I always thought it was just acceptable softcore porn for gay people. Like being gay wasnt as accepted as it is today. It was an insult in schools. It was a constant witch hunt and if someone thought you were gay you were fucking finished.
It was cool, however, to watch incredibly muscular guys, oiled and sweaty, in their underpants and tight vests, repeatedly try to lie on top of eachother, and doing flips that involve ramming their crotch against the others butt.
even if they have not accepted that about themselves
They also may not even know. The whole thing is a political minefield and trying to join in any conversation without knowing all the words tends to trigger a massive overreaction from allies and bigots alike.
When i was heavy heavy jobseeking, just applying for everything and anything, I was sending about 200 applications a week and getting about 3 rejection letters/emails a week.
Then one day I received a hand-written letter. With a paid stamp. Lovely cursive writing. Hand drawn picture of a flower in the corner. Hand-written motherfucking rejection letter from a florist 2 towns over. Full A4 page. Im still baffled. Why put in that much effort?
Here in the UK "normal workers" dont even do that. Your employer does it all for you and you just get told about it in your payslip.
[Here's how much you earned.]
[Here's a bit of tax.] [Here's a bit of other tax] [Here's a bit of national insurance] [Here's a bit of pension contributions] [Here's some other numbers that I cant even remember because I never bother looking] [boring stuff really] [you should probably look at this but who gives a shit its boring]
It was kinda shit but it was shit because it was shit. It was improving every day and the sky was the limit.
Thats what I miss most about the past. The feeling of hope. Things would get better. Tomorrow was a bright place.