Holding Hands

I've noticed something lately. Which is rare, because I'm usually pretty oblivious to my surroundings.

Whenever I'm walking around downtown Chicago and notice two people holding hands, it's almost always a same-sex couple.

Out of the corner of my eye, I'll notice two humans mandibly entwined and almost every time there's a guy-guy or a gal-gal thing going on. I can't think of the last time I saw a straight couple doing this.

I thought about this for a while and here's what I think is going on. . . .

In the not-so-distant past, I had often heard gay or lesbian people crying over the fact that they can't show public displays of affection.

"I should be able to walk down the street and hold hands with my lover like anyone else. Boo-hoo-hoo. Hey, where'd you get that fuschia LaCoste?"

Now that society has become much more accepting of gays and lesbians, same-sex public displays of affection are no big deal in big cities like Chicago.
So they hold hands.
Because they can.

It reminds me of cordless phones in the early eighties. Remember when they were all the rage? It was supposed to make a phone call so much more convenient because you wouldn't have to get up and walk to answer the phone.

But the phone would ring and we'd be there in our comfy chair. We'd reach over and grab the cordless phone. And what's the first thing we'd do? We'd get up and walk! Because we could.

Hey, look at me! I'm on a cordless phone and can walk around!

Hey, look at us! We're gay and we can hold hands!

The thing is, who the hell wants to hold hands with your loved-one in public? God, I certainly don't! I don't care who it is. I have enough trouble just managing my own ambulatory endeavors, much less being distracted by hand-holding for crying out loud.

When gays and lesbians don't feel the need to hold hands, just like the heterosexuals, then I'll know we've indeed come a long way.