[Gay] Gay News from Around the Gay World That is Gay

[11B4V]

What's PDA in the gay community? Some secret code.

What Syt said / not a secret gay term.

Learned something new. To me...personal digital assistant (PDA)

[garbon]

What's PDA in the gay community? Some secret code.

What Syt said / not a secret gay term.

Learned something new. To me...personal digital assistant (PDA)

Keep up, grandpa. Who the hell has a PDA these days?

[Malthus]

Heh, it could be that gay men get discriminated against because they are seen as "single", and employers like steady "family" men. The employer may not know or care that they are gay, just that they are not "married" (and thus presumably more likely to be flighty). Assuming this is true, the question then is whether gay marriage will change this at all, when it becomes available and popular.

On the whole, are married people more likely to stay around? I know common sense would say that married people have more commitments (like children) so they are less likely to leave a job that is working out - at least that is until they come across something better. Presumably that fairly similar to single people these days. How many people really just quit jobs without having something else ready?

Not that I'm at all disagreeing with your theory - just pondering if the "non-flightiness" of a married employee is more than just common wisdom.

I dunno whether there is any actual truth in it.

On possible concern is that some person is going to eventually hook up with someone who lives somewhere else, then move to follow them.

[11B4V]

When are those people going to learn/figure out, the train is rolling and there's no stopping it.

I think I will always be annoyed by PDA.

Let me clarify. Gay rights and freedoms, while having a long way to go, are adavancing and there's no stopping it. The Ultra conservative and religious fundies will figure that out one day.

[Martinus]

Heh, it could be that gay men get discriminated against because they are seen as "single", and employers like steady "family" men. The employer may not know or care that they are gay, just that they are not "married" (and thus presumably more likely to be flighty). Assuming this is true, the question then is whether gay marriage will change this at all, when it becomes available and popular.

On the whole, are married people more likely to stay around? I know common sense would say that married people have more commitments (like children) so they are less likely to leave a job that is working out - at least that is until they come across something better. Presumably that fairly similar to single people these days. How many people really just quit jobs without having something else ready?

Not that I'm at all disagreeing with your theory - just pondering if the "non-flightiness" of a married employee is more than just common wisdom.

I dunno whether there is any actual truth in it.

On possible concern is that some person is going to eventually hook up with someone who lives somewhere else, then move to follow them.

Well, I think that a lot of discrimination is based on homophilia (i.e. liking things that are similar to oneself) and elaborate justifications are used to rationalise that. It seems like a married family boss would invent all these elaborate reasons why another married family man is an ideal employee.

By comparison, one of the partners in my department is a British "confirmed bachelor" (he is not gay as far as I can tell) and he thinks that people with children are the worst employees because they constantly need to take time off to care for their children etc.

[Malthus]

Heh, it could be that gay men get discriminated against because they are seen as "single", and employers like steady "family" men. The employer may not know or care that they are gay, just that they are not "married" (and thus presumably more likely to be flighty). Assuming this is true, the question then is whether gay marriage will change this at all, when it becomes available and popular.

On the whole, are married people more likely to stay around? I know common sense would say that married people have more commitments (like children) so they are less likely to leave a job that is working out - at least that is until they come across something better. Presumably that fairly similar to single people these days. How many people really just quit jobs without having something else ready?

Not that I'm at all disagreeing with your theory - just pondering if the "non-flightiness" of a married employee is more than just common wisdom.

I dunno whether there is any actual truth in it.

On possible concern is that some person is going to eventually hook up with someone who lives somewhere else, then move to follow them.

Well, I think that a lot of discrimination is based on homophilia (i.e. liking things that are similar to oneself) and elaborate justifications are used to rationalise that. It seems like a married family boss would invent all these elaborate reasons why another married family man is an ideal employee.

By comparison, one of the partners in my department is a British "confirmed bachelor" (he is not gay as far as I can tell) and he thinks that people with children are the worst employees because they constantly need to take time off to care for their children etc.

Well, sure.

But the 'old-timey' stereotype is that the 'taking off time for kids' thing is something women are supposed to do, and not men. 

In either event, I would agree that in the modern professional business world at least, people's attitudes towards having kids is a far more significant bone of contention than whether they are gay or straight (and some gays I know do, in fact, have kids - some have adopted and others came out later in life after having them). 

[Martinus]

Well, he was mad at one senior associate who took half a day off on Saturday in the middle of a transaction to attend his baby's christening.

[garbon]

Heh, it could be that gay men get discriminated against because they are seen as "single", and employers like steady "family" men. The employer may not know or care that they are gay, just that they are not "married" (and thus presumably more likely to be flighty). Assuming this is true, the question then is whether gay marriage will change this at all, when it becomes available and popular.

On the whole, are married people more likely to stay around? I know common sense would say that married people have more commitments (like children) so they are less likely to leave a job that is working out - at least that is until they come across something better. Presumably that fairly similar to single people these days. How many people really just quit jobs without having something else ready?

Not that I'm at all disagreeing with your theory - just pondering if the "non-flightiness" of a married employee is more than just common wisdom.

I dunno whether there is any actual truth in it.

On possible concern is that some person is going to eventually hook up with someone who lives somewhere else, then move to follow them.

Of course, as definitely happens, one partner in marriage has them move elsewhere because they got a cool job offer.

[Malthus]

Well, he was mad at one senior associate who took half a day off on Saturday in the middle of a transaction to attend his baby's christening.

Oh, he's one of *those* types. 

[Malthus]

Heh, it could be that gay men get discriminated against because they are seen as "single", and employers like steady "family" men. The employer may not know or care that they are gay, just that they are not "married" (and thus presumably more likely to be flighty). Assuming this is true, the question then is whether gay marriage will change this at all, when it becomes available and popular.

On the whole, are married people more likely to stay around? I know common sense would say that married people have more commitments (like children) so they are less likely to leave a job that is working out - at least that is until they come across something better. Presumably that fairly similar to single people these days. How many people really just quit jobs without having something else ready?

Not that I'm at all disagreeing with your theory - just pondering if the "non-flightiness" of a married employee is more than just common wisdom.

I dunno whether there is any actual truth in it.

On possible concern is that some person is going to eventually hook up with someone who lives somewhere else, then move to follow them.

Of course, as definitely happens, one partner in marriage has them move elsewhere because they got a cool job offer.

Certainly, that too.

I have no idea if the prejudice in favour of marrieds has any validity whatsoever, just that it is a "thing". 

The whole notion is that married people are more settled, more likely to own a house or other serious property, less likely to be partying all night, less likely to suddenly decide to 'find themselves' by hitch-hiking to Katmandu, less likely to chase strange tail into a city across the continent, more likely to have developed good socialization habits, more 'adult', etc.

It could easily all be bullshit prejudice, but certainly some people believe in it.

What will be interesting to see is if this prejudice transfers to married gays. I suspect it will. From what I've seen, married gays can outdo Ward and June Cleaver in the settled, boring sub/urbanite stakes. 

[garbon]

All very fair.

[Brazen]

As I evidently fail at reading back in megathreads, have we covered the British Military's new "do ask, do tell" policy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30773024

[Martinus]

As I evidently fail at reading back in megathreads, have we covered the British Military's new "do ask, do tell" policy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30773024

Wouldn't that be illegal in most job applications?

Also:

"Although this is not mandatory, collecting this data will give us a better understanding of the composition of our armed forces and help ensure our policies and practices fully support our personnel."

Recruits are also invited to say how open they feel they can be regarding their sexual orientation.

So, you can say you prefer not to disclose your sexual orientation but that you don't feel open about it?

[Sheilbh]

Wouldn't that be illegal in most job applications?

No. It's a standard form you fill in with all sorts of diversity questions:
http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=4071

[Martinus]

Well, I guess it's time for more gay generals then.