> The Straight Sign is flashed in a variety of ways, but they almost
> always involve the sudden invocation of women. Cocktail servers and
> bartenders are a common prop. I've heard "Damn, she's hot" more than
> once -- even in reference to a not-so-hottie -- just so the Straight
> Sign can be dispensed with quickly and the subject not belabored.
"Six Feet Under" did a beautiful demonstration of that a few weeks ago. One gay character, an ex-cop who just got hired as a security guard for Hollywood stars, was doing guard duty with a couple of his new colleagues outside the starlet's hotel room, when the two straight guys exchanged the "Damn, she's hot" sign, forcing the gay guy into a very awkward situation.
BTW, the last episode featured a very extended and disturbing sequence showing an intense gay-bashing of his lover, who was lucky to escape alive. The show's web site featured a lot of posts by viewers who were made quite uncomfortable by it; perhaps they received a little education about the risks gays run.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ A sympathetic Scot summed it all up very neatly in the remark, 'You should make a point of trying every experience once, excepting incest and folk-dancing.' -- Sir Arnold Bax