Calzgal, just re-read your post. Your questions are fair IMO. Let's see if I can offer my perspectives, as someone who's lived in San Francisco for most of his adult life: "Why is it, that the gay community fights like mad to get the world to STOP defining them as "gay", or by their sexual preference, but yet, it is the very essence of your sexuality that you base all your arguements." I honestly haven't seen that in all my years living here in San Francisco. What I see is that people just want to be themselves without being prejudiced against because of it. "I have a number of gay friends. Guys and Gals. They are not my friends BECAUSE they are gay." Cool. That's the best. Ideally people are friends for other reasons, although it's also perfectly natural for people to fall into groups or friendships because of something in common in one way or another. I don't care for separatism so I like your attitude. "I don't avoid them because they are gay. We don't discuss their "gayness" at dinner. We don't shop at "gay" stores for them and then "straight" stores for me." Perfect! "Their isn't a Heterosexual Pride Day. Fair is fair, I wanna run around letting everyone know I'm straight and married a guy and like him for being a him." Heterosexual people can be themselves openly throughout the world with no problem. Gay people are shamed, beaten up, forbidden employment and housing and even murdered because they're gay. Straight people don't face these challenges and evils just for being straight. The "pride" thing is about self-acceptance and the hope that others will also accept. "Pride" may be an outdated word in some ways, but at this point it's such a tradition that there's no point in gettting tangled up in semantics. In an unprejudiced world, your point would be absolutely correct, there would be no need for celebration of one sexuality or the other or the in-betweens. :-) "It is irrelevant what or who you like to screw." You appear to be several decades ahead of most of the world. :-) "And you seem hungry for the world or society to treat you in that way, yet their ya go with Pride Day. (When did it get shortened, by the way, from Gay Pride Day?)" Probably because some people, namely some lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered persons associate "gay" with homosexual males. I for one don't. I think of it as sort of an all-purpose word, easier to say and less "clinical" sounding than "homosexual," less offensive than the countless epithets. "Seriously. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but I haven't gotten an answer from any of my friends that helps me understand this issue. You don't seem like a jerk at all! You're asking questions, which is intelligent and fair. Making false assertions is where things go wrong and people get offended or angry. It's cool, it's better to talk about these things in the name of mutual understanding. "And before anyone screams gaybashing, let it be known that I support gay marriages et al. Human Civil Rights are just that; HUMAN. But until your lawyers stop argueing about sexual preferences and get to the bone of the steak on the matter......" I can't imaging anyone accusing you of bashing for your post. That'd be an overreaction, the kind that does no good for anyone.