I am largely very happy about the "normalization".
First off, very few people can now be possibly held hostage to their sexual orientation. Outing someone used to be a major disaster for a few folks in those days. Much of this is now clearly simply a history.
Second off, no one really wishes to be discriminated against. I admit to being an 'old school' guy. I am not going to get married, and frankly, the real benefits of the antidiscrimination laws do not do that much for me. But the very notion that everyone out there (including me) has all of these options is indeed, a very good thing. Having the options to choose is the essence of freedom. As such, this is an irreplaceable value in our lives.
Last but not least, I imagine that most people wish to achieve a degree of normalization, fit in, and lead their usual normal lives. I am truly happy for them.
On a very personal level, I continue to choose to view my sexuality as a very private matter. I am out to a few people, but I do not wear my sexuality on my sleeve. I have never developed any inclination to adhere to any notion of gay identity as such. Building a sense of community (beyond the purely political context of the struggle for recognition and against discrimination), based on the notion of sexual orientation ONLY, always seemed utterly artificial to me.
I moved to one of the major European capitals once I postgraduated. I started enjoying the commercial gay scene of bars, baths, clubs and other venues. A few of the like-minded guys and I would go cruising for sex in public areas, too. One of them remarked once: 'We all enter this park as very different people. Once we cross this line here, we are only gay men, tops, bottoms, suckers and suckees. We are all the same. Couple of hours later, we walk through the mirror again, and the magic is over. We are back to our real lives being as different and as diverse as we can possibly be.'
KD
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