equality.

 

I personally struggle to understand how any party can lay claim to being fiscally responsible. When both parties have controlled both the executive branch and congress, the US has seen government spending explode, To me, it’s not how much they spend, it’s just how each party has different priorities on how to spend it.

A gay friend of mine whom I have known since university was telling me how he voted for Trump because of the fiscally responsible perception he held of the Republicans. At first, I was shocked wondering how a gay guy could prioritize fiscal issues over social issues. Then, on the other spectrum. another good gay friend of mine kicks and screams each time a new homophobic policy is announced out of the administration. While I am very much concerned about such homophobic initiatives becoming policy, I am happy to see our system of checks and balances working hard to ensure the religious right does not gain too much ground given all the progress that LGBT rights has gained. At the same time, I also have confidence in the evolving social order which reflects significantly higher levels of tolerance for LGBT rights, where I am skeptical such social order can Move backwards in any material way.

I realized that issues ebb and flow. Sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back, some times it’s three steps forward, and sometimes there is no progress. But overall, I believe a small segment of the US Republican Party is taking up too much airtime on social issues that the majority of the country don’t agree with. As long as the majority position keeps growing, we will continue to progress albeit at different speeds, regardless of which party holds a particular branch of office.

And I will end with this, I have met both homophobic liberals and conservatives, I also know many whom are accepting of LGBT rights from both parties. It’s best for each of us to weigh our respective priorities and push for the policy agendas that matter the most to us, without regard for the conventional wisdom pushed by either party. And if one party’s agenda feels more aligned with your priorities over another, then so be it.

 

I think there certainly is a place--they're here after all. I can empathize with the OP that it often probably isn't a very comfortable place--and, no, I don't think that it's a product of living in San Francisco. I've experienced the visible gay community in a LOT of places and it pretty much always leans left.

I think a lot of gay people are pretty fundamentally conservative and conventional in their personal lives--I think of myself that way. But when it comes time to say what everyone else should do in their personal lives, not so much. I think a lot of time the conversation focuses around the whole voting against self-interest as in gay conservatives are just "weird". I think that isn't the real issue for most gay people, it's just an easier conversation to have. I think what it really comes down to in the end for most of the gay people I know is that while people are certainly entitled to think and say all sorts of things, thinking and doing certain things is just immoral. That's not a comfortable conversation to have.

I think we certainly need to be able to talk across political lines, but the idea that we should somehow move past it doesn't ring true to me. A lot of people say things like "it's just politics." I've never understood that. Politics is about what you think the world is about. It's about how you think about personal freedom and the responsibility we have to each other. In my opinion that's an odd thing to try to move past.

And in the end I think that will be the bind for gay conservatives. I fundamentally believe people have the right to think and say and vote as they like, but I will freely admit I "tolerate" conservatives. There are certain things I just don't invite into my home or my heart--and I think a lot of gay people feel that way.

 

I'm going to assume you're talking about the US. I'd like to add a German point of view to this. Here, we have around 35 parties on the ballot, with 6 being in the parliament now and 2 forming a coalition and thus a government right now. One is rather conservative, with its right wing being very close to the Neonazi party already, a couple are centre/liberal focusing on economy or middle/upper class people respectively, we have a Democratic Socialist party, a Green party, etc etc.

I think people can be conservative and gay, no doubt. The problem that may be deterring many is that being a conservative party usually entails being a somewhat right-wing party (the Conservatives are almost as anti-refugee and anti-Islam as the Nazi party here), so gay folks will always be seen as "lesser" by their colleagues. For instance, the AfD has an openly lesbian, high-ranking member and claim that's no problem at all to appear open-minded, but she's been picked on for her sexuality a lot, even though she, for instance, opposes same-sex marriage. This is the kind of problem I see. Even at best, the conservative politicians I see here only tolerate gay folks, and let's not even start about trans pals because conservatives usually are rather hardcore Christian and quite the transphobes.

 

This is why most of LGBT republicans you will find are white.

If you are a cis white gay man, then MAYBE you can just ignore the gay issues, but the thing is that republicans hate more than just LGBT people so for other intersectionalities its a much complex issue. As far as the republicans being "fiscally conservative" that is no longer a defensible thing with everything happening right now. The fiscal policies being pushed right now are some of the worst.

I'm not only gay, but im an atheist, latino, I'm an immigrant, pro choice, sex positive, etc.

Also, the democratic party in the US is so conservative that most Democrats would be considered conservatives in other countries. That's how conservative the US is overall.

 

Most LGBT people I've met are rather progressive and not only pro-LGBT rights but also feminists, support BC, are Muslims or atheists, POC etc. I'd hazard a guess and say that people who are open-minded - be it because they are part of other minorities or because they're politically left - are more likely to come to terms with their sexuality and thus make up the majority of openly gay people, hence less openly gay conservatives.

This. The US Democrats would be member of the 'Social Democrats' in Germany, and these are far from the left party the used to be. Rednecks love to call Hillary Clinton a communist, but she wouldn't even qualify for Democrat over here. Even Bernie Sanders isn't a socialist by European standards. The American Left is a very right left from our point of view.

 

Gay is also an identity movement, and it demands ideological conformity .
Your question is probably similar to those who are religious but politically liberal, or black or Hispanic and conservative.

Wasn't some young gay photographer fired from his job at a creative agency for creating a Twinks for Trump photo campaign?

 

I think people thought it was a joke or mocking trump, but when they found out they supported him, well that's when the guy lost his job

 

....., do you see the irony here? Do you what the punishment for homosexual behavior is in many muslim countries?
Of all the mainstream religions - all condemn homosexual behavior in one way or another (yes even Tibetan Buddhism) ,
though in most (not all) a wing says it's a not a sin or not such a bad sin - you may be surprised to find out that even the negative scripture about homosexuality in the New Testament puts it with drunkenness as a sin (so on a Sunday morning you're not much different than the hungover hetero couple next to you)
BUT there is a very big difference between how Muslims treat homosexuals and the Amish - trust me you're better off with the Amish

 

What do you call rights? Many conservative gays and liberal gays who support free speech and conscious are against fines and penalties for using the 'wrong' pronoun.

Many gays were against the legalization or even the support of gay marriage- even some radical gays thought it was a 'hetero' institution and they didn't feel the need to legitimatize themselves by a 'hetero' ceremony.