Is the skydiving community gay friendly?

[nerdgirl 0]

Yes, I think … (and very much own it as my own opinion) … that the skydiving community largely reflects the wider perspective of early 21st Century society.

Yes, we lean risk-embracing relative to less risk-tolerant or outright risk-averse trends compared to the rest of the country, and we have a few other demographic leanings due to history (both of the sport & in general), which is not dissimilar to the way that West Hollywood leans pro-GLBT-embracing whereas tolerance or GLBT-averse sentiment varies across the country. But overall, the views largely reflect the wider world and the range of sentiments found therein.

VR/Marg

Act as if everything you do matters, while laughing at yourself for thinking anything you do matters.
Tibetan Buddhist saying

[Remster 24]

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And regarding your bonfire thread- you started a thread with a definite negative slant against women, comparing all of us to money grabbing hos. You used an article on how the housing market is affecting divorce settlements to attempt to support that, but nothing in the article supported what you were trying to say. You were just ranting against women in general. I believe the moderator simply suggested that if you find women so distasteful and bad, that maybe men would be a better option for you. And apparently, they are.

Which is why I think you lot have fallen for a pretty good troll.

Remster

[labrys 0]

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The Rainbow Boogie in Canada 2 years ago had a group of straight skydivers come up to jump with one of their fellow gay skydivers from their DZ. If that isn't gay friendly or friendly in general what is?

I was thinking about that when I posted earlier. It was cool as hell to see a relatively large group of jumpers from a single DZ show up at a gay boogie in support of 1 person. Cool as hell.... and primarily because the person they were supporting is, well... "cool as hell"
I don't know the OP and this is in no way a commentary on him... but sometimes people aren't warmly received because they aren't warm to others. If you set yourself up as an outsider, you're not going to get a warm fuzzy from others. If you're not "out" but you hold yourself aloof for a reason others then can't see or understand, they aren't likely to go out of their way to be friendly.

Owned by Remi #?

[skyjumpsteve 0]

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Which is why I think you lot have fallen for a pretty good troll.

....no...not a troll.

[labrys 0]

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Hey I will take the video slot on that....

There is good money in that stuff man

Chica....

Owned by Remi #?

[ChickenSandwich 0]

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And regarding your bonfire thread- you started a thread with a definite negative slant against women, comparing all of us to money grabbing hos. You used an article on how the housing market is affecting divorce settlements to attempt to support that, but nothing in the article supported what you were trying to say. You were just ranting against women in general. I believe the moderator simply suggested that if you find women so distasteful and bad, that maybe men would be a better option for you. And apparently, they are.

The article I posted said exactly that: many women use divorce as their personal ATM. I provided the link to the article - why don't you go and read the whole thing?

No where in my thread did I compare the women in the article to anyone on this site and for you to claim so is dishonest and antagonizing in and of itself.

[labrys 0]

Steve...

I've seen your bonfire thread. If you honestly think that you were banned because you are gay or that the mod is homophobic then I think you need to reflect a bit more about your personal interactions with others than your sexuality.

Owned by Remi #?

[tbrown 26]

Regrettably, long ago, like thirty years ago, I know of a few incidents. But a tremendous amount of water has gone under the bridge since those days. That and I jump in So Cal, where gay culture is already accepted in general and in the workplace. We have plenty of gay and bi skydivers. Some of them are open about it, others not. I'll jump with any of them by the same standards I set for anyone else - don't do anything really stupid or dangerous.

I had a hard time cracking skydiving culture, but that was as a college kid from the suburbs at a blue collar working class dropzone in the seventies - and those guys were anything but subtle about it.

What I found that both gained me acceptance and caused me to grow as a person was to shut up, jump as much as I could, and just accept those people for who they were.

The gay jokes won't go away, for better or worse they're still part of male culture (have you ever heard a woman tell a "fag" joke ?). I still have a problem with people who tell black jokes - and I'm white.

But I've also found - in my own case, as part of growing up - or in anyone else's case, that calling attention to yourself invites more attention than you may have wanted, and not always of the kind you wanted. At the dropzone, whoever you are, it's just not all about you. You might not like this, but I have found in a lot of settings (like church), that some gay "activists" insist on making everything all about them. All the time, week after week. That's a real drag (excuse the pun) for anyone to lay down and leads to resentment.

I'm not suggesting you want to do this, but making the dropzone a soapbox for gay issues is not a good idea. Not because skydivers are homophobes either. Like everywhere else, some are and some aren't. But we go to the dropzone to get away from all the other bullshit we have to deal with for the rest of the week. We go there to JUMP. And as odd a bunch of very different people we are, we get along quite well with each other and even take pride in what an odd bunch we are.

If you will just be yourself,people will like you and may just learn to see you as an example of gays being real and alright people, like anybody else. And that's how you change people's hearts and minds.

Your humble servant.....Professor Gravity !

[grimmie 173]

If you can't fit in at a DZ then you need to examine yourself a little closer. Skydivers come in all shapes, sizes and colors. There are some serious goofballs in this sport. There are a lot of jumpers that don't fit in anywhere in society except a DZ.
I have been to boogies where everyone, 500+ folks, are drunk or high out of their minds(can you imagine?). Think about that. If it was a bunch of firemen or cops there would be fistfights galore. Not jumpers, it's a big lovefest. That's the cool thing about jumping. No one gives a rat's ass if you are gay, a martian, a billionaire or a DZ bum when we are all in the plane on jump run. The after hours fireside bullshit is just that, bullshit. I have heard the biggest lies, the biggest bullshit and some pathetic crap come out of pie holes at the fire. Most jumpers are drunk, trying to impress the chics and full of themselves. Sometimes it's so stupid it's hilarious. And we have ALL been thrown under the bus.

When skydiving goes PC and I can't call my friends dickheads, it's time to sell the gear.

I get your point. But it's time to grow some thicker skin. Skydiving is the least discriminate sport I have ever been involved in.

And Andrew, don't tell me there aren't any gay skydivers in Alberta.

[Bolas 5]

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Some people just think they haven't met any gay people and all they can go by is what they see on TV.

Fixed it for you.

True. However, it's so hard to tell them from a 4 way team member.

Stupidity if left untreated is self-correcting
If ya can't be good, look good, if that fails, make 'em laugh.

[shropshire 0]

It's be the freeflyer

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[mdrejhon 8]

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I ask this because, as a gay man, I have always felt welcome but I've not felt a part of the family.

Hey,

You might want to search some of my old posts about my Rainbow Boogie 2006 promotion (the world's first gay skydiving event), and about www.rainbowskydive.com. I generally don't have a problem and I'm usually low-key -- I'm pretty indifferent to gay jokes, and don't like stirring things up, but rather focus on the positives.

Keep tuned to the next Rainbow boogie (dates and location are not yet announced), and also join the Yahoo RainbowSkydivers mailing list if you want to find other gay skydivers, which are pretty few and far-in-between.

For the last boogie, about 50% of the attendance specific to the boogie was straight, with people bringing their friends from U.S. There was gay attendance from U.K., Europe, Australia, and even a lesbian tandem from Phillipines.

I realize this is the speaker's corner, but since you're banned from the Bonfire, I'll post here anyway. (Something I rarely do -- I'm not much for the drama of Speaker's Corner.)

[Ron 7]

Skydivers as a whole are really nothing more than a cross section of society. We have our extremes on either side and a large majority in the middle.

That being said, most skydivers are more accepting than you would think.

BUT, you need to realize that skydivers as a whole tend to joke more and often AT people. Someone already mentioned this. Don't be a fat guy reaching for a donut on a DZ and not expect to get a fall rate comment. Most of the time it is in fun.

Ever laugh at a "black death" joke?

What is the difference between a skydiver and a golfer? The golfer goes: Whack! Ah shit!
The skydiver goes: Ah Shit!, Whack!

Funny, but not if you just lost your wife to skydiving accident.

Why don't blind people skydive? It scares the shit out of the dog. When do they know to pull? The leash goes slack.

Ever laugh at a lawyer joke?

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But that being said, as a gay man why should I continue to surround myself with people that think that my life is a joke?

The same reason that fat guys still go to the DZ. To skydive.

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Seriously, if I were to out myself at your dropzone, would you automatically not want to jump in the same plane I was in?

It could happen...But, I have yet to ever see it happen. There will be some people who will avoid being your friend....But that's true anywhere.

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Perhaps I picked the wrong sport. And that makes me really sad.

Maybe, but not because of your orientation, or how you THINK people will react to it...But because you really do need a thick skin to hang at a DZ.

The joking is all in fun. I just think you are internalizing it a bit much.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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And Andrew, don't tell me there aren't any gay skydivers in Alberta.

I did say openly gay.

[Ron 7]

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I don't know the OP and this is in no way a commentary on him... but sometimes people aren't warmly received because they aren't warm to others.

I have also seen people that no one really liked come out...And after they came out they claimed no one liked them since they were gay. That was just not that case...They didn't like them since they didn't like them. The person being gay had nothing to do with it.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[grimmie 173]

Got me on a technicality there!

[martlet 0]

There are a few of us in the military at my dz. We're the butt of military jokes. There are a few short guys. They're the butt of short jokes. There are a few chubby guys. They're the butt of fat jokes.

Maybe we should all stop jumping so we feel better about ourselves.

I could care less. We jump, we have fun, and we dump on each other. Who knows why. I don't care what they look like or who they bang. If they can jump and I can learn from them, I know just about everything I need to for now.

[dgskydive 0]

Talk to Keith.....

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?username=Keith;

His profile says it all.

Dom

[porpoishead 5]

should the skydiving community be gay friendly??

looks like from the responses you have gotten so far bud, that nobody seems to give a shit one way or the other that you are a pillow biter.


you did manage to get banned from the bonfire of all places in just a very few posts. might be some other issues involved not so much your orientation.

don't be an angry gay guy, nobody likes the angry gay guy. be a happy gay guy.

the skydiving community is what it is..like everything and every where else in life.

if you feel violated somewhere then handle your business, or just don't go there.

if you want a friend feed any animal
Perry Farrell

[martlet 0]

You can get banned from the bonfire? Wow.

[Jumperpaula 0]

I kissed a few girls on the dropzone...at the bonfire....after a few drinks. No one ever seemed to mind at all.

[skyjumpsteve 0]

nobody seems to give a shit one way or the other that you are a pillow biter.***

...I gotta say that comment probably is the type of comment that makes Chicken feel unwelcome. Nothing wrong with saying "nobody seems to give a shit one way or the other that you are gay" but substituting gay for "pillow biter" was uncalled for and offensive. You may think it was a cool and supportive post (which for the most part it was as was your prior posts) but in reality it was mean spirited. Not saying it is a big deal or that you meant it that way but I would have to say that the vast majority of gay people who read that were probably offended. If you search for all the thousands of posts on DZ.com (actually 17,928) that have "gay" in them you will find many many of them are pretty offensive. That is the kind of stuff the OP was referring to that makes him feel uncomfortable at times. Just pointing it out so you know where he is coming from.

[Botellines 0]

You are totally right, "pillor bitter" was totally uncalled for. We don´t know yet wether he prefers to byte pillows or necks...

So sorry, i couldn´t resist. Anyway, go to church to pray, to the dropzone to jump and to the blue oyster to socialize. It is usually not a great idea to get them mixed.

[FallingOsh 0]

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Seriously, if I were to out myself at your dropzone, would you automatically not want to jump in the same plane I was in?

If you walked up and said, "Hi. I'm ChickenSandwich and I'd like to make a few jumps," then we'd say, "Nice to meet ya. Get on the plane."

If you walked up and said, "Hi. I'm a gay man and would like you to accept me and my sexuality on this dropzone," we'd probably think you're weird for announcing your preference.

My point is, like Diablo, who cares? If you want to be gay then be gay. I don't see a point in announcing it and I definitely don't see a point in getting offended when people make jokes that may pertain to your race/sex/political party/sexual orientation.

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Stay positive and love your life.

[grimmie 173]

A friend of mine got a tye dye purple Base rig once.
I told him it looked pretty gay.
We both laughed.
It's actually a cool rig...
Hell, maybe I'll end up sleeping with old goalies or something...