Hacker News Reader

Comment by learning_still | Hacker News Reader

>they also frequently identify themselves as straight

They also frequently identify themselves as gay. I have seen more gay shit on 4chan without trying than any other website I have ever been to in my entire life. It's not easy for a 13 year old boy to see three men making love while dressed up like bunny rabbits. But hey, that was the internet, and that was 4chan. You had/have truly free speech. The beauty of the old internet in which OP is talking about is that everyone is discriminated against equally. No one gets a pass. If you reveal who you are, you are opening up yourself to heavy criticism. This is true in the real world, people just aren't honest about it.

View on HN

And the experience is often alienating for gay people because the images are paraded as gross or weird.

Source: I'm gay as heck.

I'm sorry but I have to call you a liar. 4chan even has a board dedicated for gay people. Keep in mind this board was around way before any of the social change that's come about in the last 5 years. I used to frequent /gifs as a teenager, and there were were always tons of gay gifs. They were not 'paraded as gross or weird'. They were just gay. As a straight person, I can tell you that there were a lot more gross and weird straight gifs than there were gay ones (cough beastiality cough). I really don't know if this is just your interpretation or if you are a liar like I'm accusing you of being. But your experience certainly does not speak for all gay people. And I find it difficult to believe that someone who's gay would feel alienated like you claim.

>>But your experience certainly does not speak for all gay people.

You're right. I don't speak for all gay people and that's why I said often. I certainly have talked to a lot of gay people about this topic.

So you find it difficult to believe someone who's gay would feel alienated by 4chan. What is that belief based on exactly?

/b/ used to actively mock heterosexual guys who were weirded out by all the gay porn and general naked dudes on there. I think they've suffered a certain amount of cultural drift/rot over the last few years though.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com