The University of Michigan is offering students a class in

[Ban Hammer 13,641]

I want to know

time for your test! bend over the desk!

heard you have to do an oral exam too

*bends over* hmmm I wonder what this test is about

taking it all the way = an A

Edited January 8, 2008 by charlesandnessa

[Jenn! 918]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence as well as the title of the course are very misleading. Seems like a typical ####### studies class.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Jenn!

[no name 1]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

:o

[almaty 19]

I want to know

time for your test! bend over the desk!

heard you have to do an oral exam too

*bends over* hmmm I wonder what this test is about

taking it all the way = an A

and extra credit for a reach around with the proctor

[Don_Joy's Prince 0]

Furthermore, if "gay men" require a class to teach them how to be gay then it kind of blows the whole being born that way out of the water, doesn't it?

Is that really what you think?

And do you really think the point of the class is to teach people to be gay?

I think that being gay is trendy in our society, thus classes like these popping up.

I have a gay friend who we all swear is straight. He does it for attention from his mom, seriously. Another friend of mine was gay as a teen, then grew up and admitted it was an attention ploy for mommy.

Do you REALLY think that doesn't happen?

I think it's being accepted more in our society (gay marriage anyone), hence these classes are allowed to exist.

It's definitely more accepted, but the University of Michigan has a history as pushing non-equal rights, such as black enrollment incentives and "how to be gay." Seriously, that's an ABSURD college course.

This is absolutely absurd! It discredits the university as a serious place of learning.

Teaching gays how to be gay is like teaching me how to masturbate! Not necessary!

[Jenn! 918]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

You don't think the name of the course implies something different than what the content actually is?

[no name 1]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

You don't think the name of the course implies something different than what the content actually is?

Considering it is in this category:

ENGLISH 317. Literature and Culture.

Section 002 — How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.

But I read the description to verify what it was about before I debated/defended it.

[Ban Hammer 13,641]

why not classes for strippers?

[Jenn! 918]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

You don't think the name of the course implies something different than what the content actually is?

Considering it is in this category:

ENGLISH 317. Literature and Culture.

Section 002 — How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.

But I read the description to verify what it was about before I debated/defended it.

Wow! Awesome!

Feel free to dismiss my uninformed opinion. I don't mind.

Edited January 8, 2008 by Jenn!

[Dr. Obvious 49]

In particular, we will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be straight: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism. Are there a number of classically 'straight' works such that, despite changing tastes and generations, all straight men, of whatever class, race, or ethnicity, need to know them, in order to be straight? What is there about straight identity that explains the straight appropriation of these works? What do we learn about straight male identity by asking not who straight men are but what it is that straight men do or like? One aim of exploring these questions is to approach straight identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of straight sexuality itself. What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or subjective dimensions of straight identity, including straight sexuality, that an exclusive focus on straight sexuality cannot?

I thought it would be amusing to replace 'gay' with 'straight' and see how much sense it made. Makes for more entertaining reading now.

[Alhamdulillah 0]

Did you even read the description?

Yes I did and I still think it's a stupid class and possibly one of the reasons Americans, as a whole, have become so stupid over the years. Instead of learning important things like math, science, how to read... we are learning how to be gay

Edited January 8, 2008 by Alhamdulillah

[Amby 490]

why not classes for strippers?

that's something they offer for a gym class

[no name 1]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

You don't think the name of the course implies something different than what the content actually is?

Considering it is in this category:

ENGLISH 317. Literature and Culture.

Section 002 — How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.

But I read the description to verify what it was about before I debated/defended it.

Wow! Awesome!

Feel free to dismiss my uninformed opinion. I don't mind.

Well, you admitted you hadn't read it. I'm shocked that you went on about it but hadn't even read what it was about, is all.

[no name 1]

Did you even read the description?

Yes I did and I still think it's a stupid class and possibly one of the reasons Americans, as a whole, have become so stupid over the years. Instead of learning important things like math, science, how to read... we are learning how to be gay

but you said:

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

and the course description clearly says that's NOT what they are promoting.

Course Description:

Just because you happen to be a gay man doesn't mean that you don't have to learn how to become one. Gay men do some of that learning on their own, but often we learn how to be gay from others, either because we look to them for instruction or because they simply tell us what they think we need to know, whether we ask for their advice or not.

This course will examine the general topic of the role that initiation plays in the formation of gay male identity. We will approach it from three angles: (1) as a sub-cultural practice — subtle, complex, and difficult to theorize — which a small but significant body of work in ####### studies has begun to explore; (2) as a theme in gay male writing; and (3) as a class project, since the course itself will constitute an experiment in the very process of initiation that it hopes to understand.

In particular, we will examine a number of cultural artifacts and activities that seem to play a prominent role in learning how to be gay: Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism. Are there a number of classically 'gay' works such that, despite changing tastes and generations, all gay men, of whatever class, race, or ethnicity, need to know them, in order to be gay? What is there about gay identity that explains the gay appropriation of these works? What do we learn about gay male identity by asking not who gay men are but what it is that gay men do or like? One aim of exploring these questions is to approach gay identity from the perspective of social practices and cultural identifications rather than from the perspective of gay sexuality itself. What can such an approach tell us about the sentimental, affective, or subjective dimensions of gay identity, including gay sexuality, that an exclusive focus on gay sexuality cannot?

At the core of gay experience there is not only identification but disidentification. Almost as soon as I learn how to be gay, or perhaps even before, I also learn how not to be gay. I say to myself, 'Well, I may be gay, but at least I'm not like that!' Rather than attempting to promote one version of gay identity at the expense of others, this course will investigate the stakes in gay identifications and disidentifications, seeking ultimately to create the basis for a wider acceptance of the plurality of ways in which people determine how to be gay.

Additional note. This course is not a basic introduction to gay male culture, but an exploration of certain issues arising from it. It assumes some background knowledge. Students wishing to inform themselves about gay men and gay culture in a preliminary way should enroll in an introductory course in lesbian/gay studies.

[Jenn! 918]

I think you're taking the statement too literally. They're talking about how to fit into gay culture.

So then it is about teaching stereotypes and not about teaching how to be gay then. Some gay people I've known over the years would take offense to the fact that people think they have to be a flaming ** to be gay. One of the most masculine men I've ever known was gay and he never once felt the need to act like a woman or dress like a circus clown to be that way.

This school may as well have a foreign language class in "ebonics" and how to be a "hillbilly" if that's the case.

Did you even read the description?

I'll admit I didn't read the description. After having done so, I'd say that first sentence is very misleading.

You don't think the name of the course implies something different than what the content actually is?

Considering it is in this category:

ENGLISH 317. Literature and Culture.

Section 002 â€" How to be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation.

But I read the description to verify what it was about before I debated/defended it.

Wow! Awesome!

Feel free to dismiss my uninformed opinion. I don't mind.

Well, you admitted you hadn't read it. I'm shocked that you went on about it but hadn't even read what it was about, is all.

You're easily shocked.

I still think the class could have a more suitable title.