Remember when you went to a gay bar and there were guys there, who liked guys.  Well, with gay acceptance it’s all morphing.  

Straight guys kissing each other to prove their manhood by playing ‘Gay Chicken’; Straight girls wanting to hang around in gay bars and straight guys going to gay bars hoping to meet women who went to the gay bar so they wouldn't get hit on by straight guys.  The bartenders may even be straight.

I chatted with one of our straight bartenders working at the Beat, Shane. He said… ‘More people are coming out gay in Society.  So now, your girlfriend may have a gay sister and she brings you and your girlfriend to a gay club.  You drag along your straight mates, 80% of straight guys would accept a gay guy as a friend anyway, orientation is a non-issue.’ 

So, I did a little more research on what’s going on in those straight fellow’s minds and I found a page right out of the ‘Straight Guy’ handbook, ‘Reasons to Go to a Gay Bar’:
• There are hot girls there - This is the hands down the best-kept secret about gay bars. It never even occurred to me straight girls would go to them. And not only do they go, they go in PACKS.
• Your competition is gay – There’s a cute girl standing next to you and none of the 20 guys around her care.
• Girls’ defence mechanisms are down - When a girl walks into a typical club, she mentally prepares to be hit on.  In gay bars, there’s no expectation of bugging — they’re relaxed and approachable, even happy to meet you.
• Gay dudes know you’re not gay - Straight guys chief objection to a gay bar would be: “I don’t want gay dudes hitting on me.”  The average gay guy can tell quickly that you’re not gay.  
• Gay guys are outstanding wingmen  - Once a gay guy realises you’re not gay, some may even play matchmaker, introducing chicks and talking you up.

And another list: ‘Why Straight Men Should Have Gay Friends’:
• Awesome Wing Men!
• They Get The Party started!
• Give Good Fashion Sense
• They Roll With Girls All The Time
• They Know How To Dance, And Can Show You
• Girls Will Trust A Gay Guy’s Judgment Rather Than A Straight Guy’s
• Gay Guys Can Spot A Bad Catch: Hookers, Gold Diggers, Transvestites And Bitches
• Gay Guys Can Keep You On Check (Sometimes your game may not be at its best)
• Gay Guys Are Practically Your Competition/Teammate
• Being Ahead Of Your Time (more open –minded)

So straight guys definitely have gay guys and clubs on their radar, so does TV land…          

It looks like a Gay Wingman show is being developed in Los Angeles.  I saw this post on Craigslist: Now Casting: Need a Gay Wingman??    “We're looking for gay men who would like to be a gay wingman for a straight guy on the prowl. These guys are tired of competing with their wingmen for hotties, and they want to go out with somebody cool who won't end up stealing the girl!.  Girl's love their gays, and these guys could use your help!  If you're ready to make a new straight friend, and help him get the girl, contact us at kivicasting@gmail.com  with your name, phone number, location, and a quick note on why you'd make a great wingman!”
Hmmm, perhaps a trip to Los Angeles?

So, what about Gay Chicken? The Urban Dictionary defines it as ‘A game played with straight people to see who has more balls,.. One 'player' moves in for a sensual kiss until one of the 'players' backs off. ‘  So, let me get this right- it’s a way of proving straight masculinity by French kissing another guy.  

According to Eric Anderson, a sociologist at the University of Bath, straight guys are no longer freaked about kissing each other. The Guardian had an article about Anderson's results: His survey showed 89% of the polled men saying they were happy to kiss another man on the lips through friendship.  And almost 40% added that they had engaged in "sustained kissing, initially for shock value, but now just for 'a laugh'."  If you want to see Gay Chicken in action for yourself, it’s all over YouTube and it can be quite graphic!

This is all getting quite blurred for me, so back to my bartender guide, Shane.  He said, ‘some straight guys like having gay friends because they’ll actually talk with them. D&Ms are better with gays than with close mates who don’t want to hear it.’  ‘Once a straight guy visits a gay club, they too feel more free. The Gay world isn’t as judgemental – they like your faults and advantages.  In the straight world you’d get bagged out for any faults and not accepted.’ ‘In a straight pub, you’d go out with your mates to kick back. Then the alcohol kicks in, and the talk swaps to girls and the fishing rods come out and talk turns to the opposite sex.  Random guys would never come over to chat, unless there’s an activity like pool, darts or footy on the TV’.

So I guess most importantly, having a gay friend, should just mean you have a good friend overall.  We all want good friends.