2020: Where are the clones?

[AirmaxUK]

Most of us are probably aware of the iconic clones of the 70's and 80's.

I remember London in the mid 90's the typical gay clone uniform was a white t-shirt, black 501's, white socks and black Caterpillar boots. You could always spot guys on public transport or on the street and it was a great way to recognise others and cruise them.

These days I tend to only frequent places where clothing is fetish or not required at all, so I'm out of touch. 

Left me wondering in 2020 does the gay clone exist? Or have we merged with mainstream culture and it's disappeared? 

 

[Leather69]

They also tended to have a mo

[ErosWired]

Isn’t it ironic that in an age of acceptance when gays no longer have to hide in plain sight and make themselves known to one another with colored handkerchiefs and other codes, that the removal of the need to hide means we become invisible to one another?

The clones are still there - they’ve just been digitized onto apps.

[Guest BreedMeInVegas]

3 hours ago, ErosWired said:

Isn’t it ironic that in an age of acceptance when gays no longer have to hide in plain sight and make themselves known to one another with colored handkerchiefs and other codes, that the removal of the need to hide means we become invisible to one another?

The clones are still there - they’ve just been digitized onto apps.

But shouldn't this be the goal of every group in society that fights to be accepted?  To be able to be yourself without needing to hide, or use secret codes to avoid being confronted and finding yourself in a dangerous situation?  It's that old saying "Careful what you wish for, you might just get it".

These days there isn't a need to hide sexuality and use secret signs and stuff in order to find someone else like you.

(that's a generalized statement meaning for most of the modern world where homosexuality isn't persecuted.  There are, and probably always will be, places that will never change, just like there are places that still greatly prohibit and persecute women)

Treating each other as a fellow human, and seeing each other the same way isn't such a bad thing.  So perhaps it's a good thing that the fear of being gay has vanished so much, that its mainstream now, as the original poster questioned.

[albentley]

I agree that it must be progress that sexuality is less of an issue and generally society is more tolerant,  However, some of the mystery, the magic of sexual encounters seems to have gone.  Nothing hotter than cruising a clone on the tube and following him or being followed back to his place.   Then fuck and fuck off.   Perhaps it is the internet that has killed the public clone.  Supposedly everyone can find what they want on the web although the actual meets don't turn out to live up to the hype,.

 

[ErosWired]

1 hour ago, BreedMeInVegas said:

But shouldn't this be the goal of every group in society that fights to be accepted?  To be able to be yourself without needing to hide, or use secret codes to avoid being confronted and finding yourself in a dangerous situation?  It's that old saying "Careful what you wish for, you might just get it".

Without any doubt. All to the good. It just leaves the complication that identifying potential partners among the homosexual population isn’t quite as simple as in the hetero population where secondary sex characteristics are usually reliable markers. That is to say: We have no equivalent to boobs.

When the risk of approaching a man of unknown orientation was simply too great, visual codes became necessary, and, if you knew what to look for, marked the individuals in the crowd. Now that the danger is subsiding, the need for covert identification is also disappearing - but not the usefulness that the system offered. Just because we don’t have to hide anymore doesn’t necessarily make us easy to find.

[ErosWired]

You know, it’s funny (not clown funny, not funny ha-ha) that you should mention gay clones, because I encountered some this evening as I attempted my first hosting in three months. Nine hours in and not a single cock through my open door. And why not?

It’s not that they didn’t notice I was there - they lit up the apps, chatted me up, told me how much they were looking forward to fucking me... and then three of them in a row told me the exact same thing: “Oh - I’m out of gas.” They could come fuck me right now if I could help them with their transportation. If you want to call me a cunt, fine, I don’t take it as an insult, but don’t insult my intelligence.

You have to wonder where they all pick up the same Identical excuses to skip out on hookups. Did I miss a seminar somewhere?

They may not dress alike, but they exhibit traits of fecklessness, deceit, self-centeredness and inconsiderateness that now almost defines a type - a type of which there are far too many copies.

[AirmaxUK]

16 hours ago, ErosWired said:

Without any doubt. All to the good. It just leaves the complication that identifying potential partners among the homosexual population isn’t quite as simple as in the hetero population where secondary sex characteristics are usually reliable markers. That is to say: We have no equivalent to boobs.

When the risk of approaching a man of unknown orientation was simply too great, visual codes became necessary, and, if you knew what to look for, marked the individuals in the crowd. Now that the danger is subsiding, the need for covert identification is also disappearing - but not the usefulness that the system offered. Just because we don’t have to hide anymore doesn’t necessarily make us easy to find.

It is likely that putting yourself out there on Grindr etc. has replaced the need for visual codes. 

Without a visual cue that suggested someone's orientation I'd feel exceptionally uncomfortable approaching them. In SoHo, Vauxhall and parts of Berlin the odds are in your favour, but outside these bubbles things are still a long way behind and I'd worry about getting my ass kicked for being forward. 

I'd like to think that the old eye contact thing still worked - but people are so engrossed in their phones that isn't viable. 

Maybe someone needs to use the technology from the Covid tracking apps so that you get a 'gaydar' ping or a notification if someone is nearby!  (Although in the wrong hands, that could be dangerous)