There's this pervasive idea in a lot of people's minds that being straight is just the "default" sexual preference. That isn't the case, though.
We often hear about the moment people realized they were gay, but we almost never talk about people who have those moments of realization that they're straight.
So let's talk about it.
Straight people of Reddit, when did you know you weren't gay?
So ... you know how you don't know if you like a new food until you try it? A few of these responses involve people who had their moment of realization while in the middle of a "taste test" if you will. So This probably isn't the best article for young readers or anyone who might be sensitive to sexual subject matter.
Victoria's Mail-Order Brides
Giphy
When I was SUPER young I used to take (and sometimes hide) my mom's Victoria's Secret catalogues. I remember an intense feeling while looking at the models in lingerie. It wasn't a horny feeling (being so young) but it was exciting, fun and it had a magnetic feeling inside me to look at them.
Since I didn't even know what sex is, I figured that feeling was what marriage was. LMFAO So I'd be flipping pages and I'd be like - "Hmm.... I would marry... her.... WOW I really want to marry her... and marry her... mmm I wouldn't marry this one..."
I love these type of questions that bring back things you never think about. Looking back at this foggy memory I can actually remember the specific "perfumey" smell the magazines had.
- foxttrot
That Was That
When I first learned about the concept of being gay. I think I was like 8-9.
I randomly asked my mom "How do you know if you're gay?" and she said "You would just have a feeling and you'd know."
I thought about if I've ever felt gay and I didn't, so that was that.
Third Time Was Not A Charm
I was joking around with one of my friends and we (my friends and I) asked him how he knew he wasn't gay.
He told us he tried it 3 times and still hated it. He told us the long story about how he hooked up with three dudes and then realized he hated it.
So many laughs...
Instinct
Boobs. I realized I am a straight male when I couldn't stop myself from looking at them at the beach. Of course I would also look at jacked dudes and think "Wow, I want to look like this in the future" but it wasn't the same as looking at women.
I would look at muscular men wondering what I would look like as an adult consciously. Looking at boobs felt more like an instinct I couldn't control all that much back at age 12.
- kitho04
Flash Forward
I thought I might be bi. Flash forward to hooking up with hottest chick I'd ever seen and was like "nah... This ain't it." Hell of a time to realize you're actually straight.
HairÂ
When a girl strokes my back or plays with my hair it's very relaxing, I'm like a cat, I am so happy and comfortable and I'll go to sleep. If a guy strokes me or plays with my hair I'm tense - but in a good way, and really excited and flustered and I want to touch him all over.
THIS. 100%. My hair was long in middle school, and the people sitting behind me in class always wanted to play with it - it was a thing I guess. When my girl friend did it, it felt nice. But when the boy did it, I thought he did it so much better....
That Didn't Go How Mom Intended
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I was raised in a "being gay is a choice" type of house. My mom was giving me a speech about how she didn't care if I "brought home a black girl, a Chinese girl, whatever, just as long I dated a girl." Basically an anti-gay talk.
I was confused about this, and thought to myself, "Why would I date a guy? I'm attracted to girls. Dating a guy sounds nasty. If I had to date a guy who would I date? Best friend? Ew, no. Preppy guy? Ew, no. What's-his-name that is out as gay? Ew, no. There's no guy I can even think of that I'd want to be romantically involved with, and even if there was, I'd really have to force myself to do so... wait ... wait a minute... Holy sht, being gay isn't a choice! I couldn't choose it even if I tried!"
No Emotional Connection
I'm a female and I know that so far it is emotionally impossible for me to fall in love with a girl... I could have sex with a girl but definitely would not be interested in pursuing/dating a girl because there isn't that spark/desire I have with men.
I've questioned my sexuality before just to be sure (lol) but I know that the romantic bond I have with men is not possible for me to have with women. I could sleep with a girl but definitely would not be down to date or even flirt with a girl. It would feel very forced and uncomfortable for me.
A High School Rumor
Honestly? Though I had been reading classic romance novels for a couple years nothing solidified me being straight more the someone in high school starting the rumor I was gay and it taking over the entire school (for 4 years!). So much so I had gym teachers pull me aside to ask if I needed to dress alone so I wouldn't lust after the other girls. It was then I discovered that not only was I not gay but even the idea of sexually touching a girl is a complete turn off for me. I'm not a touchy person to begin with but the mere thought a even having a threesome with another woman involved is like a cold bucket of ice water to my libido.
No Sense Of Scale
I can't even tell how attractive a man is. I can tell the difference between good looking and not good looking but I have no idea of where they sit on the scale. So many times I've been out with friends and they're all "oh my god he's so hot" when to me he looks about the same as most of the other dudes in the area.
Do you have something to confess to George? Text "Secrets" or "
" to +1 (310) 299-9390 to talk to him about it.
There are a ton of jobs or favors that don't require much skill, experience, or labor, and people who are fortunate enough to get hired walk away with a king's ransom.
Looking for those kinds of "jobs," however, is like finding a teardrop in the ocean.
Few who struck gold, at least temporarily, shared their experiences when Redditor NikTheNerdBoy asked:
"What's the dumbest thing you were paid to do and how much were you paid?"
Good luck finding these well-paying tasks.
Running Errands
"Had a WFH gig working sort of as a personal assistant for a rich guy on the opposite coast from me. I did all kinds of wacky sh*t for him. For example, one time I had to break up with my boss's girlfriend because he was too wimpy to do it himself. That was literally my job."
"One day, I bought him a new pickup truck. Meaning, I negotiated the deal and paid for the truck with his credit card. All in all, I'd say the process probably took about two weeks, for which I was paid my usual wage at six hours per day. No big deal."
"Somehow, his dad found out about the new truck and he decided he wanted a new pickup truck too. He called me about a week after I bought the truck for my boss and said he'd pay me $2,000 to buy a truck for him. I called the same dealership back, spoke to the same salesman, told him what was up and basically said give me another truck, same price as before. The salesman was only too happy to comply."
"It took ten minutes to make the phone call and then a day or two to get the title and other paperwork sorted out. So, depending on how you look at it, I made $2,000 for just ten minutes worth of 'work.'"
"Somehow, my boss's rich friend found out about all this. He decided he wanted a new SUV. 'OhYeahThrowItAway, you have to buy it for me!' I told him the last time I bought someone a vehicle, I got paid $2,000. The friend was basically like F'k it, I'll pay you $3,000, just get it for me' and then he emailed me his wish list."
"That deal took a little longer, maybe two weeks."
"I made $5k extra in just two months buying vehicles for lazy (or dumb) rich people."
Staying Out Of The Picture
"I was paid $300 to move my car for a movie that was filming by my apartment."
– dragoblaster666
Pack It Up
"Got paid 10k to leave an apartment because it was sold and new owner wanted to move in. I was tenant (renter) under previous owner. I had 4 months left in my rental contract. This was in Spain (Barcelona)."
European Vacation
"I was flown to Paris to do a compliance audit, the systems weren't set up for the audit, couldn't get access so spent the week being taken to restaurants and shopping. On 1 of the days and at the last minute the company decided to send me to London for a meeting, literally just to meet people. I missed the Eurostar because I forgot my passport (totally blanked that I was entering another country), they had to rebook the Eurostar. Nothing was achieved out of this trip. No audit was completed. Nothing came of the meeting. The cost to the company 25k+ for me to do nothing for a week. Corporate money is ridiculous money."
– _Justag1rl_
Not much labor was required for these so-called "jobs."
Ten-Minutes Of "Work"
"I used to work for a PR agency. Every month one of our clients wanted a handful of photos re-sized for their website; nothing fancy, just setting the width to 500px in Windows Photo Manager."
"It was maybe ten minutes of work every month, but the contract said the minimum amount of time we would charge them for was one day - and this was for the full team too, not just me. It must have cost them several hundred pounds every month."
"I showed the client how to do it several times, and explained that they could save a lot of money doing it themselves. They didn't seem to mind."
"In the end I made sure I got it in writing that I'd informed them of their options and let them get on with it."
– TheRainyDaze
Thank You, Goodbye
"$175 to do some kind of user study at Netflix, I show up in the lobby and then they go, 'actually we got the data we needed from the studies earlier today, you're free to go!'. Still got paid!"
– Lycid
Hush Money
"I did an event for a national association for deaf people at which they did every presentation in ASL. I am an audio engineer, who specializes in live sound and concerts. I did nothing for 5 days of show, $450 a day."
– murter95
Paid To Play
"I got asked to do 2 hours of barrier watch (Guarding a barrier ribbon while a crew did x rays inside a power plant). This was asked last minute after a 12 hour shift so the bonuses of staying happening to be a Sunday, etc I was being paid $110 to stand and play on my phone and make sure sure nobody tried to pass all the DO NOT ENTER DANGER DANGER signs during a time of day with minimal personnel."
– Hotel29
Movie Scene Dance GIF by FandorGiphyGotta Have Wendy's
"I was driving for uber. Picked up a bunch of drunks at like 2 AM. They were like 'Yo we gotta grab some Wendy' I go 'I'm sorry this is my busy period' they go 'Can we bribe you?' I go 'Absolutely you can bribe me.'"
"One the guys said I'll give you $100...I was shocked it was that high, another guy said '$150' and finally his wife said 'F'k it I want Wendy $200 and we buy you Wendy too.'"
"I finally said yes, FYI I hadn't said yes yet because the reality is $20-$40 would have gotten me to stop at Wendy."
"So there I sat at Wendy as those 3 drunks bought me wendy and paid me $200."
– luther_williams
Substitute Chef
"One time I was at this super fancy dinner party. I'm talking servers and everything, I was in a freaking tux! It was outside and catered by a professional bbq company. I mean these guys had won international competitions. Well get this, they were double booked and didn't show. The other servers didn't know how to grill, and this totally smokin server in her 30s is just staring at the grill like a deer in the headlights. Well I don't want to be a hero but I ask if I can help. The entire staff spend the rest of the night bringing me drinks as I make this bbq and NOBODY realizes the award winning chefs didn't show up!"
– Train3rRed88
Where Do We Apply?
"Ok this wasn't a job or anything.... But I got 10$ to eat half a watermelon."
Some opportunities present themselves.
When I was a kid, I hung out at a Japanese summer festival booth where you roll a bowling ball on a track that had two hills. The objective was to push the ball hard enough to get it over the first hill but not too hard to get it over the second hill.
I was fascinated with the challenge and stayed there for a long time as my parents were over by the food booths with their friends.
It was a slow day, and the dude working the booth wanted to peace out for a bit, so he offered to pay me $50 to "hang out" in his stead.
Of course, I said "sure."
No one ever came, and I earned fifty bucks rolling bowling balls for an hour. Was it the dumbest thing I ever did for money? Maybe, but I laughed all the way to the piggy bank that day.
That guy really must have despised his post enough to give a twelve-year-old kid $50.
Food is for survival. That was the plan. But over the years it has become somewhat of a way of life. Some of the most annoying people are foodies. They get so uppity about the preferences of others. Like, let me just enjoy what I enjoy.
Mom No!
Mom Smile GIFGiphy"I don't like my mom's cooking."
"Livestock have refused to eat my mother's cooking. She's a terror in the kitchen."
Take them OUT!!
"I hate walnuts in baked goods. It tastes like wood shavings and completely ruins the flavor."
"I love walnuts but I feel this way about raisins in baked goods, raisins are fine by themselves but not in sweets, I once ordered cinnamon rolls at Hardee's and bit into it and found out there were raisins in it, and I was grossed out and didn't want to eat it. At least freakin' McDonald's serves real cinnamon rolls without freakn' raisins!"
The Fart Ingredient
"I don't like kidney beans except in chili."
"I don't even really like them in chili. I'd rather have pintos in everything."
Oh thew Crunch...
"Pickles and onion make the best sandwich. I make most of my own pickles from stuff I grow or get from local farms in the fall, but I responded to another comment with two different heinous concoctions I enjoy. Crunchy, salty, sour. I really like pickles and onions to begin with."
"I use more than pickled cucumber though. Like the last one I made, I used garlic naan, mayo, red onion, scallions, pickled garlic, green olives, Kalamata olives, garlic dill cucumber, and green beans. Shallot, sour pickled onion, sweet pickled cucumbers, and sushi ginger on sprouted 14 grain bread is also also a favorite of mine."
No Sizzle
bacon GIFGiphy"I do not like bacon."
"I've been learning this over the years. If I'm gonna do bacon I much prefer the maple bacon since it's sweeter and doesn't overpower with saltiness."
- truije15
Who doesn't like bacon? That seems like a sacrilege. Right? But to each their own. Though I will never understand not loving walnuts in comfort food. Y'all need more self love.
Love the Big M
"Fast food tastes amazing, yeah its unhealthy as hell but don't you sit there and lie and say it tastes bad."
"Pisses me off when people act like they're better then McDonald's. What the hell? McDonald's is incredible and billions of people buy their food still. The same can't be said for other restaurants."
Blasphemy!
golden girls flirting GIF by HULUGiphy"Cheesecake is disgusting."
"I don't find cheese cake disgusting. It looks good. Smell delicious. Has ingredients in it that I love. But i can not eat more than one bite. It is too rich. One bite and i feel sick."
Too Many Legs
"Lobsters and crabs are giant insects."
"I don't really think that's that controversial, in my area of the world we even call this creature a 'Moreton Bay Bug' even though some fisheries try to give it the more appealing name of 'flathead lobster'."
bad bones
"Boneless wings are vastly superior to bone-in wings. I think bone-in wings are a ripoff because when you get half a pound of them, part of that half-pound is inedible. It's like if you ordered a quarter-pound cheeseburger, but the restaurant considers the weight of the plate to be part of that quarter-pound and you end up with just a slider. Just give me some damn meat."
The Slime
man oyster GIFGiphy"Oysters are truly disgusting and absurdly overpriced for quarter sized pieces of snot that tastes like salt water and hot sauce."
- C_23_s
Ok, I'm trying to stay calm. I don't want to judge. But some of these opinions... are leaving me shook. Except the oysters. That is that work of the devil. Look away...
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