Man pretented to be gay for a year.

[Askold]

Timothy Kurek heterosexual devout christian and homophobic man decided one day to "come out" as gay so that he could understand more about homosexuals.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/13/timothy-kurek-straight-christian-pretends-gay_n_1963657.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/george-elerick/jesus-in-drag-straight-christians-comes-out-for-book_b_1569051.html

This idea came about after one of his friends came out as a lesbian and she had been rejected by her family.

"I feel God really kicked me in the gut," he said. "She was crying in my arms and instead of being there for her, I was thinking about all the arguments to convert her."

Well the experience certainly changed him. I was suprised that he says that the thing that he learned the most about is in fact about "being in the closet," because technically he was a straight man living in the closet. Seems logical now that you think about it though.

Interesting story, horrible comments.

[FirsthandTuna]

I'm not sure why people are so upset about this. Sometimes a firsthand experience is the only way to learn.

[RavynousHunter]

They hate him because he had the desire to learn, and to better himself.  The kind of people that are vehemently homophobic are the kind that view any form of change as anathema to their cause.  They refuse to adapt, they refuse to learn, because they're afraid.  Afraid that, if they do learn, that their lives will become meaningless, that they'll learn what monsters they really are and won't be able to live with themselves.  So, they create a secure little psychological bubble, and they rail against anyone who'd dare threaten the security of said bubble, because their minds simply can't handle it.

Unlike this man.  He's shown that he is both willing and capable of learning, which is a very positive trait, and spells good things for his future.  He willingly destroyed his own bubble, and became a better person for it.  If only his compatriots had the same courage he does...

[FirsthandTuna]

They hate him because he had the desire to learn, and to better himself.  The kind of people that are vehemently homophobic are the kind that view any form of change as anathema to their cause.  They refuse to adapt, they refuse to learn, because they're afraid.  Afraid that, if they do learn, that their lives will become meaningless, that they'll learn what monsters they really are and won't be able to live with themselves.  So, they create a secure little psychological bubble, and they rail against anyone who'd dare threaten the security of said bubble, because their minds simply can't handle it.

Unlike this man.  He's shown that he is both willing and capable of learning, which is a very positive trait, and spells good things for his future.  He willingly destroyed his own bubble, and became a better person for it.  If only his compatriots had the same courage he does...

I'm seeing more gay people angry at him than religious people. I'd understand it if religious people are angry.

[RavynousHunter]

Still applies.  Insularity knows no boundaries.

[Witchyjoshy]

Honestly, my initial reaction when I saw the topic title was anger, at what I perceived as an invasion.  How many other gay people could be straight people pretending?  How many of them are sneering homophobes who are out to become an "authority" on gay people, or to make the rest of them look bad?

I do realize this is a double standard since many gay people pretend to be straight, though that's less because we want to and more because we have to.

However, actually reading about it, he learned a valuable lesson, so I'm fine with this.

[RavynousHunter]

Precisely, it seems they completely ignore that part, or didn't bother to actually read any bit of it.  Or, they don't care and are simply looking for a reason to be outraged.  Something very positive came out of this, I honestly don't understand how people could be upset, after reading it.

[Mechtaur]

Personally, I'm only worried about someone else faking something like this and then trying to use it to convince people that being gay is a choice.

Of course, I'm not surprised if anyone has an article about that.

[FirsthandTuna]

Still applies.  Insularity knows no boundaries.

Mostly I hear "He'll never understand what it's like to actually be gay, so he shouldn't try." Which... I... just...

I'm inclined to label them as "fucking stupid kids who never actually experienced discrimination and don't understand how important understanding is" but since that's based entirely on an assumption made about the lives of strangers (and because that label's too long), I'll just call them "fucking stupid".

Run-on sentences aside, this looks like it was a sincere attempt to understand what it's like to be part of an outside group. Seeing that met with hostility is frustrating. I'm also afraid it might breed the idea that people shouldn't try because "the other side" will only attack them.

[Kain]

Heh, this reminds me of that bloke (whose name escapes me at the moment) who had himself made black to see what they went through at the time.

[Sylvana]

I commend this man for trying to learn. He took a huge step and risk and learned something about how some people are forced to live.

I cant help but feel a little put off by it though. It reminds me of the song "common people", where someone pretending will never truly understand because at any point they can just go back and return to how things were. If this guys family had completely rejected him and he could just recant his gay experience and everything will be fine again, while someone who is really gay has to live with the consequences of life.

Similarly, I also cannot help but feel that this guys experiment can be used by others as proof that being gay is not innate and is a choice. It was not as though he could honestly just start liking the the same sex, he could pretend, but that is all he would be able to do. He would still learn a lot about how restricted the gay dating pool is, and how horribly gays are treated, but there are also a number of facets he will never truly understand.

Still trying to learn is better than burning that which is different. So I commend his bravery and actions.

[chad sexington]

Heh, this reminds me of that bloke (whose name escapes me at the moment) who had himself made black to see what they went through at the time.

You mean this guy?

[Askold]

I suppose you can argue that a straight person can never learn how it feels to be gay but I am pretty sure he learned how it feels to be treated like a gay person.

[Stormwarden]

My hats off to the guy for having the courage to do so. He has my respect. A lot more than I can say about many of the commenters unfortunately.

[Kain]

Heh, this reminds me of that bloke (whose name escapes me at the moment) who had himself made black to see what they went through at the time.

You mean this guy?

Never mind, I found it.