"Am I homophobic because I don't want a massage from a guy?"

23 Apr

‘Tis the age old question.  If a heterosexual man prefers to get a professional massage from woman rather than a man, does that make him homophobic?  Perhaps a little bit, yes.  In my personal opinion though, being a little homophobic is not at all the same thing as being anti-gay.

Personally, I’d prefer to get a massage from a woman.  I think the reason many (straight) guys feel the same way, is because of the following:  A massage involves being touched by someone else.  It is supposed to give pleasure.  Sometimes when experiencing bodily pleasure, it’s possible for a man to become aroused (despite a massage not necessarily being an intended sexual experience).  Even if a guy gives another guy a massage, and the guy getting the massage becomes a bit aroused, of course this doesn’t make him gay.  We all know erections can be caused from anything sometimes, having nothing to do with sexual attraction.

I think there’s nothing wrong/weird about a man getting a professional massage from another man, especially if it’s for medical/therapeutic reasons.

But what about friends who are good at giving massages? Sure, it’s “normal” for female friends to give each other massages, and even so for platonic male/female friends to do so as well.

And what about a heterosexual man giving his heterosexual male friend a massage?  You can be a gay man, a woman, or just any person who considers themselves liberal/open-minded, etc. — but if you saw your straight male friend giving his straight male friend a massage, you’d have to think it’s a bit bizarre.

In an ideal world, double standards wouldn’t exist.  But this isn’t an ideal world.  This is reality.

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