I’m sure everyone has seen movies like You’ve Got Mail. Whether we like to admit it or not, we all have a soft spot for those cheesy, romantic movies.
A majority embrace the gay clubs in hope of their paths crossing with cupid. But what about the other majority who are not fans of the club scene? Do they have to wait for that fleeting glance walking down the street or when their eye’s meet across the café sipping down on coffee? Romantic that may sound but there is something else.
In gay history, we are probably the most fortunate so far. We don’t live in a country where being gay is a criminal offence, times have progressed where we don’t have to use the old bandanna code, being gay is not so much of a taboo. What makes us probably the most fortunate is due to the progress of technology we are no longer restricted to just night clubs and the streets. We have the internet.
I’m sure anyone reading this has heard of Manhunt or Gaydar. I’m also very sure a few of you out there have profiles on those sites and have actually met some people offline also. I think the attraction to meeting people of the net is this, it's kinda easier than having to play the games with meeting people in a club. It’s simple, online you can be as straightforward and clear about what you’re after and take it from there. I thought I’d try it out for something different and if anything, I’d at least come out of the experience with something to write about.
So I create an account answering what feels like endless questions from eye colour to favourite sexual position. Then there’s always the question where you have to write about yourself. This is the part I enjoy, this is where in writing you say what you’re about and put it out there for the rest of the online world to see. Unless you’re just posting penis pics people are gonna want to know what you’re after.
Once the profile is created it leaves you free to go and explore the many profiles that have been posted up. In many ways it is like window shopping but instead you’re browsing through photos until something strikes your fancy and you read more. Once a profile of interest shows up then you make contact and you wait for fate to take its course.
Sometimes it can take up to weeks before you might get a reply and other times you’re lucky to even get that, but just sometimes you get a reply straight away and before you know it the two of you are chatting online for hours. One of the big bonuses with chatting online is, it really opens up the doors for you to get to know someone on a deeper level. Because in the end it is completely your choice how much about yourself you are willing to share as your fingers type across the keyboard. With each message sent, you find out more about each other until a moment when one of you grows the balls to invite the other to meet in person.
This is how it happened with me. I came across a profile that really struck my interest. We began chatting and the two of us realised we had a lot in common. So it wasn’t long until we set a date to meet up. Now if any of you have seen movies like Hard Candy you can understand why I might have felt a little awkward meeting someone offline. I made the meeting place somewhere quite public. The middle of the mall, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
After nearly mistaking him for someone else posting fake pics online, the two of us sat down for a drink and the rest is history. I’ve been seeing my boyfriend for nearly two months and still going strong. It just shows that those cheesy, cliché romantic movies can happen. It goes without saying this particular relationship has brought its fair share of new experiences and has shown me one thing; love can be found anywhere, you just have to be open to it.
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